Mets’ Santana not expected to pitch again in 2012 Mets’ Santana not expected to pitch again in 2012 ADVERTISING NEW YORK — New York Mets ace Johan Santana is headed to the disabled list and not expected to pitch again
Mets’ Santana not expected to pitch again in 2012
NEW YORK — New York Mets ace Johan Santana is headed to the disabled list and not expected to pitch again this season.
General manager Sandy Alderson said Wednesday that the left-hander was going on the 15-day DL with inflammation in his lower back.
Doctors are not recommending surgery.
Santana has had an up-and-down season in his return from shoulder surgery that kept him out more than a year. He threw the team’s first no-hitter June 1 but is 3-7 with an 8.27 ERA since throwing a career-high 134 pitches in that game.
He is 6-9 with a 4.85 ERA in 21 starts overall.
The two-time AL Cy Young Award winner is in the fifth season of a $137.5 million, six-year contract.
Boy hit by line drive to get $14.5 million in lawsuit
A New Jersey teenager left brain-damaged after being struck by a line drive off a metal bat while he was playing in a youth baseball game will receive $14.5 million to settle his lawsuit against the bat manufacturer, Little League Baseball and a sporting goods chain.
The settlement of Steven Domalewski’s lawsuit was announced in state Superior Court on Wednesday morning in Passaic County. The boy, now 18, lives in Wayne, N.J. His family had claimed the metal bat was unsafe because baseballs could carom off it at much faster speeds than wooden bats.
“The Domalewskis are still saddened by the tragic events of June 2006, but this settlement provides them with some relief and comfort that Steven will get the care he needs for the rest of his life,” said the family’s attorney, Ernest Fronzuto. “He still can’t perform any functions of daily life on his own.”
Stephen D. Keener, president and CEO of Little League Baseball Inc., said the settlement guarantees that “Steven Domalewski will receive the lifetime care he will require as a result of this tragic accident, a type of accident that is extremely rare in youth baseball.”
Yankees starter Nova to have right shoulder tested
CHICAGO — New York Yankees right-hander Ivan Nova has tightness in his pitching shoulder and is to fly back to New York on Thursday for tests.
Nova, the losing pitcher Tuesday night against the Chicago White Sox, said he felt something in his shoulder while making a sixth-inning pitch to Alexei Ramirez, the final batter he faced in the Yankees’ 7-3 defeat. Nova threw 84 pitches in six innings, giving up six runs and seven hits.
“We don’t really think it’s a big thing, but we want to be sure,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said Wednesday. “We don’t think he’s going to make his next start. DL will be determined on what the doctor says after he sees the doctor tomorrow.”
Girardi said David Phelps would be the primary candidate to replace Nova in the rotation if Nova has to miss his next start.
After a strong start this season, Nova is 11-7 with a 4.92 ERA and just 1-4 with a 7.28 ERA in his last eight starts.
Rangers’ Darvish to miss start with quad problem
ARLINGTON, Texas — Texas Rangers right-hander Yu Darvish will miss his next start on Thursday because of tightness in his right quadriceps muscle.
The Rangers say the move to skip Darvish’s start is for precautionary reasons after he felt discomfort Tuesday during a bullpen session.
Roy Oswalt will pitch in Darvish’s place on Thursday against the Minnesota Twins.
In a statement released by the Rangers, Darvish emphasized that he doesn’t consider this to be an injury, but after consulting with manager Ron Washington and coaches, missing a start was believed to be the best course of action.
Darvish would be in line to start next Tuesday at home against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Slugger Bautista expected back with Blue Jays on Friday
DETROIT — Toronto outfielder Jose Bautista is on track to return to the team Friday.
Manager John Farrell says the slugger had six at-bats Wednesday morning in a simulated game. He’ll be in the lineup with Double-A New Hampshire on Thursday before joining the Blue Jays at Baltimore a day later.
Bautista hasn’t played since July 16 because of a left wrist injury. He’s hitting .244 with 27 homers on the year.
Before Wednesday night’s game at Detroit, Toronto put shortstop Yunel Escobar on the paternity list and recalled right-hander Chad Beck from Triple-A Las Vegas.
Rockies outfielder Gonzalez off bereavement list
NEW YORK — Carlos Gonzalez has been reinstated from the bereavement list by the Colorado Rockies.
The All-Star slugger was set to bat cleanup and play left field Wednesday night against the New York Mets. He missed the previous three games to go home to Venezuela following the death of his grandfather.
