PHOENIX -- Diamondbacks All-Star second baseman Orlando Hudson will have season-ending surgery on Monday to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb.
Hudson injured the thumb while sliding head first into third base Tuesday night. He played with the injury Wednesday, but left the game in the seventh inning and has been out since.
"It's not an injury you can play with," manager Bob Melvin said. "It's the right thing to do. We hoped it would get better but it really needs surgery. It's the type of thing you want to do right away."
Hudson has played in 139 games, hitting .294 with 10 homers, 28 doubles and 63 RBIs, which is second-most on the team.
Melvin said Alberto Callaspo will fill in most of the time for Hudson once his sore hamstring is better. Until then, Augie Ojeda will play second base.The Los Angeles Angels' offense has struggled despite keeping Jim Thome of the Chicago White Sox in check as he tries to reach a career milestone.
After splitting the first two games, the AL West-leading Angels (87-71) look wake up their bats and take a step closer to their third division crown in four years when they wrap up a weekend series with Thome and the White Sox (63-85) on Sunday.
Los Angeles bounced back from a 5-3 loss on Friday with a 2-1 victory on Saturday. The Angels took a 1-0 lead in the third inning on Vladimir Guerrero's RBI single, but Chicago countered in the bottom of the frame with an RBI single by Jerry Owens. Reggie Willits' single in the fourth drove in Howie Kendrick with the eventual game-winner.
Los Angeles' magic number for winning the West was reduced to seven after Seattle lost to lowly Tampa Bay later on Saturday.
The Angels are averaging 5.18 runs per game this season, but have scored a combined five runs in their last three contests after tallying 18 in a win against Baltimore on Tuesday. Los Angeles was went 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position on Saturday.
Thome remained at 499 career home runs as Chicago lost for the fourth time in six games. He's gone 0-for-7 in the series as he attempts to become the 23rd major leaguer in history - and third this season - to reach 500.
"That's what makes it so tough to do," Thome said. "It's not easy to go out and hit a home run when everybody wants you to. It will happen. It will happen eventually. You just got to let it happen and ultimately try to win the game."
Thome is 1-for-2 against Sunday's starter for the Angels, Joe Saunders (8-3, 3.97 ERA). He allowed four runs and 10 hits in five innings on Tuesday against the Orioles in a 10-5 win. It was his first victory in four starts since Aug. 19.
Saunders made his only appearance against the White Sox in a start on Sept. 13, 2006. He gave up seven runs and eight hits in 3 1-3 innings of a 9-0 loss.
The White Sox will counter with Mark Buehrle (9-9, 3.39), who is looking for his first win since Aug. 3. He is 0-3 with a 4.71 ERA in his last six starts, during which the White Sox have gone 1-5.
The left-hander, who has won at least 12 games the previous six seasons, pitched seven innings Sept. 6 against the Tigers, allowing one run and seven hits in a 3-2 loss. Buehrle did not factor in the decision.
"I'm just going out and doing my job," said Buehrle, who's scheduled start Monday was skipped so Chicago could get a look at one of its rookie pitchers. "I do whatever I can, and then turn it over to the bullpen. I just want one more win. That's all I'm begging for."
Buehrle is 1-4 with a 4.21 ERA in 13 starts and one relief appearance against the Angels. He is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in two starts against them this yearMIAMI -- New York Mets outfielder Lastings Milledge dropped his appeal of a three-game suspension and began serving it Saturday at Florida.
Major League Baseball suspended Milledge for arguing Thursday with umpire Jim Joyce. Milledge initially sought to have the length of the suspension reduced but decided to drop the appeal, saying he would rather sit out now than closer to the end of the season next weekend.
"I want to be there toward the tail end," he said. "I think this is the best time to take it. I thought the three-game suspension was a little harsh, but for my team I'll take it."
Upset about two calls, the Mets' excitable outfielder was ejected after he flied out. He went into the dugout, then returned to the field, resumed his argument with Joyce and had to be restrained by coach Rickey Henderson.
Milledge said he shouldn't have gone back on the field.
"I was pretty mad. I was all over the place," he said. "But it's tough right now, because everything is so personal with us trying to get in the playoffs. Everything seems so key. Every pitch of every at-bat is really, really crucial. We're so fired up."
The Mets went into Saturday's game with a 1½-game lead over Philadelphia in the NL East.PITTSBURGH -- Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson was released from a hospital Sunday after being observed overnight for a concussion sustained during a head-on collision with teammate Matt Kata.
Wilson lost consciousness briefly and appeared to have a brief seizure on the field after he and second baseman Kata struck head-on Saturday night as they ran toward each other on a grounder up the middle by the Cardinals' So Taguchi.
Wilson lay on the field for more than five minutes before sitting up groggily and being placed on a motorized cart. Wilson was alert enough while being taken by ambulance to nearby Allegheny General Hospital to call his wife, Julie, at their California home.
"We're both trying to keep the ball in the infield, but Jack took the worst of it," said Kata, who stayed in the game. "He went right down when we hit."
Wilson was well enough Sunday that he was cleared to fly home following the Pirates' season-ending game against St. Louis. Wilson did not play, and he had left the clubhouse by the time reporters were admitted after the game.
"He's got a pretty nasty headache," new Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said. "He did stay overnight, but only for observation. There was nothing of significant concern. We didn't want to send him to his house or apartment alone. He does have a concussion, but he should be fine, should absolutely be fine."
Wilson, one of the majors' hottest hitters in September, appeared in his third consecutive game Saturday after not playing since Sept. 18 due to tightness in his right hamstring and a weeklong absence to be with his wife after she gave birth to their third child.
