Josh Hamilton trying new contacts

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton went out for batting practice wearing contact lenses designed to cut down on the amount of light coming into his eyes to help him see the ball during the day.
The new contacts make Hamilton's eyes look red.

"I've never worn contact lenses in my life and I really would like to see the ball in the daytime, so therefore I'm trying any means possible to do that," Hamilton said. "I actually care and I want to be better and I don't want to suck in the day."
Hamilton said afterward that the contacts did help during batting practice. Manager Ron Washington throws a few batting practice sessions every day and Hamilton said normally he has trouble picking up Washington's throws because they come at him with the bleachers as the background. But he could see the ball better with the lenses on Friday.
Under the sun this season, Hamilton's numbers are dim. He is batting .122 (6-for-49) with no home runs, four RBIs and eight walks. He also has 17 strikeouts and a .429 OPS.
At night, it's a different story. Hamilton is hitting .374 (41-for-109) with six home runs, 28 RBIs, seven walks and a 1.076 OPS. And he only has 14 strikeouts while playing under the lights.
During his 2010 MVP season, the blue-eyed Hamilton hit a respectable .286 during the day and .384 at night.
Hamilton said Wednesday that he has a tougher time seeing the ball because he has blue eyes. An optometrist who talked to ESPNDallas.com on Thursday supports Hamilton's theory and explained why.
"Because of the lack of pigment in lighter color eyes -- like blue or green eyes as opposed to brown -- you get a lot more unwanted light and that can create glare problems," said Dr. Richard L. Ison, O.D., an optometrist since 1990 who currently works in Murphy, just northeast of Dallas.

Ison said the phenomenon is called intraocular light scatter, meaning the light scatters as it enters, producing a focal point that isn't as good.
His solution for Hamilton: Find a pair of sunglasses that he's completely comfortable wearing while batting.
Maybe these new contacts will take care of the issue.
Hamilton said the contacts will be used only during day games. He's not going to change what he's been doing at night. The slugger said he talked to a few club officials about his vision during the day and they suggested the lenses.
"It's just hard for me to see [at the plate] in the daytime," Hamilton said during the pregame show on 103.3 FM ESPN on Wednesday. "It's just what it is. Try to go up [to the plate] squinting and see a white ball while the sun is shining right off the plate, you know, and beaming right up in your face."
The Rangers have two day games against the New York Mets this weekend, and Washington, who said he'd never heard anything about pigmentation in the eyes affecting at-bats during the day, plans on starting Hamilton on Saturday. He hasn't decided about Sunday yet.

A's fire Bob Geren; Bob Melvin interim

With his banged-up team mired in a nine-game losing streak and rampant speculation about the tenuous status of manager Bob Geren, Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane felt he had no other choice than to make a change.

The A's fired a manager during the season for the first time in a quarter-century on Thursday, letting Geren go after four-plus seasons and bringing in former Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners skipper Bob Melvin for the rest of the season.

"It felt like at this point a change was necessary," Beane said. "It got to the point where the emphasis was on the status of the manager on a daily basis and no longer on the field. When that starts to happen, you need to shift the focus to what's really important, which is performance. That's how we came to this decision."

Geren's tenure in Oakland was marked by numerous injuries, a lack of offense, questions about his communication skills and high-profile departures as he was unable to post a winning season after taking over an AL West championship team from Ken Macha.

Geren posted a 334-376 record, including a 27-36 mark this season that has left Oakland eight games behind the Texas Rangers in last place in the AL West.

The A's currently have four starting pitchers on the disabled list, including a season-ending shoulder injury for Dallas Braden. Oakland was also without injured All-Star closer Andrew Bailey for the first two months and is last in the American League with just 223 runs through the first 63 games.

"Bob Melvin will inherit some of the challenges that Bob had," Beane said. "Bob lost four starting pitchers in the space of three weeks. That was a tough body blow for the team. That was very difficult from Bob's standpoint."

Melvin, 49, took the helm for the series opener in Chicago against the White Sox on Thursday night. He posted a 493-508 record in seven seasons as manager with Seattle and Arizona. He led the Diamondbacks to the NL West title in 2007 and also won 93 games in his rookie season with the Mariners in 2003.

Melvin was also on Bob Brenly's staff as bench coach in 2001 when the Diamondbacks won the World Series and the following year when they won the NL West. Melvin also coached for the Milwaukee Brewers and Detroit Tigers. He was fired by the Diamondbacks 29 games into the 2009 season but got another chance when Beane decided it was time to let Geren go.

"He really knows how to work with young players," said Oakland outfielder Conor Jackson, who played for Melvin in Arizona. "It's a great team for him. We have a lot of young talent and I feel like he's a pretty good molder of personalities and baseball players as well."

Melvin played 10 seasons in the majors as a catcher with the Tigers, San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and White Sox. He batted .233 with 35 homers and 212 RBIs in 1,955 career at-bats.

Melvin is a Bay Area native who was born in Palo Alto, went to high school in Menlo Park, played college ball at Cal, spent time with the Giants in the majors and now gets to manage the A's.

