Yankees missing Swisher due to sore heel
July 23, 2010
NEW YORK (AP)—Right fielder Nick Swisher(notes) was a late scratch from the New YorkYankees’ lineup because he woke up with a sore left Achilles’ heel.
Swisher was initially set to bat second Friday, but when he arrived atYankee Stadium before the game against the Kansas City Royals he told the teemhis heel was hurting. He says he couldn’t figure out when he hurt it.
Swisher says he is available to pinch hit.
Colin Curtis(notes) will take his spot in right field and bat ninth. Brett Gardenerwas moved from the No. 9 hole and will bat leadoff. Derek Jeter(notes) moved from firstto second in the order.
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Royals OF DeJesus out at least 10 weeks
July 23, 2010
NEW YORK (AP)—David DeJesus(notes) will have surgery to repair a torn tendon in hisright thumb and the Kansas City Royals outfielder will miss at least 10 weeks.
DeJesus sprained his right thumb crashing into the fence in center fieldThursday night in Yankee Stadium, a play that resulted in an inside-the-parkhomer for Derek Jeter(notes). The Royals initially called the injury a sprain Fridaywhen he was placed on the disabled list. But DeJesus saw a specialist inCleveland and it was determined he would have surgery Monday.
“We lost two pretty good hitters yesterday,” Royals manager Ned Yost saidof DeJesus and Alberto Callaspo(notes), who was traded to the Angels on Thursday forright-hander Sean O’Sullivan(notes) and a minor league pitcher.
DeJesus was batting .318 with five homers and 37 RBIs this season and wasthe subject of trade rumors as the July 31 deadline approached.
“He’s had a great year, at a really high level,” Yost said. “Anall-around player of his caliber is rare.”
The Royals recalled outfielder Alex Gordon(notes) from Triple-A Omaha on Friday andinserted him into the lineup as the right fielder against the Yankees.
Gordon was sent to Ohama in early May to convert him to an outfielder.Gordon’s glove at third base was considered a plus when he was drafted No. 2overall in 2005 out of Nebraska. But has made 44 errors in 329 major leaguegames at third, including four in 10 games this year.
The 26-year-old Gordon was hitting .315 with 14 home runs and 44 RBIs in 68games for Omaha. He practiced playing balls off the wall in right field earlierFriday.
Kansas City also designated Anthony Lerew(notes) for assignment to make room forO’Sullivan, who will make his second start in five days Sunday against theYankees. On Tuesday, O’Sullivan gave up two hits and two runs in six innings inhis first start of the season for the Angels.
“He’s going to have to make adjustments, like (the Yankees) are going tohave to make adjustments for him,” Yost said.
O’Sullivan posted a 2.08 ERA in 13 innings for the Angels. The 22-year-oldwas one of the Angels’ top pitching prospects.
“Just take it one pitch at a time,” he said about facing the Yankeesagain.
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Slumping Phillies dismiss hitting coach
July 23, 2010
PHILADELPHIA (AP)—Phillies manager Charlie Manuel dismissed hitting coach MiltThompson on Friday and replaced him with Greg Gross, hoping to jump start anoffense that’s been struggling for nearly two months.
Gross has been with Triple-A Lehigh Valley for the past three seasons, andDouble-A Reading before that. He was the hitting coach for former Philliesmanager Larry Bowa from 2002-04, and played for World Series teams withPhiladelphia in 1980 and 1983.
“I looked at our hitting and thought something had to be done,” saidManuel, a former hitting coach with the Cleveland Indians. “If you would havetold me we would have hit this way, I would have argued with you forever.”
Thompson had been Philadelphia’s hitting coach since 2005, when the teamfinished second in the National League in runs. The offense has been a bigreason that the Phillies have been such a success the past few seasons, leadingthe league in runs in 2006, ’07 and last season.
