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Roundup Strained elbow lands El Duque on 15-day DL
NEW YORK (AP) -- Just when the New York Yankees' pitching staff was starting to get back in order, Orlando Hernandez went on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained right elbow. Hernandez, who missed a start last month because of the elbow, was bothered again in his start Thursday and the Yankees placed him on the DL Tuesday. "I just know he doesn't feel right. He doesn't feel 100 percent," general manager Brian Cashman said. "His velocity was down the last outing and we saw the results. We need to step back and shut him down." Hernandez, 8-7 with a 4.57 ERA, will undergo an MRI in Tampa, Fla., on Wednesday. He also will have tests on his back, which bothered him earlier in the year. Tests done last month by two doctors showed no structural damage. "I don't know to what degree I'm injured," Hernandez said through a translator. "But if I'm going on the disabled list they must think I'm hurt." Hernandez had two strong outings after returning from the elbow injury -- including eight innings against the Mets on July 7. But he allowed eight runs and nine hits in 5 2-3 innings of an 11-9 loss to Florida on Thursday. "It's the elbow again," manager Joe Torre said. "It just doesn't feel right. He'll have more tests to find out if anything else is going on." The Yankees lost Hernandez again on the day Denny Neagle made his debut for the team. New York's pitching staff was ravaged by injuries last month, but the addition of Neagle in a trade with Atlanta and the healthy return of Roger Clemens appeared to smooth the situation out. Now, questions about the team's pitching, which were rampant earlier in the season, have resurfaced with Hernandez hurt and David Cone still ineffective. "We've been inconsistent because our pitchers haven't been here consistently," Torre said. "It's tough not being able to have the same guys out there every time, but we can still put five quality pitchers out there." Cone will still be one of them despite posting only one win in 17 starts this season. Cone (1-8) has lost a career-high six consecutive decisions and has a 6.63 ERA, but Torre remains confident in the right-hander. "I'm going to believe in this man until he decides he doesn't want to do it anymore," Torre said. "There is no player who has a bigger heart than David Cone. It hurts to watch because I know he's hurting." Reliever Darrell Einertson was recalled from Triple-A Columbus to take Hernandez's place. Hernandez goes on the DL retroactive to July 14, so he will be eligible to return July 29. Hernandez's injury moves Dwight Gooden back into the rotation. Gooden, traded by Houston and cut by Tampa Bay earlier this season, pitched five strong innings for the Yankees as a starter on July 8 against the Mets and 5 1-3 innings of relief on Sunday against Philadelphia. He had been working on adjusting to a relief role, but the longtime starter should have little trouble moving back into the rotation. "He can get unsettled in a hurry," Torre said. "This is a bonus for him after he was let go by Houston and Tampa Bay. All of a sudden he resurfaced with us very quickly." Gooden will start Friday against Tampa Bay, which released him in May. "It will be fun to get even with those guys," he said. "But more importantly I'm happy to be back in the big leagues and having fun." Ramiro Mendoza, sidelined since June 25 with weakness in his right shoulder, will pitch in a simulated game in Tampa on Wednesday. He could be back in the majors during the Yankees' road trip that begins next week. Mendoza had been starting most of the season but could return to the bullpen when he comes back. "We told him we don't know what his role will be," Torre said, "because we don't know what the condition of our staff will be when he gets back." Tigers send Gonzalez to DLDETROIT (AP) -- Juan Gonzalez, out with a sore left ankle, was placed on the 15-day disabled list by the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday, retroactive to July 8. Gonzalez, batting .284 with 13 homers and 35 RBIs, has missed 24 of Detroit's 90 games due to a variety of injuries this season, but this was the first time he has gone on the disabled list since 1997, when he played for the Texas Rangers. Gonzalez, who will be a free agent at the end of the season, has missed 11 of the Tigers last 12 games. A CT scan Monday on the ankle failed to disclose the problem. Gonzalez underwent a bone scan Tuesday, but results of that test weren't immediately known. The Tigers were unsure if they would recall a player from the minor leagues to fill Gonzalez's spot on the roster.
