Cubs Pitchers Prior, Wood Go on DL

[W-OLF]

Cubs Pitchers Prior, Wood Go on DL

Published: 3/29/06, 1:25 AM EDT
AP) - Mark Prior and Kerry Wood went on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday along with the hopes of many Chicago Cubs fans.

Neither move came as a surprise, as both have been rehabbing from injuries.

"We knew neither one of them would be ready for opening day," Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said. "Mark has been throwing again and has had no discomfort. Woody has been very, very good."

Prior, who has not pitched in a spring training game, has a strained muscle in the right shoulder. Wood had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee this month to repair a minor cartilage tear. He began throwing shortly after that. He threw 60 pitches from a bullpen mound earlier this week.

Also at Cubs' camp in Mesa, Ariz., Marquis Grissom announced his retirement after a 17-year major league career.

The 38-year-old outfielder signed a minor league contract in January and had hoped to make the team as a backup. But he batted just .200 in 17 spring training games.

"It's been a pretty fun ride along the way," Grissom said. "I came into spring training to this organization to really see if I could go out and play baseball again for another year. And I got that opportunity from the Cubs. It didn't work out. Over a period of the last two, three weeks, I've been going in and out, strength-wise, body-wise emotionally, whether I wanted to do it, could I do it."

Also, Kansas City claimed infielder Tony Graffanino off waivers from Boston, returning him to the team that traded him to the Red Sox eight months ago.

"It's a place I'm going where I feel like I'm wanted and I should get decent playing time there," Graffanino said. "This wasn't a good situation for me."

Dodgers 4, Tigers 2

At Vero Beach, Fla., Rafael Furcal had back spasms while running the bases during the first inning.

The spasms began while he was returning to first on a pickoff attempt by pitcher Jason Grilli. Furcal stayed in the game and advanced to third on a double by J.D. Drew.

Trainer Stan Johnston attended Furcal there, and Furcal then scored on a wild pitch. He left the game at the end of the inning, went to the clubhouse for treatment and spent three hours in the trainer's room.

Twins 8, Blue Jays 6

At Dunedin, Fla., Toronto starter Scott Downs left when his right knee felt irritated while he warmed up for the third inning.

"It was the tendon area under his knee," manager John Gibbons said. "Hopefully it's not serious."

Scott Baker pitched six solid innings in his effort to become Minnesota's fifth starter. Baker allowed three runs, four hits and one walk.

Rockies 6, Giants 6

At Tucson, Ariz., Colorado pitcher Byung-Hyun Kim strained his right hamstring running the bases.

Kim, who pitched four games for South Korea in the World Baseball Classic, pitched two innings Tuesday, then batted in the seventh and walked. Cory Sullivan doubled and Kim appeared to get hurt when he rounded third. He limped home and was tagged out.

Colorado manager Clint Hurdle said Kim's injury will open an opportunity for other starting hopefuls.

"It's a situation we can live with because we worked to create the depth we have," Hurdle said. "We have people in place to step up. We have the depth to be able to deal with things like this now."

Zach Day, Josh Fogg and Sun-Woo Kim are among the candidates to replace Kim.

Marlins 12, Mets 7

At Jupiter, Fla., Chris Aguila went 3-for-3 to raise his batting average to .327, Reggie Abercrombie went 1-for-2 with two RBIs (.386) and Eric Reed went 3-for-5 with two RBIs (.327) for the Marlins. One of them is expected to play center field and one could end up starting in left field.

Right-hander Brian Bannister won a spot in the Mets' rotation when Aaron Heilman was put in the bullpen. Heilman allowed one run in two innings against the Marlins.

Braves 5, Astros 4

At Kissimmee, Fla., Marcus Giles doubled twice and walked before calling it a day after just 3 1/2 innings, and Brian Jordan had a two-run double for Atlanta. Brad Ausmus hit an RBI single in the fourth and a two-run triple in the fifth for Houston. Ausmus didn't have a triple last season.

Pirates 7, Devil Rays 5

At Bradenton, Fla., Pittsburgh left-hander Paul Maholm cruised through five innings, allowing one hit and one walk, before a brief streak of wildness led to a four-run sixth. Scott Kazmir, the Devil Rays' slated opening-day starter, gave up seven runs - four earned - and 11 hits in 4 1-3 innings, elevating his ERA to 9.24. Jason Bay went 4-for-4 and is hitting .464.

Orioles 3, Cardinals 2

At Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Jeff Suppan allowed one run and five hits in five innings, struck out five and walked none for St. Louis. Baltimore's Bruce Chen gave up two runs and four hits in six innings.

Athletics 8, Rangers 3

At Phoenix, Frank Thomas drove in two runs on sacrifice flies for Oakland. He sharply lined the ball to left in a four-run third against starter Juan Dominguez, then added a fly to center in the fifth. Mark DeRosa and Phil Nevin homered for Texas.

Cubs 4, Mariners 3

At Peoria, Ariz., Chicago's Michael Barrett hit a home run off Stephen Kahn leading off the ninth inning, a drive into the lawn seating area beyond left-center field. Angel Pagan's three-run home run in the eighth inning tied the game at 3 for the Cubs.

Padres 7, Angels 6

At Tempe, Ariz., Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez gave up three runs in the ninth inning and took the loss. Ben Johnson's grounder went under the glove of third baseman Edgardo Alfonso for a hit to bring in the go-ahead run with two outs, a few batters after first baseman Dallas McPherson committed an error on a chopper to first.

Diamondbacks 3, White Sox 1

At Tucson, Claudio Vargas allowed one run and two hits in six innings, a few hours after he learned he had won the competition to be Arizona's fifth starter.

Reds 10, Red Sox 5

At Sarasota, Fla., Boston's Manny Ramirez and Alex Cora hit solo homers off left-hander Dave Williams, who gave up three runs in five innings. Boston right-hander Matt Clement allowed six runs in 5 1-3 innings, leaving during a five-run sixth inning prolonged by errors.

Nationals 8, Indians 3

At Viera, Fla., C.C. Sabathia shrugged off three long homers - two by Ryan Zimmerman and one by Jose Guillen - and pronounced himself ready to start the major league opener Sunday night at Chicago.

Phillies 3, Yankees 0

At Tampa, Fla., Yankees pitcher Carl Pavano gave up one run and one hit over one inning in his first game action since August. Pavano, slowed by a back injury this spring, missed the second half of last season because of a shoulder injury and finished 4-6 with a 4.77 ERA in 17 starts.

Royals 6, Brewers 4

At Surprise, Ariz., Kansas City's Aaron Guiel hit a solo home run and Denny Bautista allowed one run in six innings.

Rickie Weeks hit a three-run homer in the eighth off Royals left-hander Andrew Sisco.
credit BellSouth

[YouDontKnowMe1633]

You hate to see this to these great young talents.. Unless of course you are a CWS fan or just a Cubs hater haha