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Roundup Tanner, Pops, Sister Sledge return for Three Rivers finale
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Former Pirates managers Jim Leyland, Chuck Tanner and Bill Virdon are returning to Pittsburgh for the final baseball game at Three Rivers Stadium. Leyland, Tanner and Virdon will join current manager Gene Lamont to present the lineup cards before Sunday's game with the Chicago Cubs. The Pirates on Monday also announced the schedule of entertainment and tributes to complement the three-game series with the Cubs, with neither team making the NL playoffs. Dock Ellis, who threw the first pitch at the ballpark 30 years ago, will throw out the ceremonial first ball Sunday. Hall of Fame first baseman Willie Stargell will be honored before Friday's game. Stargell, ill for part of the last year, helped lead the Pirates to a World Series championship in 1971, their first full season in Three Rivers Stadium. The team said it will remove tarps from the outfield upper decks to make more seats available. Sunday's final game is sold out, but tickets remain for games Friday and Saturday. Sister Sledge, whose song "We Are Family" was the anthem of the 1979 World Series champion Pirates, will sing the "Star-Spangled Banner" before Sunday's final game. The Pirates will move next season into PNC Park, just east of Three Rivers.
Eldred tightens the screw and heads to moundCHICAGO -- Nearly three weeks after a surgeon implanted a screw near his damaged right elbow, Cal Eldred is going back to the mound, trying to pitch his way into the Chicago White Sox's playoff rotation. "I don't want to have a screw in my arm, but it's there. This is going to be a little different but it's what I have to do to get back out there on a normal basis," Eldred said Tuesday, the day before he was scheduled to pitch a couple of innings against the Boston Red Sox. Eldred, with a long history of elbow problems and survivor of ' ligament replacement surgery in 1995, last pitched July 14, when he left a game against the Cardinals because of pain. The diagnosis was a stress fracture of his elbow, the third straight season he's had the injury. Dr. James Boscardin, the White Sox's senior team physician, inserted a stainless steel screw that's 4-to-5 inches long into the elbow on Sept. 7, saying it was done for Eldred's long-term future. He and another injured starter, James Baldwin, who's battling shoulder tendinitis, were scheduled to pitch Wednesday against the Red Sox. Depending on how they do, they could get another outing against Kansas City during the final weekend, then could pitch in Game 3 of the playoffs. "If you had asked me when I was coming home from the surgery, I would have said, 'No way,' " Eldred said. "Things have progressed and bounced back well. But we're not there yet. "This hasn't been a simple situation for me or the trainers or the doctor or (manager) Jerry (Manuel) or (pitching coach) Nardi (Contreras), the guys who have to make the decision." Eldred said when he chose the surgery to try and save his career. "Either do this surgery or go home and be a dad full time," he said. "When you put as many years into baseball as I have at this point, you have the experience. When I'm healthy, I know can be successful. That was the deciding factor." Eldred, 32, was 10-2 before the injury and his resurgence helped the White Sox start quickly and eventually win the AL Central. "The main thing with Cal is that he's healthy afterward," Manuel said. Mike Sirotka and Jim Parque will start the first two games of the playoffs. The Game 3 starter could be Elder or 14-game winner Baldwin. Sean Lowe, initially disappointed Tuesday when he thought he was being sent back to the bullpen, despite several effective starting performances, might also get the call if Eldred and Baldwin aren't ready. "Sean has done well," Manuel said. "But when you have a Cal Eldred and James Baldwin, if they show up and show they have progressed to a point where they can pitch in playoff games, then you have to go with them."
Seattle manager switches rotation aroundSEATTLE -- Freddy Garcia was scheduled to start for the Seattle Mariners against Texas on Wednesday in place of Jamie Moyer. Moyer will start Thursday against Texas, and Paul Abbott goes Friday night at Anaheim in the opener of the Mariners' final series of the regular season. "Then I have (John) Halama and (Aaron) Sele," Mariners manager Lou Piniella said. "That's our rotation. If it needs to be altered, we will." Halama (13-9, 5.14) is the only left-hander in the Mariners' rotation. Garcia (8-5, 3.95) faces rookie Doug Davis (7-5), while Moyer (13-10, 5.32) pitches against Rick Helling (15-12). The Mariners started Tuesday night with a half-game lead over Oakland in the AL West. "My scenario is winning, period," Piniella said. "Whatever it takes." Piniella said he wouldn't be shy about quickly replacing his starter this week. "If the starter is pitching well, there's nothing better than I'd like to see than see him go eight innings," he said. "But whatever we need from the fifth inning on, we'll go to. We'll have the right person in there."