"It's a dream come true," he said. "This doesn't happen very often in baseball, where you literally get to come home in the capacity that I do."

The beleaguered Geren had come under criticism from his bullpen in recent weeks for a lack of communication with reliever Brian Fuentes and former Oakland closer Huston Street publicly criticized him.

That started the speculation about whether Geren would make it through his final season under contract.

"I can't say it was a surprise," Fuentes said. "Regardless whether it was our team or any other team, when things don't go well there are always moves that are made."

It was the rash of injuries and the total lack of offense that led to the current losing streak that finally spelled the end of Geren's tenure.

With no homegrown hitting stars and disappointing starts by offseason acquisitions like Hideki Matsui and David DeJesus, the A's find themselves in last place despite a stellar young pitching staff headed by All-Star Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez and recently injured Brett Anderson.

"It's got great pitching, good athletes and we're going to try to play the game we're suited to play," Melvin said. "We're probably not going to sit around and play for three-run homers a whole lot. We play in a ballpark that's probably more conducive to being aggressive and that's what we're going to try to do."

The current skid is the longest for the A's since a 10-gamer in July 2008 and the fifth-longest single-season losing streak since the team moved to Oakland in 1968.

This is the first time the A's have fired a manager during the season since getting rid of Jackie Moore after 73 games in 1986. Jeff Newman took over for 10 games on an interim basis before Tony La Russa was brought in to start a run that included four division titles and the 1989 World Series championship.

Beane said he started the process of evaluating Geren's status a few weeks ago before making the ultimate decision.

"Whenever you replace your manager, it's a drastic move," Beane said. "I've never had to do it in my tenure as general manager. This is a new script for myself. I don't know if you ever know what the right time is."

Johnny Bench puts Buster Posey at fault

Hall of Famer Johnny Bench says Buster Posey's season-ending injury was the result of a mistake -- on the Giants catcher's part.
Bench, who knows all too well the physical toll of playing catcher in the major leagues, says preventing collisions at the plate is a major key to the success of any catcher.
"Buster was a finalist for the Johnny Bench Award (as the top collegiate catcher in 2008) and is a great kid -- I called him after the World Series last year," Bench told the Tulsa World this week. "When I heard about the injury, I was anxious to see how this happened. Buster put himself in such a bad position."


Posey, last year's NL rookie of the year, was knocked out for the season on a play at the plate with Marlins outfielder Scott Cousins last week, a sequence that resulted in widespread, vexing rhetoric -- and apologies from both sides.
Bench, a spring training instructor for the Reds, was playing in his third All-Star Game in 1970 when Cincinnati teammate Pete Rose barrelled over Ray Fosse at the plate for the game-winning run in the bottom of the 12th inning.
Fosse, a rookie catcher for the Cleveland Indians, was seriously injured on the play, his promising career permanently scarred.
Cousins' run also came in the 12th inning to send the Marlins past the Giants 7-6.
"First of all, my catchers don't sit in front of home plate. They stand away from home plate and work back to the plate," Bench told the Tulsa newspaper. "But we (catchers) are just fair game. You've got a guy running around third base at 210 to 220 pounds with 3 percent body fat and with sprinter's speed."
Cousins, a rookie, has been receiving death threats despite repeatedly apologizing for the May 25 collision that left Posey with a broken bone in his lower left leg and three torn ligaments in his ankle. He's had surgery and is done for the season.
"I teach my kids to stay away from the plate when you don't have the ball so the runner actually sees home plate and his thought is, slide," said Bench, who has undergone hip replacements on both legs in the past seven years after a 17-year career that ended in 1983. "But Buster is laying in front of home plate, and it's like having a disabled car in the middle of a four-lane highway. You're just going to get smacked."

 

Posey has said he felt Cousins could have slid around him but also said it was a legal play.
"Show them the plate," Bench said. "You can always catch the ball and step, or step and catch the ball, as long as you've got the runner on the ground. And if you have the runner on the ground, there's less chance of any severe collision."
Giants general manager Brian Sabean criticized Cousins on his weekly radio show, calling the play malicious and unnecessary. Sabean also said "if I never hear from Cousins again, or he doesn't play another day in the big leagues, I think we'll all be happy."
Sabean's comments got the attention of Major League Baseball, and executive vice president of baseball operations Joe Torre spoke with Sabean on Friday. The Giants also issued a statement saying Sabean's comments were made out of frustration, and the GM was trying to reach Cousins.
"We intend to move beyond conversations about last week's incident and focus our attention on Buster's full recovery and on defending our World Series title," the team said in the statement.
Cousins also issued a statement Friday and apologized again for the collision.
Florida manager Edwin Rodriguez said before Friday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers that he doesn't have to defend his young outfielder because Cousins didn't do anything wrong.
"As a team we don't have anything to say," Rodriguez said. "If people want to keep talking about that, let them talk."

