METS: Moises Alou will have surgery for a hernia and miss the start of the season, the most serious in a string of recent setbacks for the depleted New York Mets.
After reporting discomfort in his right groin, the oft-injured Alou left spring training camp Wednesday and was sent back to New York for tests. He is scheduled to undergo surgery today.
The 41-year-old left fielder is expected to resume baseball activities in four to six weeks, making it likely he’ll be sidelined for at least most of April.
Alou batted .341 with 13 home runs and 49 RBI in 328 at-bats last season, when he was limited to 87 games because of a quadriceps injury. Now, six of New York’s eight regulars are sidelined, plus one member of the rotation — and it’s still early in spring training.
Besides Alou, the Mets are missing first baseman Carlos Delgado (sore right hip), right fielder Ryan Church (concussion) and catcher Brian Schneider (hamstring). Center fielder Carlos Beltran (both knees), second baseman Luis Castillo (right knee) and pitcher Orlando Hernandez (toe) are yet to play in a spring training game because they’re still rehabbing from offseason surgery.
In the bullpen, Duaner Sanchez reported soreness after his outing Friday against St. Louis, his first game since injuring his shoulder in a July 2006 taxi accident. He might not be ready to start the season.
Then there’s the bench.
Ruben Gotay hurt his right ankle sliding into home plate Sunday, though tests didn’t show a fracture. Marlon Anderson bruised his sternum Saturday in a collision with Church. Damion Easley (ankle), Endy Chavez (ankle and hamstring) and Jose Valentin (knee) haven’t played in a game yet because they’re still recovering from previous injuries.
Remember all that excitement and bravado after Johan Santana was acquired from Minnesota last month? With the best pitcher in baseball suddenly on their side, the star-studded Mets were supposed to be NL favorites.
But age is becoming a major question mark for this team, which might be too injury-prone to win.
“I myself have never seen so many injuries at one time,” general manager Omar Minaya said. “The good thing is it’s early in camp.”
DODGERS: Los Angeles lost a key player to injury when second baseman Jeff Kent was scratched from the lineup Wednesday with a strained hamstring. He could miss at least a week. “He’s a veteran and with those guys when they get to this stage of their career you give them a little more leeway, a little more time,” manager Joe Torre said.
CLEMENS: A Democratic congressman asked the FBI to drop its investigation of Roger Clemens because the pitching great had suffered enough from the probe into steroid use.
Rep. Anthony Weiner, a candidate for New York mayor in 2009, said the FBI is too busy with more important crimes to spend time trying to determine if the ex-Yankees pitcher lied to Congress about taking performance enhancing substances.
“Roger Clemens has been shamed. I think the public record is replete with examples of how he did not likely tell the truth. What is the public benefit of continuing with an FBI investigation?” Weiner said.
Weiner also suggested his fellow lawmakers had gone far enough with inquiries into steroids use by professional athletes and should let professional sports league handle the matter.
“The real incentive to clean up this mess is not a governmental one,” said Weiner, a Mets fan whose district includes parts of Queens and Brooklyn.
The FBI took over the Clemens case after Congress asked the Justice Department to look into Clemens’ testimony at a Feb. 5 deposition and a Feb. 13 hearing. Weiner is not a member of the House Oversight and Government Committee, which heard from Clemens.
Clemens testified he never used steroids or human growth hormone; his former trainer testified he injected Clemens with such substances at least 16 times from 1998 to 2001.
If investigators conclude Clemens lied on critical details, he could face charges of perjury, making false statements or obstruction of justice.
In a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey, Weiner wrote: “Whether or not Roger Clemens may have committed perjury should not compete with real national security threats for the FBI’s time, attention and resources.”
YANKEES: A brain biopsy on New York broadcaster Bobby Murcer showed no sign that a tumor had reoccurred.
An MRI exam last week showed an area of concern, which prompted the biopsy Monday at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
“We received great news this morning,” Murcer said in statement released by the Yankees. “The biopsy revealed scar tissue. It showed no signs of cancer. It’s what we had hoped for all along.”
Murcer had surgery in December 2006 — four days after being diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.
The 61-year-old Murcer played for the Yankees, San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs from 1965-83, batting .277 with 252 home runs and 1,043 RBI. He has been a popular broadcaster on Yankees games for 23 seasons, winning several Emmy Awards.
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