Belle back after missing 20 games with hip problemBALTIMORE -- Albert Belle returned to the Baltimore Orioles' lineup Tuesday after missing 20 games with an inflamed right hip. "I talked to him today and he said he thought he was ready to play, so we put him in the lineup," Orioles manager Mike Hargrove said. Belle returned to his accustomed cleanup spot as the Orioles' designated hitter in the opener of a three-game series against Toronto. Hargrove, however, didn't sound hopeful when asked if Belle could play the outfield again this season. "I expect him to play pretty much every day and we've got six games left. ... I don't want to completely rule (the outfield) out, but we'll DH him for now," Hargrove said. Belle is three RBIs away from his ninth straight 100-RBI season, but his power numbers this season have been disappointing. Barring an unexpected power surge over the season's final week, his streak of eight straight 30-homer seasons will end. Belle has 20 home runs, his fewest since hitting 28 during his first full major-league season in 1992 with Cleveland. "I think it's the injury. ... The first of June he went on a hot streak and then someone turned off the faucet and he started limping," Hargrove said.
Indians' Nagy done for yearCLEVELAND -- Charles Nagy decided to end his disappointing season before he did anymore damage to his right elbow or the Cleveland Indians' playoff chances. Nagy, who pitched in pain while trying to come back from elbow surgery in May, was placed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday. "It felt like I was jacking a knife into my arm every time I threw the ball," a dejected Nagy said. "I was hoping it would feel better, but it just went the other way." Nagy, the Indians' most consistent pitcher in the 1990s, never fully recovered after having arthroscopic surgery on May 19 to have chips removed from his elbow. He was on the DL from May 17-Sept. 14 before being activated to face the Boston Red Sox. Nagy went 0-3 with a 12.66 ERA in three starts, and he lasted a season-low 2 2-3 innings Sunday at Kansas City.
Gonzalez out for remainder of season with herniated diskKANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Right fielder Juan Gonzalez will miss the Detroit Tigers' final series of the season with a herniated disk in his back. The diagnosis was made after an MRI exam Monday in Detroit. Gonzalez had missed the previous five games with back spasms. Gonzalez, who did not make the trip to Kansas City, hit .289 with 22 homers and 67 RBIs in his first season with Detroit, which acquired him from Texas after the 1999 season. He turned down an eight-year extension from the Tigers worth about $140 million and is eligible for free agency after the World Series.
Brett's front office contract with Royals extendedKANSAS CITY, Mo. -- George Brett's contract as a vice president for baseball operations of the Kansas City Royals has been extended three years. Brett, elected to the Hall of Fame in 1999, works with general manager Allard Baird scoring amateurs and mentoring players in the Royals' system. Brett, 47, began working in the Royals front office after he retired following the 1993 season.
Phillies' Rolen out with nagging backCHICAGO -- Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Scott Rolen left Tuesday's game after one inning because of a stiff lower back that has bothered him. Rolen struck out in the first but did not take the field defensively in the second. Rolen, who has hit in 15 of 20 games this month, has had back problems all season.
Minor leaguers help police catch robbery suspectST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Three minor league pitchers turned out to be handy catchers when they helped police nab a suspected bandit and return $7,000 in cash to a bank. St. Petersburg Police spokesman Dan Bates said the three players in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays organization intercepted a man running from SouthTrust bank near Tyrone Square Mall and knocked a bag of cash out of his hands. The man fled into the mall, and the players later pointed him out to officers. No one was injured in the Monday incident. Arrested was Gonzalo Viamontes Jr., 39, of New York, was booked into the Pinellas County Jail on one count of bank robbery. He was being held on $50,00 bail. Police said the assist came from Delvin James, 22, and Jesus Colome, 21, both pitchers for the Orlando Rays; and Marquis Roberts, 21, a pitcher for the Hudson Valley Renegades. Bates said a man had gone into the bank and demanded cash around 3 p.m. The players, in town for the Devil Rays instructional league, were getting out of their car at the mall when they saw a man running across the street and nearly being hit by several cars. He had a cash bag in his hand. Bates said the players slapped the bag out of the man's hand and cash scattered on the ground. The man yelled at the players to leave him alone and he ran off into the mall. The players collected the money and returned it to the bank. While they were talking to police, they spotted the man coming out of the mall. Police gave chase and the man gave up without a fight, Bates said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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