Canseco activated from disabled listST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- Jose Canseco, who missed 46 games during an eight-week stay on the disabled list with a strained left heel, returned to Tampa Bay's lineup Tuesday night. "It feels good. It's been a while," the 36-year-old slugger said. "Hopefully the foot holds up. We'll see how it goes. We'll take it one day at a time." Canseco, sidelined since May 24, was the designated hitter and batted fifth against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday. It marked only the 32nd time that Canseco and Tampa Bay's other three power hitters -- Greg Vaughn, Fred McGriff and Vinny Castilla -- have been in the lineup together. "The foot is definitely not 100 percent, but who does play 100 percent. Hopefully, I can help out with the bat," he said. Canseco was hitting .261 with seven homers and 18 RBIs entering the game. He hit .279 with 34 homers and 95 RBIs last season despite missing two months after undergoing back surgery. Manager Larry Rothschild resisted the temptation to activate Canseco before the All-Star break, preferring to give him as much time as possible to get healthy. But with the team in the middle of a stretch of 34 games in 35 days, he didn't want to delay his return any more. "We've done about everything we could do," Rothschild said. "We're getting to the point of the season that we need to play him." To make room on the roster, the Devil Rays optioned outfielder Randy Winn to Triple-A Durham. He was hitting .227 with no homers and eight RBIs in 36 games.
Tigers acquire Morris from RedsDETROIT (AP) -- The Detroit Tigers, desperate for help at first base since Tony Clark went out with a bulging disc in his back, acquired Hal Morris from the Cincinnati Reds for cash Tuesday night.Morris, who has started only five games this season, was hitting .222 with two homers and six RBIs for the Reds. But with Clark and utilityman Rob Fick both on the 15-day disabled list, the Tigers had been using Shane Halter at first base. Morris, who entered the season ranked 18th among active players with a .305 career average, can become a free agent at the end of the season. "I'm not really surprised by the move," Morris said. "Everyone in our clubhouse anticipated movement of some kind. I'm a little surprised it was me, though. "I would have liked to finish the year in Cincinnati, because then I could have said I played 10 years in one place. "I'm excited about spending time in the Detroit area, having gone to (college at) Michigan." Morris said he was unsure what his role would be with the Tigers. Earlier in the day, Tigers outfielder Juan Gonzalez was placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to July 8.
Royals second baseman activatedKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The Kansas City Royals activated second baseman Carlos Febles from the disabled list Tuesday and sent pitcher Brett Laxton to Triple-A Omaha. Febles had been on the disabled list with a strained left shoulder since June 5. "It's good to see him back," Kansas City manager Tony Muser said. "He was picking up his game down there. He definitely injects some speed into our lineup. He's a high-energy person." Laxton, who was 0-1 with an 8.10 ERA, will start for Omaha on Friday. "He's a young guy with a good arm," Muser said. "Pitching every six or seven days is not conducive to development." Febles was in the lineup Tuesday against the Chicago Cubs and batted ninth.
Indians bring up Australian CairncrossCLEVELAND (AP) -- Cameron Cairncross, an Australian left-hander who sat out two seasons after undergoing elbow surgery, was called up from the minors on Tuesday by the Cleveland Indians. Cairncross, a side-arming reliever, had his contract purchased from Double-A Akron. To make room, the Indians designated reliever Andrew Lorraine for assignment. Cairncross went 1-0 with a 1.52 ERA and four saves in 28 relief appearances at Akron. He got the news that he was being sent to Cleveland on Monday night just moments after giving up a two-run homer and taking the loss for the Aeros. "I came into the clubhouse and the coaches said they wanted to see me in the office," he said. "I thought, 'Oh, no, I'm going to get it. Then they said, 'You're going up, and I said, 'Where to Buffalo?' "They said, 'No to Cleveland.' My eyes filled up and I about started blubbering. It's about as good a feeling as I've ever had in my life." The 28-year-old Queensland native is the first Australian to play for the Indians and the 10th to appear on a major league roster. He sat out the entire 1995-96 seasons after undergoing "Tommy John" surgery on his elbow. Cairncross, who began his playing career in Australia as a left-handed shortstop, would have likely played on the Australian Olympic team in Sydney if the Indians hadn't called.
Padres' Boehringer, Loewer have surgerySAN DIEGO (AP) -- Padres right-handers Brian Boehringer and Carlton Loewer underwent season-ending operations on their pitching shoulders Tuesday. Doctors Lewis Yocum of the Anaheim Angels and Jan Fronek of the Padres operated. Boehringer, who had rotator cuff surgery last August, started this season in the rotation and went 0-3 with a 6.38 ERA before going on the disabled list with a strained right shoulder. He returned and made four relief appearances before going on the DL again with tendinitis. Doctors repaired a partial tear in Loewer's rotator cuff. He never threw a pitch this season. One of three pitchers obtained from Philadelphia for Andy Ashby, he broke his lower left leg and dislocated his ankle when he fell from a hunting blind near his Louisiana home in early January. Those injuries healed, and then Loewer developed the shoulder problems.
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