Six Yankees lead in early All-Star voting

Arizona should start preparing for a New York invasion.
In the first update of voting for the 2011 American League All-Star team, the Yankees have six players who are the top vote-getters at their positions, including the entire starting infield.
The six players are catcher Russell Martin, first baseman Mark Teixeira, second baseman Robinson Cano, third baseman Alex Rodriguez, shortstop Derek Jeter and center fielder Curtis Granderson. The All-Star Game is July 12 in Phoenix.
As Jeter gets closer and closer to his 3,000th hit, he's also closing in on his 12th All-Star team, garnering 931,410 votes so far, putting him comfortably ahead of Cleveland's Asdrubal Cabrera.
Rodriguez could grab his 13th All-Star spot and his first start since 2008, with 945,127 votes in the early going. He's ahead of Texas' Adrian Beltre and Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria.
Cano has the second-most votes of all players, behind only Toronto's Jose Bautista, and has more than twice the votes of second-place Dustin Pedroia. Teixeira also leads a member of the Boston Red Sox in the voting, as he is almost 142,000 votes ahead of Adrian Gonzalez.
New catcher Russell Martin has a cushy lead over Minnesota Twins backstop Joe Mauer with 843,459 votes. He's looking for an appearance on his third All-Star team and his first start since 2007, when he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Granderson has the second-most votes among outfielders with 994,315.
The only Yankees not in first at their positions are outfielders Brett Gardner (11th), Nick Swisher (7th) and designated hitter Jorge Posada (3rd). Michael Young leads at DH, while his Texas teammate Josh Hamilton would be the third outfielder.
The starting rosters for the game will be announced July 3 during the All-Star Game Selection Show on TBS.

Daughter: Gary Carter 'ready to battle'

Gary Carter is resting comfortably at home in Florida, preparing for a cancer treatment that calls for 6½ weeks of radiation and one year of chemotherapy, his daughter wrote on a private family website Thursday morning.
Carter's daughter, Kimmy Bloemers, wrote in a journal entry that his treatment will likely begin Monday.


"Doctor said they are going after these tumors aggressively. ... Dad is ready to battle," Bloemers wrote.


Bloemers added that Carter is "happy" and "motivated" after some much-needed rest on Wednesday.


"He sounds like a completely different person. He is in fantastic spirits," she wrote.


Doctors treating Carter confirmed on Tuesday that he has glioblastoma, a form of cancer that affects the brain and central nervous system.


Doctors said surgery "is not a good option given the location of the tumor."


Carter has been approved to take Avastin, Bloemers wrote. According to the drug's website, Avastin's purpose is to prevent the growth of blood vessels that feed tumors.


The 57-year-old Carter, who just completed his second season as Palm Beach Atlantic University's baseball coach, announced May 21 that an MRI had revealed four small tumors on his brain.


After being diagnosed, Carter, perhaps best known for his contributions to the New York Mets' 1986 World Series-winning squad, said, "My wife, Sandy, and our children and family thank you for your thoughts and prayers. We ask you to please respect our privacy as we learn more about my medical condition."


Carter, an 11-time All-Star, was inducted into Cooperstown in 2003 after retiring in 1992 with the Montreal Expos. He finished his 19-year career with a .262 average, 324 home runs and 1,225 RBIs.

By: http://sports.espn.go.com/

Roy Halladay gives up 3 HRs but Phillies find a way past Nats

In most cases, when a pitcher gives up two hits to open the seventh inning after a long outing, a manager would think about making a move to the bullpen. With Roy Halladay on the mound, Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie Manuel didn't flinch.

Halladay got out of the seventh inning jam by striking out Jayson Werth and beat the Washington Nationals for the 10th straight time, with some help from Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez.

Halladay allowed 10 hits and four runs over 7 innings, striking out five without a walk. Howard and Ibanez hit back-to-back homers in the fourth and each drove in a run in Philadelphia's seventh-inning rally for a 5-4 win Monday.

After the Phillies took the lead in the top of the seventh, the Nationals appeared poised to snatch it back. Alex Cora led off with a double, and a bunt single by Ian Desmond put runners on the corners with no outs. Despite the trouble, Manuel trusted his ace, and Halladay (7-3) came through.

"He was there all the way. He got out of it, didn't he?," Manuel said. "That's who he is. He wants to be there, and that's what a No. 1 does."

Halladay knocked down a grounder up the middle by Rick Ankiel and caught Cora in a rundown for the first out, then Danny Espinosa popped out before Werth's strikeout.

"It was a grind, it really was," Halladay said. "Fortunately we did enough offensively. They picked me up a couple times. It was a nice way to end it, for sure."

The Phillies' offense put Halladay ahead in the top of the seventh with three big at-bats by left-handed hitters -- Chase Utley, Howard and Ibanez -- against the Nationals' left-handed reliever Sean Burnett.

Starter Livan Hernandez left with a 4-3 lead in the seventh inning after allowing a one-out single to Placido Polanco. Burnett (0-2) then walked Utley and Howard followed with a run-scoring single to tie the game. Ibanez's sacrifice fly scored Utley with the go-ahead run.

