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| Wednesday, June 11 Updated: June 12, 11:11 AM ET Yankees' Williams off crutches, strengthening knee Associated Press |
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Williams underwent surgery May 27 to repair torn cartilage in his left knee. He came off crutches last weekend and is undergoing treatment and doing strengthening work. A five-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner, Williams got off to a great start this season, batting .384 with six homers and 23 RBI in the first 22 games. But he has hit only one homer and driven in eight runs since then and was hitless in his last 21 at-bats before going on the disabled list last month.
Duncan signed the deal in owner George Steinbrenner's box before New York's game against Houston, but the Boss wasn't there at the time. The 18-year-old graduate of Seton Hall Prep in New Jersey is to report Friday to the Yankees' Tampa rookie team in the Gulf Coast League. "This is pretty neat," said Duncan, who grew up as a Yankees fan. "It's my lifelong dream."
The Royals assigned the right-hander to Triple-A Omaha of the Pacific Coast League. Lima made the National League All-Star team in 1999, and finished the season 21-10 with 187 strikeouts, 44 walks and a 3.58 ERA. He was released by Detroit after going 4-6 with a 7.77 ERA in 2002. Lima has a career major league record of 63-74 with a 5.14 ERA. In eight starts with Newark this season, Lima was tied for the league-lead in victories with a 6-1 record and led the Atlantic League with 52 strikeouts.
Rodriguez left his start Sunday after pitching a season-low 1 2/3 innings against Arizona. The right-hander, who has complained of tightness in his arm recently, said he hurt himself while swinging a bat during batting practice in preparation for interleague play. The Indians initially thought Rodriguez, who is 3-7 with a 5.47 ERA, would only need to miss one or two starts. On Tuesday, general manager Mark Shapiro said, "this is not a DL situation. It is extremely minor." However, the Indians decided not to take any chances with Rodriguez, the second Cleveland starter to be sidelined by injury. Jason Bere underwent season-ending shoulder surgery on Wednesday. Bierbrodt was 0-2 with a 9.68 ERA in 13 appearances -- five starts -- before the Devil Rays designated him for assignment on June 8. The 25-year-old, a former first-round draft pick by Arizona in 1996, will pitch in relief for the Indians.
Zimmerman threw about 25 pitches during the Texas Rangers' early batting practice session, including seven or eight breaking balls. "It went well. He was surprised by his velocity," Rangers manager Buck Showalter said. "This is a big guy for us if we can get him back right." Zimmerman hasn't pitched in a game for the Rangers since 2001, when he had 28 saves in 31 chances. "Most guys come back in 11 or 12 months, so I'm on pace, hopefully," Zimmerman said. "I didn't have as much adrenaline as I thought I would. I just wanted to keep the ball in the strike zone."
Williams was in the stands with his father along the third-base line when he was struck by Texas outfielder Juan Gonzalez's liner in the ninth inning May 9 in a game against Cleveland. After Gonzalez struck out to end the game, medical personnel attended to William on the field as players and coaches from both teams watched from the dugouts. The boy's left eye was swollen shut. William still has some discoloration around his eye, but no permanent damage. Before throwing out the first pitch, he had his picture taken with Gonzalez and other Texas players.
Young leads the Tigers with a .270 batting average, 12 home runs and 39 RBI. It was not immediately known whether Young would miss more than one game. He and manager Alan Trammell were not available for comment after the decision to remove him from the lineup was made just before the game.
The left-hitting catcher from Marina High School in Huntington Beach, Calif., was the 28th overall pick. He was rated by Baseball America as the third-best pure hitter among high school players. Barton was the first catcher taken by the Cardinals in the first round since Terry Kennedy in 1977. The only other catcher St. Louis chose in the first round was Ted Simmons in 1967. |
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