| Two of the American League's star shortstops left their respective games with injuries Thursday night.
Derek Jeter left the Yankees' game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in New York after the second
inning with an abdominal strain in his left side.
Jeter will be out for at least a week, manager Joe Torre said Friday. He is hoping Jeter can avoid a stint on the 15-day disabled list.
The Red Sox's Nomar Garciaparra left Boston's game in Baltimore after aggravating a
hamstring injury that sidelined him for two games last weekend.
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ESPN.com analysis
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If Nomar Garciaparra has one flaw to his game, it's that he usually lands on the DL once per year. He missed 27 games last season and 19 the year before. Derek Jeter, on the other hand, has been extremely durable his first four seasons, missing a total of 28 games.
Neither team has a decent alternative in reserve. The Red Sox recalled Donnie Sadler, who has a strong arm and can run but has no offensive skills whatsoever. He'll battle the equally light-hitting Manny Alexander for shortstop duties over the next two weeks.
Jeter's injury serves as another reminder of the Yankees' glaring lack of depth this season. Clay Bellinger is the backup shortstop and he's neither a whiz with the stick or the glove. Prospect Alfonso Soriano, who played some third base when Scott Brosius was sidelined in April, could get recalled if Jeter lands on the DL.
--David Schoenfield
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Garciaparra was placed on the
15-day disabled list Friday.
"I knew yesterday that I hurt it pretty good," said
Garciaparra, the 1999 AL batting champion. "It's pretty sore
today."
Boston recalled shortstop Donnie Sadler from Triple-A Pawtucket.
Sadler, who hit .188 in 28 games with Pawtucket, started at
shortstop Friday night against the Orioles.
Now in his fourth full season with the Red Sox, Garciaparra was
on the disabled list only once previously -- in 1998, when he was
sidelined 19 days with a shoulder injury. The two-time All-Star didn't expect this trip to the DL to be
any different.
"It's very frustrating. I can't stand sitting down and watching
a game that I can't play. It drives me crazy," he said. "What are
you going to do? You just have to take care of it and get back."
To make matters worse, Carl Everett -- the team leader with 12
homers and 33 RBI -- was out of the lineup Friday with a right
hamstring injury.
In Jeter's case, he will miss this weekend's three-game series in
Detroit and could also land on the disabled list. Jeter, 25, originally hurt himself while taking indoor batting
practice prior to a rainout on Wednesday and aggravated the
injury while making a defensive play in the second inning of
Thursday's 1-0 loss to Tampa Bay. He was removed from the game and replaced by Clay Bellinger.
Following the contest, Yankees manager Joe Torre said his star
would be sidelined for "the next few days." The same type of injury landed Jeter on the disabled list during
the 1998 season.
Jeter has been mired in a slump and flied out in his only at-bat Thursday to extend his hitless streak to 13 at-bats over his last four games. | |
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