"That was a key point for us in the game, to be able to come back," Howard said. "It was a hard-fought game by both teams, back and forth."

Halladay gave up solo home runs to Michael Morse, Espinosa and Laynce Nix, the first time this season he's given up multiple homers in a game. Halladay had allowed a total of two home runs in his first 11 starts.

"It's hard to walk away from this one," Burnett said. "Livo threw a good game. Our offense put up four on Halladay, that's not going to happen too much. We need a win, and we had it won if I can execute and get the lefties out I'm supposed to get."

Halladay is 11-1 against the Nationals and Expos franchise since losing June 28, 2002, in Montreal.

Washington has now lost three in a row and eight of nine.

Howard and Ibanez keyed two big Phillies rallies. The back-to-back homers started a three-run fourth inning to put Philadelphia ahead after Washington had taken a 2-0 lead in the second on Morse's homer and Hernandez's sacrifice squeeze bunt.

Espinosa tied the game at 3 with a two-out home run into the right field seats in the fifth, and Washington took a 4-3 lead on Nix's shot in the sixth inning.

Manuel said he knew teams would start to score runs even against his star pitcher with the weather warming up. The temperature was 92 degrees when the game started at 1 p.m.

"This is hitting season," Manuel said. "It's hot, it's warm, they're swinging. Teams get up for Roy, which is good. He likes that. That's part of competing, and part of who he is. ... Some days you're going to get hit, and he passed the test pretty good today."

Game notesPhiladelphia is 24-0 when leading after seven innings this season. ... Ibanez has 999 career RBIs. ... Halladay has gone at least six innings in 60 straight road starts, the longest streak since Walter Johnson did it in 82 straight from 1911-1915. ... Ryan Madson pitched a perfect ninth for his 12th save in 12 chances. ... Nationals SS Desmond was held out of the starting lineup to rest, although he entered as part of a double switch in the seventh inning. Washington manager Jim Riggleman said Desmond has some "aches and pains." ... Both teams wore stars-and-stripes themed caps for the Memorial Day holiday. "If you're going to play on Memorial Day, I can't imagine anyplace else to play a baseball game than Washington, D.C.," Manuel said. "That's pretty good."

Yanks' Bartolo Colon blanks A's in complete game effort

Bartolo Colon pitched a four-hitter for his first shutout in nearly five years and Mark Teixeira homered in the first inning to help the New York Yankees beat the Oakland Athletics for the eighth straight time, 5-0 on Monday.

Robinson Cano added an RBI double in the three-run first against Trevor Cahill (6-3) and Derek Jeter recorded his 2,981st career hit and drove in a run for the Yankees, who have won 22 of 26 games against Oakland since the start of the 2008 season.

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The offensively challenged A's were shut out for the sixth time this year, getting only four baserunners against Colon (3-3) to snap a season-longest four-game winning streak.

Colon allowed no walks and struck out six to snap a five-start winless stretch with his first shutout since blanking Seattle 4-0 on July 5, 2006, with the Angels.

This marked the latest step in a remarkable comeback season for the 38-year-old Colon, who was out of baseball a year ago and was brought by the Yankees to spring training on a minor league deal. Colon earned a spot in the rotation early this season and has maintained it with a 3.26 ERA in the opening two months of the year.

The Yankees have now won back-to-back games behind strong starts from Colon and CC Sabathia after losing the first two games of their nine-game West Coast trip.

Cahill was shelled in two starts against the Yankees last year, allowing 14 runs in 10 innings in two losses. He started this game much the same way with a three-run first inning.

Jeter got it started with a leadoff single and scored with one out on Teixeira's 16th home run and seventh in the past 11 games. Alex Rodriguez then walked and scored on Cano's double. Cano was caught on the play rounding too far past second and Cahill settled down after that. He retired Jorge Posada to get out of the first and then gave up just one hit and no runs over the next five innings.

The Yankees then added an insurance run in the seventh. Brett Gardner and Francisco Cervelli walked and pulled off a double steal. Gardner then scored on Jeter's shallow fly to center field when Coco Crisp's throw home was far off target. Cahill allowed four runs, four hits and five walks in 6 2/3 innings and is winless in his last four starts.

That proved to be more than enough the way Colon was dealing against Oakland's struggling offense, which has the third fewest runs in the majors.

After allowing a leadoff double to Josh Willingham in the second inning, Colon retired the next 12 hitters. Kevin Kouzmanoff broke that streak with a leadoff single in the sixth.

Kurt Suzuki reached on an infield hit in the eighth before being erased by a double play. Colon then pitched around Cliff Pennington's leadoff double in the ninth to finish his ninth career shutout. He hit 95 mph on the radar gun on the final of his 103 pitches, getting David DeJesus to fly out to left to end the game.

Game notesYankees C Russell Martin was scratched before the game with a sore left big toe. His replacement, Cervelli, became the first Yankees catcher to steal two bases in a game since current manager Joe Girardi did it June 27, 1996, against Baltimore. ... Monday marked the 16th anniversary of Jeter's first career hit. ... A's starters have allowed four runs or fewer in 28 straight starts, the longest streak for the team since a 32-gamer in 1980-81.