“Milt didn’t swing a bat for us, didn’t chase those balls in the dirt ortake fastballs down the middle. It was one of the hardest decisions I evermade,” Manuel said. “He’s a good friend of mine, but at the same time, I feltwe had to try something.”
Injuries to Jimmy Rollins(notes), Chase Utley(notes), Placido Polanco(notes) and Carlos Ruiz(notes) havehurt the team’s consistency this season. Philadelphia ranks just 12th in the NLin batting (.254) and on-base percentage (.322) and sixth in runs, and have beenheld to one or less 23 times in 95 games.
“You don’t expect anybody to be out,” Polanco said before Friday night’sgame against the Colorado Rockies. “We’ve been around long enough to know whatwe’re supposed to be doing.”
The Phillies entered Friday trailing Atlanta by seven games in the NL East,after leading by five games on May 17. Philadelphia has a reputation forcharging back in September, as they did against the Mets in 2007 and ’08, andManuel reminded his players of that Friday.
“When we see how our at-bats are, I think we need more focus, morepreparation,” Manuel said. “We need to go back and play baseball the Phillyway. We had it and it’s gotten away from us. It doesn’t mean that changing thehitting coach will bring that part back, but I felt like we need a new person.Something like that might make a difference.
“I talked about out team. We have 67 games to play,” Manuel said. “I’veseen us make up seven games in 17 games and win our division (in 2007). All wehave to do is get back to playing baseball like we can, or the way that we’veplayed before.”
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MILER</sponsor> </driver> </grid> <grid row=”6″> <driver country=”UNITED STATES” firstname=”Shelby” id=”2150641″ lastname=”Howard” rookie=”No”> <pole>11</pole> <qualify measurement=”mph” speed=”108.411″/> < (PA SportsTicker)
July 23, 2010
SC’s Ocean Course getting ready for 2012 PGA
July 23, 2010
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)—It took nearly two decades for The Ocean Course to enticethe world’s top golfers back.
Organizers want to make sure it won’t take that long for the next one afterthe PGA Championship in 2012.
The Ocean Course was built on Kiawah Island near Charleston for the 1991Ryder Cup matches. The course’s maddening winds and unique design famouslyhumbled pros from both Europe and the United States.
The biggest event hosted since then was the 2007 Senior PGA Championship.But Kiawah Island Golf Resort president Roger Warren hopes big-time golf turnsinto a regular attraction.
Warren says there’ve been no conversations about future majors. However,it’s hard for him not to imagine The Ocean Course in those talks.
“I think the golf course is a pure U.S. Open golf course,” Warren saidFriday. “I think there are other events out there that people would look at TheOcean Course as a great test for them.”
That’s for another day, said Warren, a past president of the PGA. Right now,his focus is on his event two years from now. He and 2012 PGA Championshipdirector Brett Streba were on a regional tour reminding people that, while thepros have their sights set on the year’s final major at Whistling Straits nextmonth, their PGA major will be here before you know it.
Streba has worked onsite since last summer and has gradually ramped upstaffing levels. Even architect Pete Dye, who created the maddening layout, hasreturned to tweak areas well in advance of when Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson andthe game’s best are expected to tee it up two summers from now.
It wasn’t so long ago that PGA Tour pros coming back to the island about 40minutes south of Charleston was unthinkable.
The 1991 Ryder Cup matches were as noteworthy for difficult conditions—andscorecard carnage—as for the U.S. victory.
Mark Calcavecchia shot 8-over par the last nine holes on the final day tolose a 4-up lead, then cried on the sand dunes when he figured he’d be theAmerican goat. Two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer of Germany sparedCalcavecchia that tag when he missed a 5-foot putt on the 18th hole that gavethe cup to the United States.
Despite its striking design, The Ocean Course was left to the Atlantic,emerging every few years. It was site of the World Cup in 1997 and the defunctWarburg Cup in 2001. The course was also the ethereal backdrop for directorRobert Redford’s telling of “The Legend of Bagger Vance” in 2000.
