Wang sidelined until at least September
Yankees ace Chien-Ming Wang is expected to be sidelined until at least September after injuring his foot running the bases, prompting club co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner to chastise the National League for playing without a designated hitter.
An examination in New York yesterday showed Wang partially tore a tendon and sprained his right foot Sunday during the Yankees' 13-0 interleague win at Houston. He will be on crutches and wear a protective boot for a minimum of six weeks, the latest blow to the team's banged-up pitching staff.
"My only message is simple. The National League needs to join the 21st century," Steinbrenner said in Tampa. "They need to grow up and join the 21st century.
"Am I [mad] about it? Yes," Steinbrenner added. "I've got my pitchers running the bases, and one of them gets hurt. He's going to be out. I don't like that, and it's about time they address it. That was a rule from the 1800s."
Making a rare appearance on the bases at an NL park, Wang pulled up rounding third and hobbled home on Derek Jeter's single.
Wang doubled over after scoring, pointed toward his right foot and was helped off the field.
"This is always a concern of American League teams when their pitchers have to run the bases and they're not used to doing it," Steinbrenner said. "It's not just us. It's everybody."
Wang is 8-2 with a 4.07 ERA in 15 starts after winning 19 games each of the last two seasons. The righthander will join injured Yankees starters Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy on the disabled list.
Mariners dismiss Bavasi
The Seattle Mariners fired general manager Bill Bavasi as the team lags with the worst record in baseball after starting the season with playoff hopes. Vice president/associate general manager Lee Pelekoudas will take over in his place. Bavasi was in his fifth season as Seattle's GM, only once turning out a club that finished with a winning record. That was last year when Seattle won a surprising 88 games, and was in contention for a playoff spot into September. That performance, and the offseason acquisitions of pitchers Erik Bedard and Carlos Silva, caused many to believe the Mariners could overtake the Los Angeles Angels in the AL West this season. But 2008 has been nothing but underachievement from the start. Despite being armed with a $117 million payroll, the Mariners entered last night with a 24-45 record . . . The Mariners made one other notable move: Ichiro Suzuki started in right field last night for the first time since the end of the 2006 season. He played 155 games in center last season and all 69 games there this season. Manager John McLaren said Suzuki will remain in right field in the foreseeable future . . . Severe thunderstorms drenched historic Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, N.Y., forcing cancellation of the final Hall of Fame Game. Despite a determined effort to play the game between the San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs, the storms packed too much rain and pelted the field with bursts of hail before officials called it off just after 2:30 p.m. Major League Baseball announced in late January that this would be the final Hall of Fame Game because of scheduling problems.