Mets in talks to sell minority share

The cash-strapped owners of the New York Mets have agreed to sell a minority share of the team to hedge fund manager David Einhorn for $200 million.
The move, announced Thursday, would allow owners Fred and Jeff Wilpon and Saul Katz to retain control of the team. The influx of money would help pay debts and cover operating expenses.
A definitive agreement is expected by late June, according to the team.
The sale will be for less than 49 percent of the team and will not include a stake in SNY, the television network owned by the Mets, sources close to the deal tell ESPN's Karl Ravech.
Fred Wilpon told Sports Illustrated this week the team is "bleeding cash" and could lose up to $70 million this year. He also told the magazine the club might slash payroll next year. The Mets received a loan from Major League Baseball in November to help cover expenses.
In addition, Wilpon, who became ensnared in the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme, is facing a multimillion-dollar lawsuit filed by a court trustee seeking to recover money for Madoff's other victims.
Enter Einhorn, the 42-year-old president of private investment firm Greenlight Capital, Inc., who spent the first seven years of his childhood in New Jersey and as a young boy once dressed in a homemade Mets jersey for Halloween.

"It's been a very smooth process for the last several months," Einhorn said of the state of negotiations during a news conference Thursday. "We're very far along as understanding the business operations and prospects."
Asked if he anticipated buying a larger stake in the team down the road, Einhorn said: "What I'm interested right now is the opportunity in front of me right now. We don't even have a completed transaction yet."
Once that transaction is completed, Einhorn said, he plans to retain his share of the Mets for years to come.
"I have no real plans to sell this investment. I expect to hold it for a long, long time," he said. "The financial rewards, they'll take care of themselves over time."
The Mets said Einhorn will be a "preferred partner" and have a "nonoperating investment" in the team. The club said the deal is subject to the "negotiation of a mutually acceptable definitive agreement. Major League Baseball must give its approval.
"(Einhorn's) investment immediately improves the franchise's financial position," Wilpon said in a statement released by the Mets. "Equally important, David's intelligence, integrity and success in both business and civic affairs provides us with another perspective in evaluating what is best for this organization and our fans, and we welcome his input."

Recently, Forbes magazine estimated the value of the Mets had dropped 13 percent in one year to $747 million -- and that was before the team's projected losses this season.
A Cornell graduate, Einhorn is the author of "Fooling Some Of The People All Of The Time," a book about his battle with private investing firm Allied Capital. He serves on the boards of Hillel, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research and the Robin Hood Foundation. He finished 18th at the World Series of Poker in 2006 and donated his winnings of $659,730 to the Fox foundation.
Einhorn made financial news Wednesday when he told an investment conference audience that Microsoft Corp.'s board of directors should replace CEO Steve Ballmer. According to SEC filings, Greenlight owns nearly 9.1 million shares of the software giant.
But when it comes to the Mets, Einhorn said he would let the Wilpons handle the team's day-to-day management.
"The Wilpons remain in control of the team," he said. "I'm just looking forward to the overall experience this investment will lead to."

By: http://www.espn.go.com/

Buster Posey has broken bone

San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey has a broken bone in his left ankle, a source close to the situation told CSNBayArea.com on Thursday.
Posey was injured in a 12th-inning collision at home plate with the Marlins' Scott Cousins, who was scored the winning run on the play in Florida's 7-6 win.
"It's way serious," the source told CSNBayArea.com, adding that S-rays taken after the play revealed the fracture, according to the report.
An MRI was scheduled for Thursday, at which time the Giants said they would discuss the results.
Cousins tagged from third base on a sacrifice fly, beating the throw from Nate Schierholtz and lowering his shoulder to slam into Posey for a brutal, but clean, hit on the reigning NL Rookie of the Year.
Posey lay dazed, writhing in pain and curling up in a ball for several minutes as the ballpark fell silent. After several minutes, with fans chanting "Posey! Posey!" he was helped off the field by two team trainers holding his left leg and looking stunned.

By: http://www.espn.go.com/

Yanks shut down Rafael Soriano

NEW YORK -- So much for New York Yankees right-handed reliever Rafael Soriano getting back on a mound later this week.

Soriano had his throwing session on flat ground cut short on Monday afternoon, and underwent a dye MRI on Tuesday, manager Joe Girardi said before Tuesday night's game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium.
Results of the MRI, at this point, are unknown, but Girardi said the team should have them by the end of Tuesday night.

"I'm more concerned now," Girardi said. "I thought we'd have him getting ready to go on a rehab assignment soon. But that doesn't seem to be the case now."

Girardi had said that Soriano was "progressing" on Sunday, and the 31-year-old was slated to get back on a mound sometime after the Yankees completed their six-game homestand, which will conclude on Wednesday afternoon.