For most of the past decade, Warren has steadily erased The Ocean Course’sreputation as an untamable monster. The course hosted the PGA Club ProfessionalChampionship in 2005, two years before the 50-and-over-set played its majorchampionship. The PGA Championship will mark the first time, Warren said, thatone course has those four events run by The PGA of America.
Warren and Streba think the course will be more than ready for its next turnin the spotlight.
“My expectation is that we’re going to succeed, have no reason to believethat we’re not,” Warren said.
Streba said the event has already sold half its 30 luxury boxes just a fewmonths into active selling. There’s enough parking for close to 20,000 carseither inside or just outside the gates of Kiawah Island. Streba said organizersare also talking about shuttle service from downtown Charleston.
The fairways have been seeded with heartier paspalum grass to replace theBermuda grass that was there before. Also, some bunker facings where balls wereburied—leader Eduardo Romero took a double-bogey 5 on the 14th hole when hisball plugged in soft sand—have been reshaped so as not to be so punitive,Warren said.
Former PGA champion David Toms was a recent visitor and, Warren said, he wasimpressed by what he and others will face two years from now.
“I think that they will get tested,” Warren said.
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Chen, Dambaugh reach US Girls Junior final
July 23, 2010
PINEHURST, N.C. (AP)—Doris Chen of Bradenton, Fla., and Katelyn Dambaugh ofGoose Creek, S.C., will meet in the finals of the U.S. Girls Junior Amateur.
The 17-year-old Chen defeated stroke-play medalist Danielle Kang of ThousandOaks, Calif, 1 up in the quarterfinals during a steamy Friday at The CountryClub of North Carolina.
Chen, who reached the semifinals last year, then defeated Korea’s Gyeol Park4 and 3.
The 14-year-old Dambaugh rolled past Ally McDonald of Fulton, Miss., bywinning four straight holes on the front side en route to a 7 and 6 victory inthe semifinals. Dambaugh ousted Stephanie Liu of St. Albans, Mo., 2 and 1, inthe quarterfinals.
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Wells pitches Cubs past Cardinals 5-0
July 23, 2010
CHICAGO (AP)—Alfonso Soriano(notes) hit a two-run homer and Randy Wells(notes) pitched sevenshutout innings to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 5-0 victory over the St. LouisCardinals on Friday.
Tyler Colvin(notes) and Geovany Soto(notes) added solo shots for the Cubs, who trailfirst-place St. Louis by 10 games in the NL Central.
Chicago Cubs' Geovany Soto… The Canadian Press – Jul 23, 5:11 pm EDT A baseball fan cools off as he… AP – Jul 23, 5:05 pm EDT
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The Cardinals failed to get a run for the second straight day afteroutscoring opponents 46-17 during an eight-game winning streak. Albert Pujols(notes)was hitless in eight at-bats in the two losses, both coming in uncomfortablyhot, humid conditions.
Wells (5-7) allowed five hits—one single in each of the second throughsixth innings—and struck out seven. It was the polar opposite of hisperformance against the Cardinals on May 28, when he gave up hits to the firstsix batters and left trailing 5-0.
Wells, who has a 1.30 ERA in his past five starts after compiling a 5.21mark in his first 15 outings, has allowed no runs in his past two games.
The biggest threat came in the sixth, when Jon Jay(notes) singled, went to secondon Pujols’ grounder and advanced on Wells’ errant pickoff attempt. Wells thenstruck out Matt Holliday(notes) and got Colby Rasmus(notes) to pop out.
Sean Marshall(notes) wrapped up Chicago’s first shutout since June 13 with twohitless innings.
Jeff Suppan(notes) (0-6) allowed five runs and 10 hits in six innings. He fell to0-4 since rejoining the Cardinals last month after Milwaukee released him. St.Louis is 39-22 in games started by Adam Wainwright(notes), Chris Carpenter(notes) and JaimeGarcia(notes) but 15-21 otherwise.
