ASTROS: Houston outfielder Carlos Lee had surgery to repair his broken left little finger on Monday, the team said. Lee suffered multiple fractures in the finger when he was hit by a pitch Saturday at Cincinnati. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks.
BRAVES: Skip Caray, the voice of the Braves for more than three decades, was remembered Monday for simple contributions like cracking jokes to players in the clubhouse and his cries of “Braves win!” during the 1995 World Series.
Friends, colleagues and Braves players remembered the broadcaster at a two-hour memorial service at an Atlanta church. Caray, who came from a dynasty of baseball commentators — including his father, Hall of Famer Harry Caray — died Aug. 3 at his home. He is survived by his wife and four children.
Pitcher John Smoltz, Braves general manager John Scheurholz and announcer Pete Van Wieren, who worked alongside Caray for 33 years, were among more than 400 who attended. Current Braves players Jeff Francoeur, Chipper Jones and Brian McCann served as pall bearers; Terry Pendleton, Otis Nixon, Tom Glavine and Brian Jordan were among players past and present in the pews.
“His ability to capture the moment was second to none,” said Van Wieren, who estimated the pair called more than 5,000 games together. “Win or lose, we had a great time every day.”
Caray and Van Wieren began broadcasting Braves games with Ernie Johnson Sr. in 1976. Caray’s sarcastic wit made him a popular lead voice of the broadcast team, and his fame grew as TBS carried Braves games to a national audience for 30 years.
CARDINALS: St. Louis pitcher Chris Carpenter will return to St. Louis today to have his strained right triceps evaluated. Carpenter was hopeful Monday of remaining on track for his next start, a day after he was removed from a game in Chicago. The team said in its medical report that Dr. George Paletta would evaluate the injury.
MARLINS: Florida placed reliever Doug Waechter on the 15-day disabled list Monday because of right shoulder inflammation, and recalled Logan Kensing from Class AAA Albuquerque to take his place. The move was retroactive to Thursday.
Waechter was 3-2 with a 3.51 ERA in 39 games with Florida this season. Kensing was 1-0 with a 6.39 ERA and three saves in 13 games for Albuquerque after he was optioned to the minors July 9.
PADRES: San Diego bench coach Craig Colbert was suspended one game Monday for a dispute with umpires last week. Colbert will serve the penalty tonight when the Padres play Milwaukee. He was also fined an undisclosed amount by Major League Baseball disciplinarian Bob Watson.
Padres manager Bud Black was ejected in the eighth inning in New York after plate umpire Todd Tichenor refused to allow a double switch. Colbert took over as acting manager and was ejected moments later after arguing from the dugout. The Padres lost to the Mets 5-3.
REDS: Three Cincinnati minor leaguers were suspended 50 games each Monday after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. All three players were part of the Reds’ Dominican summer league teams. Pitchers Jonathan Correa and Elvin Silvestre were penalized for using Boldenone and outfielder Cesar Colmenares tested positive for Nandrolone.
A total of 20 minor leaguers have 50-game bans since July 25. All but one tested positive in the Dominican and Venezuelan summer leagues. Prior to this year, baseball didn’t announce suspensions in those two leagues because of legal issues.
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