But Girardi said Soriano complained of "soreness" in his right elbow on Monday, and has been shut down for an indefinite period of time.

Soriano was placed on the disabled list on May 17 (retroactive to May 14) with right elbow inflammation.

General manager Brian Cashman was adamant that he wanted no part of Soriano in the offseason, but he was overruled by Yankees officials, who inked Soriano to a three-year, $35 million free agent contract.

So far, the move has clearly not worked out. Soriano has struggled to adapt in his new environment -- both on and off the mound.

He has already given up nine earned runs -- or three fewer than he surrendered all of last season, when he had 45 saves as the closer of the Tampa Bay Rays.

In 15 innings out of the Yankees bullpen, Soriano has a 1-1 record and a 5.40 earned run average.

Soriano recently caused a stir in Tampa when he told reporters that the Yankees' woes had to do with the offense, and he could not be utilized in his regular role with the team continually trailing.

Soriano has had significant arm issues in the past. He dealt with a serious elbow injury in 2008, and also underwent an MRI on May 17, the same day he was placed on the DL.

Girardi said the first MRI came back "clean," but he doesn't sound as optimistic this time around, meaning Soriano could be out much longer than initially thought.

Mike Mazzeo is a regular contributor to ESPNNewYork.com.

Bryan Stow family suing Dodgers

The family of San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow, who was brutally beaten in the parking lot at Dodger Stadium on Opening Day, filed a civil suit against the Dodgers in Los Angeles Superior Court Tuesday morning.
The suit seeks unspecified damages to cover Stow's future medical care and as compensation for the economic damages to Stow and his two children.
"It's fairly simple," said Thomas Girardi, the attorney representing the family. "The Dodgers have shown a total disregard for public safety. They've gotten rid of security people. They've had all these incidents at their games, more than other teams. There's also a known gang presence. What did they think was going to happen?"
Girardi said that the family insisted on repaying much of the money that has been raised for the Bryan Stow Fund since the attack, except for a scholarship for Stow's children that was donated by Giants slugger Barry Bonds because it "means so much to them."
The Dodgers declined comment because it is a pending legal matter.
In the wake of the attack, the Dodgers agreed to pay for increased security presence supervised by Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck and hired former L.A. police chief Bill Bratton to work on long-term measures to improve stadium security.
The team also paid for the Stow families' hotel bill at the Downtown Los Angeles Marriott while Stow was hospitalized at County USC Medical Center for almost seven weeks and pledged nearly half of the $250,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Stow's attackers.
Girardi said that the crux of his argument will be that there were steps the Dodgers could have taken to better protect public safety, but willfully chose to put their resources in other areas.
"They've added all these off-duty police officers now. Would this have happened if they were there before?" Girardi said. "The Dodgers have, at least in our view, inappropriately spent their money. They pay the highest rent of any other team in baseball, and of course we know they pay that rent to the McCourts.
"This incident wouldn't have happened if just proper care had been taken with regard to security, and now the results are hideous."
Girardi added that the suit does not stipulate an exact figure on damages because it is so difficult to quantify the economic impact on Stow's family and what his long-term medical needs will be.
"Although everybody is hopeful that this turns out well, facing the cold hard facts, we know that this is going to have a lifetime impact on Mr. Stow," Girardi said. "Not to mention his two children, who have been robbed of their relationship with him."

Ramona Shelburne is a columnist and reporter for ESPNLosAngeles.com.

Robinson Cano's 2-run double helps Yankees beat Orioles in 15

The New York Yankees survived a very scary moment, a blown save by Mariano Rivera and staggered through 10 straight scoreless innings before pulling away to another victory over the Baltimore Orioles.


Robinson Cano doubled in two runs in the 15th inning, and the Yankees needed nearly 5 hours to forge a 4-1 win Wednesday night.

After allowing Cano's pivotal hit, Mike Gonzalez struck Chris Dickerson in the head with a fastball. Gonzalez was immediately ejected, and Dickerson remained motionless on the ground for several minutes.

After being helped to his feet, Dickerson -- who borrowed teammate Jorge Posada's batting helmet after his was cracked by the pitch -- walked to first base before leaving the game.

Dickerson was taken to a hospital for a CAT scan.

"He was lucid and he knew where he was. He had a lump on his head," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "You have to do everything precautionary now. We're just making sure he's OK. It's standard operating procedure."

Asked if he thought Gonzalez tried to hit Dickerson intentionally, Girardi said, "I don't get into that. It's just a scary part of the game when a guy gets hit there."

Gonzalez insisted that the pitch was not thrown intentionally inside.

"No way, shape or form was I trying to hit Dickerson or anything like that," he said. "In fact, I was trying to throw a fastball down and away. It got away from me and I'm sorry it hit him."

The right-hander was surprised about being ejected from the game, but said the moment was almost surreal.

"It was kind of shocking. I hit him and obviously I get thrown out, and I was more worried about how he was doing down there," Gonzalez said. "First of all, I didn't understand why (I was ejected) and second of all, Dickerson is down there on the ground and that's the last thing you want to see."