Not only did Suppan’s teammates fail to score, they also made defensivemistakes leading to three Chicago runs.
The Cubs already led 2-0 in the fifth when St. Louis second baseman SkipSchumaker(notes) botched a double play relay. Soriano then lined a homer into theleft-field bleachers. In the sixth, nobody caught Starlin Castro’s(notes) infield pop,which fell for an RBI single.
Colvin opened the game with his first career leadoff homer. He is the firstleft-handed-hitting Cubs rookie with 14 home runs since Rafael Palmeiro in 1987.
Soto hit his 14th on the first pitch of the fourth inning and has homered inthree straight games. He went deep only 11 times last season after hitting 23 asthe 2008 NL rookie of the year.
Notes: Cubs RHP Carlos Zambrano(notes), suspended by the team after a June 25altercation with teammates, could return by late next week after a few moreminor league conditioning appearances. At that time, manager Lou Piniella said,Zambrano is expected to apologize. … RHP P.J. Walters(notes) pitched two perfectinnings for the Cardinals after being called up from Triple-A Memphis. …Piniella, who will retire at season’s end, didn’t have a prototypical leadoffman during his four seasons in Chicago. “That’s something that has to beaddressed,” he said, with GM Jim Hendry standing close by. … Both Piniellaand childhood buddy Tony La Russa had brief apprenticeships before becoming bigleague managers and both said Ryne Sandberg’s lack of experience shouldn’t workagainst him as Hendry searches for Piniella’s replacement. “It just depends onwho believes in you,” La Russa said. Added Piniella: “Either you can manage oryou can’t.”
Liu, Thomas reach US Junior Amateur finals
July 23, 2010
ADA, Mich. (AP)—Jim Liu of Smithtown, N.Y., will face Justin Thomas of Goshen,Ky., on Saturday in the championship match of the U.S. Junior Amateur.
The 14-year-old Liu defeated fellow New Yorker Gavin Hall, from Pittsford, 1up in the quarterfinals on Friday morning on the Classic Course at Egypt ValleyCountry Club. Liu then won his afternoon semifinal, 3 and 2, over 14-year-oldRobbie Shelton of Wilmer, Ala.
The only lead Thomas had in his afternoon match was following the 19th hole,when he defeated Denny McCarthy of Burtonsville, Md. The 17-year-old Thomas beatScott Wolfes of St. Simons Island, Ga., 2 and 1 in the quarterfinals.
Thomas was the only semifinalist to break par in the tournaments twoqualifying rounds.
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Childress says he knows Favre better now
July 23, 2010
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP)—Minnesota Vikings coach Brad Childress says the timehe spent getting to know Brett Favre(notes) better in Mississippi will help grow theirrelationship this year if he decides to return.
Childress also says offseason visits to Favre’s home have given him moreclarity about the quarterback’s thought process about continuing his career.
Childress said the Favre situation was “all quiet” in an interview withThe Associated Press on Friday afternoon, a week before training camp starts.Favre has not declared his intention yet for 2010.
Childress also says there’s no rift between him and running back AdrianPeterson, who missed the mandatory minicamp last month for a hometown festivalin his honor in Texas. Childress says the absence “wasn’t the end of theworld.”
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Selig: San Jose’s push for A’s premature
July 23, 2010
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP)—Baseball commissioner Bud Selig says a proposed ballotmeasure on a stadium in San Jose for the Oakland Athletics is premature.
Selig said Friday he was “disappointed” to hear that Mayor Chuck Reedwants to put a measure on the November ballot to approve a stadium for the team.Major League Baseball has yet to decide whether the club can relocate.
Selig says a committee looking into the move will meet with him againMonday.
The A’s need the approval of baseball and other team owners to move to SanJose because the San Francisco Giants hold territorial rights to the area.
But the mayor said Thursday he will ask the City Council to approve aballpark measure for the ballot regardless of where the process stands.
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