Indians place closer Kerry Wood on disabled list
CLEVELAND — Kerry Wood is back on the disabled list — for the 14th time in his career and second with the Cleveland Indians this year.
Cleveland’s closer didn’t pitch this season until May 8 because of a strained muscle in his upper back that landed him on the DL during spring training. Now, he has a blistered right index finger.
“Kerry was dealing with this for a while and it just didn’t get better during the All-Star break,” manager Manny Acta said Saturday. “He wasn’t available Friday, though we didn’t want to say anything and let the guys in the other dugout know.
“With a doubleheader today, we just couldn’t risk being caught short in the bullpen.”
Cleveland recalled reliever Jensen Lewis from Triple-A Columbus to replace Wood, who last pitched Sunday in Tampa Bay.
“I’ve been better — and worse,” Wood said after Cleveland beat Detroit 4-3 in Game 1 on Saturday.
“I first got a little blister right after I came off the DL, but worked through it. It came back a couple weeks ago, then split on Sunday. Hopefully, I stopped pitching before it got too bad.”
Wood has had an uneven second season with Cleveland, which signed him to a $20 million, two-year contract before the 2009 season. With the Indians rebuilding and in last place in the AL Central, the team may try to trade him to a contender before the July 31 deadline.
The 33-year-old right-hander is 1-4 with a 6.30 ERA and eight saves in 23 games this season. He went 3-3 with 20 saves in his first year with Cleveland.
Wood burst upon the big league scene as a 20-year-old starter for the Chicago Cubs in 1998, striking out 20 in a 2-0 victory over the Houston Astros in his fifth career start. He missed the entire 1999 season after elbow surgery in March, marking the first of 12 trips to the DL with the Cubs — the last coming in July 2008 because of a blistered right index finger.
“This one isn’t as bad,” Wood said. “The thing is, I never had this as a starter. I even had a little one last year but it didn’t get bad enough to keep me out.”
Yankees honor Sheppard; Steinbrenner laid to rest
NEW YORK — On the day George Steinbrenner was laid to rest in Florida, the New York Yankees gave a performance that would’ve riled up The Boss.
Reid Brignac had his first two-homer game and drove in a career-high five runs and Carlos Pena homered and had three RBIs, helping the Tampa Bay Rays silence the Yankee Stadium crowd Saturday with a 10-5 victory.
Hours earlier, the Yankees paid tribute to longtime public address announcer Bob Sheppard during Old-Timers Day festivities. Sheppard died last Sunday at 99.
At a cemetery in Trinity, Fla., about a half-hour drive from the Tampa home of the late owner, Steinbrenner’s casket was placed inside a mausoleum Saturday afternoon.
Minor leagues flourishing again
DES MOINES, Iowa — Minor League Baseball officials said that just under 21.5 million fans attended games through the end of June, an increase of 934,704 through the season’s first three months from 2009.
Officials credit better weather this season and lingering concerns about spending too much in a still-struggling economy. According to a Minor League Baseball survey, it costs an average of $57.70 to take a family of four to one of its ballparks; the average cost for a major league game is $194.98, according to a report released in April by sports marketing publication Team Marketing Report.
The minor leagues set records for overall attendance for five straight seasons last decade, topping out at just over 43.2 millions fans in 2008. Those numbers slumped to 41.6 million last year, but the early signs point to a comeback this season.
Eleven of the 15 minor leagues affiliated with the majors have reported increased crowds through June compared to 2009.
In tiny Clinton, Iowa, home of the Class A, Seattle Mariners-affiliated LumberKings, group sales have help drive a marked increase in attendance. General manager Ted Tornow said the Midwest League team has sold 79,162 tickets through 42 dates this season, as opposed to just 58,899 through 41 dates in 2009,
MILB officials estimates that by the end of the season, minor league clubs will draw roughly 1.5 million more fans than they did in 2009.
“I’m not sure anyone’s sure we’re at the bottom of this economy thing, (but) people are settling in and want some normalcy in their life,” Minor League Baseball president Pat O’Conner said. “In many of the communities we occupy, normalcy in their life involves going to ballgames. People are starting to come back.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