Alex Rodriguez had a season-high four hits for the Yankees, whose only run before the 15th was an unearned tally in the fourth. New York improved to 5-0 against Baltimore this season.

Mark Teixeira led off the 15th with a single off Jeremy Accardo (2-1). Rodriguez followed with a single, and Cano hit a liner to right-center that Adam Jones bobbled, allowing Cano to take third.

Gonzalez then hit Dickerson. With Baltimore out of relief pitchers, Jeremy Guthrie -- the scheduled starter for Thursday -- came in and gave up a sacrifice fly to Brett Gardner.

New York's Hector Noesi (1-0) worked four innings in his major league debut, allowing two hits and walking three.

It was the longest game of the season for both teams, and the longest for the Orioles at home since a 17-inning affair against Philadelphia in 2003. The game lasted 4 hours, 56 minutes.

Baltimore loaded the bases with one out in the 11th against Luis Ayala before Boone Logan struck out Luke Scott and retired Matt Wieters on a fly ball. Wieters was a major league-best 15-for-27 with runners in scoring position before the out.

Noesi worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the 12th, and the Yankees failed to score against Accardo in the 13th after getting runners at the corners with no outs.

"It was a great pitcher's duel," Girardi said. "Both teams had a couple of opportunities that got squandered in extra innings, but we got the huge hit from Cano."

New York starter Bartolo Colon pitched eight innings of three-hit ball and left with a 1-0 lead, but the usually reliable Rivera gave up a run in the ninth to force extra innings. It was his third blown save in 16 tries -- the second against Baltimore.

Singles by Jones and Nick Markakis put runners at the corners with one out in the ninth before Vladimir Guerrero hit a sacrifice fly.

"Any time a closer blows a save, you usually don't win that game," Girardi said.

Colon struck out seven and walked one. The right-hander, who turns 38 next week, retired 13 straight at one point and ended his performance by striking out the side.

Baltimore starter Zach Britton went seven innings, allowing an unearned run, six hits and three walks. He has gone 19 1/3 consecutive innings without yielding an earned run, lowering his ERA to 2.14.

In the New York fourth, Rodriguez got a leadoff single and moved to second on a groundout. Orioles second baseman Robert Andino then failed to catch a pickoff throw from Britton, apparently the result of trying to apply the tag before securing the ball. Rodriguez took third, and Nick Swisher followed with a sacrifice fly.

By: espn.go.com

Mets to put David Wright on DL

The New York Mets will place third baseman David Wright on the disabled list with a stress fracture in his lower back before Wednesday night's game, the team announced Tuesday.

First baseman Nick Evans has been promoted from Triple-A Buffalo to take Wright's place on the 25-man roster.

"I was shocked by it," manager Terry Collins said Monday about the diagnosis. "... He is without a question the face of this team. His presence in this lineup is something we need. We're going to ask other guys to pick it up as of today. But I was shocked and unhappy."

Wright had an MRI on his ailing back on Monday at the Hospital for Special Surgery.

He also underwent a CT scan on Monday night, as the team sought a second opinion, which confirmed the results of the MRI.

Surgery will not be required.

Wright will have no baseball baseball activity for 10 days, and then be re-evaluated at the Hospital for Special Surgery before beginning baseball activity.

Wright suffered the injury on April 19 against the Houston Astros, when he tried to make a diving tag on left fielder Carlos Lee at third base.

"I knew I did it on the Carlos Lee play at third base," Wright said Monday. "We were playing Houston at home. I don't know what the date was. About the first week, I felt stiff and sore, but I felt that would go away the next couple of weeks. I was on some medication and some anti-inflammatories that really wasn't doing much. That explains it now, because it's not a muscular thing.

"It's what could be a stress fracture. ... It's probably me somewhat being stubborn and not getting it checked out earlier. I don't think it really limited me too much or prohibited me from doing anything. It was just a little uncomfortable."

He last played on May 15 in Houston and went 0-for-3 with a walk.

This is the second time that Wright has been placed on the DL in his career (2009).

The 28-year-old is hitting just .226 with six homers and 18 RBIs, but wouldn't use the injury as an excuse for his recent struggles.

Since April 19 -- a span of 23 games -- Wright is hitting .205 (17-for-83) with seven extra-base hits.

"By no means is this thing a cop-out or an excuse for what I've done so far," Wright said. "I've played through it and when I take the field, I expect to play at a certain level, and thus far I haven't been able to play at that level.

"This two weeks, I'm going to get better. I'm going to get back in the lineup and I'm going to start playing at the level I expect."

The 25-year-old Evans compiled a .248 batting average with five home runs and 16 RBIs in 36 games for the Bisons.

He hit .306 (11-for-36) with one home run and five RBIs in 20 games with the Mets last season.

Mariners designate Milton Bradley

SEATTLE -- Slumping Milton Bradley was cut by the Seattle Mariners on Monday, leaving the temperamental outfielder again looking for a new job.

