Barry Bonds provided a silent update on his troublesome right knee. The rain and wind could practically be heard from his corner in the clubhouse. "Shhhhhh, shhhhhh," Bonds signaled, his finger to his mouth. How's his knee, which he "tweaked" in Sunday's game against Atlanta? "OK," the slugger signaled by touching his thumb and index finger together to form the sign. |
The San Francisco Giants weren't about to try to start another game at 9 p.m. local time. The Giants' series opener against the NL champion Houston Astros was rained out Tuesday, with the game to be made up as part of a split doubleheader Thursday. The first game was already slated for the afternoon, with the makeup game now scheduled for that night. There were heavy rains and high winds all day Tuesday in the Bay Area, with more bad weather in the forecast for the coming days. |
Jim Leyland looked and sounded worried. In his first season as a manager since 1999, he knows a successful comeback is unlikely if the Detroit Tigers are plagued by a slew of injuries, as they were last year. The Tigers do not have a key player out with a significant injury, but they do have a handful slowed by ailments. "I'm very concerned right now about getting this club 100-percent healthy and ready to go," Leyland said Monday. "That's why I'm not in a very good mood today. |
--RHP Taylor Buchholz strengthened his case for the fifth starter spot in the rotation by six scoreless innings of two-hit ball Monday against the Tigers in Lakeland, Fla. Buchholz walked one and struck out five, lowering his ERA to 1.96 this spring. --C Humberto Quintero, who was competing for the backup catcher's job, was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock on Monday. |
Now that the Jeff Bagwell issue has been resolved, the Astros headed into the final week of the season with two questions: who will win the final spot in the rotation (likely RHP Fernando Nieve or RHP Taylor Buchholz) and who will be the backup catcher (Raul Chavez, Humberto Quintero or Eric Munson). ROTATION: 1. RHP Roy Oswalt 2. LHP Andy Pettitte 3. RHP Brandon Backe 4. LHP Wandy Rodriguez 5. |
An insurance claim filed by the Houston Astros to try to recoup $15.6 million of injured first baseman Jeff Bagwell's contract has been denied. |
Left-hander Carlos Hernandez was reassigned to minor league camp Monday morning, but he might not be out of the fight for the fifth starter job. Right-handers Fernando Nieve, Taylor Buchholz and Steve Sparks remain in the battle. Nieve and Buchholz are on the 40-man roster. The Astros don't need a fifth starter until April 11, so manager Phil Garner says Hernandez is still a possibility. |
Marcus Giles doubled twice and walked before calling it a day after just 3 1/2 innings, and Brian Jordan had a two-run double Tuesday in the Atlanta Braves' 5-4 victory over the Houston Astros. The Braves had three doubles in a four-run first inning against Wandy Rodriguez, the Astros' fourth starter. Although he settled down with four consecutive scoreless innings, Rodriguez lost for the fourth time in five spring appearances. |