To make room for Gonzalez, the Rockies sent right-hander Guillermo Moscoso to Triple-A Colorado Springs. Manager Jim Tracy says Moscoso will return to the majors when active rosters expand to 40 in September.
In other news, star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (groin surgery) and backup first baseman Jason Giambi (viral syndrome) are scheduled to begin rehab assignments Friday with Double-A Tulsa. Tracy says neither player will be back before September.
Brewers release veteran starter Randy Wolf
MILWAUKEE — Randy Wolf doesn’t really know what has been wrong with him this season, and understands why the Milwaukee Brewers released him on Wednesday.
And while the move wasn’t an easy one to take, the veteran left-hander went out of his way to say that he doesn’t harbor any bitterness toward the Brewers — even though he got the bad news on his 36th birthday.
“It’s a really tough pill to swallow,” Wolf said. “Luckily, I’ve always been humble in this game, and realized what this game is like.”
Wolf was 3-10 with a 5.69 ERA in 24 starts for Milwaukee this year and had lost his last four decisions. The Brewers owe him about $3.7 million in remaining salary and a buyout.
Wolf said things have been “brutal” this year but he doesn’t know why.
His velocity isn’t down from what it usually is, although he has struggled with his command.
Najera retires as NBA player to be Development League coach
FRISCO, Texas — Eduardo Najera, the first Mexican-born player drafted in the NBA, retired Wednesday to become the coach of the NBA Development League’s Texas Legends.
Najera was drafted by Houston in the second round in 2000. He played 12 NBA seasons with Dallas, Golden State, Denver, New Jersey and Charlotte.
The Legends said Najera will now be the first Mexican-born head coach under the NBA umbrella. The deal also includes Najera becoming a minority owner of the Legends, who are co-owned by Mavericks president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson, and holding a front-office position with the NBA team.
Roddick loses in third round at Winston-Salem Open
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Andy Roddick was eliminated from the Winston-Salem Open on Wednesday, losing a third-round match to Belgium’s Steve Darcis in straight sets.
The fifth-seeded Roddick, a former world No. 1 player now ranked 21st, fell to the 81st-ranked Darcis 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-3) in the final hard-court tournament before next week’s U.S. Open in Flushing Meadow, N.Y.
Roddick had 13 aces — the fastest recorded at 135 mph — but the 2003 U.S. Open champion struggled to find consistency with his ground strokes and Darcis’ short game, whose drop shots caught Roddick flat-footed several times.
Other winners in the third round Wednesday included fourth-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov of the Ukraine and seventh-seeded Sam Querrey. Dolgopolov beat 14th-seeded David Nalbandian of Argentina 6-3, 6-4, and Querrey downed ninth-seeded Feliciano Lopez of Spain 6-3, 6-4.
Wozniacki remains undefeated in New Haven
NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Second-seeded Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic has moved into the quarterfinals of the New Haven Open with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over NCAA champion Nicole Gibbs.
The 2011 Wimbledon champion, the only Grand Slam winner in the New Haven field, is coming off a title in Montreal, her first ever in North America, and a run to the semifinals in Cincinnati.
Earlier, Caroline Wozniacki improved her record in New Haven to 19-0, beating Sofia Arvidsson 7-6 (4), 6-2.
Wozniacki is playing in the tournament for the fifth time and is the four-time defending champion.
She will play Dominika Cibulkova in the quarterfinals. Cibulkova beat Andrea Petkovic 6-4, 6-1.
Kvitova will face fellow Czech player Lucie Safarova, a 6-4, 6-0 winner over Jie Zheng 6-4, 6-0.
2013 Hall of Fame finalists: Chiefs’ Culp, Packers’ Robinson
CANTON, Ohio — Defensive tackle Curley Culp and linebacker Dave Robinson have been chosen by the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s seniors committee as finalists for election into the class of 2013.
The two will join 15 modern-era candidates yet to be selected on a list from which the Hall of Fame class will be chosen. The selection meeting is Feb. 2, the day before the Super Bowl in New Orleans.
Culp was a six-time Pro Bowl selection who played six-plus season with Kansas City. He helped the Chiefs to a Super Bowl championship following the 1969 season. He also played for Houston and Detroit.
Robinson was a first-round pick of Green Bay in 1963. A three-time Pro Bowler, he helped anchor a defense that won three straight championships, including the first two Super Bowls. He played 10 seasons with the Packers and two with Washington.
From wire sources