The Mariners designated Bradley for assignment, giving them 10 days to trade, release or send him to the minors. He was making $13 million this season.

"The situation with Milton is that we determined he's not part of our future and not part of our present," Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik said.

The 33-year-old Bradley hit .218 with two homers and 13 RBIs in 28 games. He was suspended for one game last week for bumping an umpire, ejected Friday for arguing a called third strike and booed by home fans over the weekend for the perception he was dogging it on defense.

"It was not a particular incident," Zduriencik said. "It's just an issue with our evaluations of where we are and where we are going, and our estimates were that he did not fit. That's why the decision was made."

Asked if Bradley had a negative impact on the clubhouse, Zduriencik said: "That's hard to say. I don't know that. I think it gets down more to what we're trying to accomplish and where we're headed."

Bradley is a career .271 hitter with 125 home runs since starting with Montreal in 2000. He has played for eight teams in the majors, including five clubs in the last five seasons.

The Mariners also cut utilityman Ryan Langerhans. He hit .171 with three home runs and six RBIs in 19 games.

Seattle called up outfielders Carlos Peguero and Mike Wilson from Triple-A Tacoma. Peguero played five games for the Mariners last month and Wilson will be making his big league debut.

Bradley got two hits Sunday in the Mariners' 10-inning loss to the Chicago White Sox. The defeat left Seattle at 16-19.

Bradley came to Seattle on Dec. 18, 2009, from the Chicago Cubs for pitcher Carlos Silva. Bradley publicly blamed Chicago's fans and media for running him out of town.

The former All-Star hit .205 with eight home runs and 29 RBIs in 73 games for the Mariners last year. He was sidelined for the season on Aug. 17 because of knee surgery.

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Carl Crawford walk-off double lifts Red Sox by Twins in 11

BOSTON -- Carl Crawford knew he hit it well enough to reach the Green Monster, and he had one thought when rounded first base.


"I saw him and I was yelling, `Go, go," Crawford said after his double off the left-field wall scored pinch-runner Jose Iglesias on close play at the plate in the 11th inning, lifting the Red Sox to a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Twins on Monday night.

Crawford, who was hitting just .135 a little over a week ago, had a game-ending single May 1 when the Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners. Now, he's starting to enjoy his time with the Red Sox a lot more.

"It's always nice to get walkoffs," he said, breaking into a brief smile. "I'll take `em all the time."

The double was Crawford's only hit of the night, but extended his hitting streak to nine games after his dreadful start. He's now hitting .211.

"He's still settling in," Boston catcher Jason Varitek said.

Jonathan Paplebon, who blew his first save opportunity of the season, was more than happy to talk about Crawford's recent success.

"I think we're seeing a guy that goes out there, that's a great athlete and is doing what he can to pick up the ballclub," he said.

Boston beat Minnesota in the final three games of a four-game series, and won for the 11th time in 12 games in Fenway Park.

"He probably didn't get out as far as he could have, but he was probably running about as fast as he'll ever run," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said of Iglesias, who was called up Sunday when Marco Scutaro was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained oblique.

The Red Sox closed out their longest homestand of the season at 6-5.

Hideki Okajima (1-0) pitched two innings, getting out of a two-on, one-out jams in each, for the win.

"He had been rested for a few days, which is good, because we'd leaned on Matt Albers and Daniel Bard a little bit and wanted to stay away from them," Francona said of using Okajima two innings. "He did a good job."

Jed Lowrie drew a one-out walk against Jim Hoey (0-1) and Iglesias pinch ran. Crawford lofted one off The Wall and Iglesias slid in just ahead of the throw from short left by shortstop Matt Tolbert, knocking catcher Rene Rivera over as he scored.

"We just haven't been scoring runs and it continued tonight," Gardenhire said, who was ejected in the ninth inning by home plate umpire Joe West.

"He didnt want me to come on his dirt," he said.

Gardenhire came out after Danny Valencia's attempted check swing was called a strike by West. Valencia appeared to want him to appeal to first.

The Twins, last in the majors in scoring, have put up three or fewer runs in 10 of their last 12 games, and 22 times this season.

Minnesota put runners on first and second with one out in the 10th against Okajima, but Tolbert struck out and Alexi Cassila bounced into a fielder's choice. They did it again in the 11th, but Ben Revere grounded into a fielder's choice and Rivera struck out.

Jacoby Ellsbury singled in the third inning, extending his hitting streak to 18 games for the Red Sox. It's his longest since a career-best 22-gamer in May 2009.

Boston wasted a chance in the bottom of the inning. Dustin Pedroia had a one-out double against Jose Mijares and advanced on Adrian Gonzalez's grounder to second. After Kevin Youkilis was walked intentionally, David Ortiz grounded out into the shift in short right.

The Red Sox broke up the scoreless game in the fifth. Varitek had a leadoff double and advanced to third on Ellsbury's ground out to second. After Pedroia bounced to short with the infield in, pitching coach Rick Anderson visited starter Nick Blackburn before Gonzalez lined the first pitch to left, making it 1-0.

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