Wilson's extended absence, cleared by interim general manager Brian Graham, was of some concern to manager Jim Tracy, who held Wilson out of the lineup for several days after he returned to the club. Wilson said he needed to put his family first, and that he was worried because his wife had complications just before the birth. Wilson and Tracy talked privately after Wilson returned to the team.
Wilson hit .483 in his final 18 games, 29-for-60, and .401 (59-for-147) in his final 46 games after July 25. He finished the season with a .296 average, 12 homers and 56 RBIs in 135 games, his second-best season in the majors offensively. He hit .308 and had 201 hits in 2004.Most likely, Dusty Baker doesn't know something you don't. He did not agree to a three-year deal believed to be worth between $11 million and $12 million to manage in Cincinnati because he thinks the Reds are ready to win now.
No, Baker has a burning desire to manage again, to not let his career end on that 66-96 downer he and last year's Cubs produced, and the simple fact is that after sitting out a year, there really aren't any ready-made situations whereby a skipper can move in and win immediately.
Cincinnati owner Bob Castellini has been wooing Baker for weeks. The Reds remain far from perfect, what with a dearth of pitching, the Ken Griffey Jr. problem (he's an older, injury-prone player past his prime that they really can't shed) and a middle-of-the-order slugger in Adam Dunn who strikes out way too often and is a defensive liability.
Baker, of course, has plenty of experience in managing superstars in various stages of decline -- Barry Bonds in San Francisco, Sammy Sosa with the Cubs -- and knows the National League extremely well. The players still love him, he still has that energy at 58, and one of the hard truths in the game is that the longer you stay away, the easier it is for clubs to forget about you.
Baker did not want to be forgotten, so he surveyed the landscape and made the best of it.
Seattle would have been a a solid fit, but the Mariners made interim John McLaren their full-time skipper.
There still might be an opening with the Yankees that could come as early as this week, but if Joe Torre is axed, Steinbrenner family favorite Don Mattingly, currently Torre's bench coach, is expected to get that job. Or perhaps former Marlins manager and current Yankees broadcaster Joe Girardi.
The St. Louis situation could be fluid depending on Tony La Russa's decision, but hiring a manager who flamed out with the hated Cubs would be a hard sell in that town.
A couple of other updates on the managerial grapevine:
Former utility infielder Torey Lovullo, who managed Cleveland's Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo this season, is a leading candidate to get Pittsburgh's vacant managerial job. One key tie: New Pirates general manager Neal Huntington was a special assistant to Cleveland GM Mark Shapiro before taking the Pittsburgh job a couple of weeks ago and thinks highly of Lovullo, who has managed in the Clevleand farm system for the past six seasons.
Don't be surprised if Kansas City hires Jimy Williams, who formerly managed Houston, Boston and Toronto. Philadelphia is bringing back all of its coaches, but Williams hasn't yet accepted -- leading to the belief that he has another good offer elsewhere. His strength is in working with young players, and the Royals have plenty. Former Oakland manager Ken Macha also is a candidate.
Both Cleveland and Boston were bleary-eyed after rolling into town at daybreak Sunday following Saturday night's wild 11-inning game that didn't end until 1:37 a.m. "That was one of the funnest games I've ever been a part of until the very end, and then it rapidly became a whole lot not of fun," Boston manager Terry Francona said. "We lost in kind of an ugly fashion at the end. Up to that point, like I kind of said last night ... it was one of the funnest, most competitive games I've ever been a part of."
The bugs were a big topic of conversation during Sunday's off day workouts at the stadium, but kind of for no apparent reason. The temperatures are nowhere near bug-inducing -- it's supposed to be in the 50s and 60s, too chilly for the midges that took over Jacobs Field during the divisional series against the Yankees. Still, Boston pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka said he brought bug spray, just in case. And Francona quipped, when asked whether he's experienced anything like that in his career, "Anytime there's been bugs on my body, I'm not sure I felt real comfortable talking about itBOSTON -- Ed Montague, known for his calm demeanor and consistent strike zone, will serve as the crew chief for the World Series. It is the fourth time he's drawn the umpiring assignment.
The six-man crew announced Tuesday includes three umpires working their first Series: Ted Barrett, Laz Diaz and Mike Everitt. Chuck Meriwether and Mike Reilly complete the crew.
Montague will be behind the plate Wednesday night when the Colorado Rockies play the Boston Red Sox in Game 1 at Fenway Park. Montague was last the Series crew chief in 2004, when the Red Sox won the championship.
Diaz will be at first base, Barrett at second, Meriwether at third, Everitt in left field and Reilly in right for the opener.
All six umpires called games during the first round of the playoffs this month. Montague also worked the NL wild-card tiebreaker between the Rockies and San Diego Padres.
This will be the sixth Series and 21st postseason assignment overall for Montague, in his 32nd year as a major-league umpire. He comes from a baseball family -- his father, Ed, was an infielder for the Cleveland Indians in a career that began in 1928 and lasted through 1932 and then was a scout for the San Francisco Giants for 40 years.It got a little easier to do some MLB betting on the New York Mets when they picked up ace pitcher Johan Santana in the offseason, but the team isn't looking quite as good heading into the weekend, Pedro Martinez has once again landed on the disabled list. Martinez was forced to leave his first start of the season with a hamstring injury, and Mets fans' worst fears were realized when the team quickly put him on the 15-day DL and announced that he would be out for the next four-to-six weeks with the ailment. Whether the brittle hurler can return over that timeframe, of course, remains to be seen.
So with Martinez out of action Mike Pelfrey will remain in New York's rotation for the time being, where he'll follow Santana, Oliver Perez, and John Maine. Orlando Hernandez is still a week or so away from returning to the mound, so the team will have to turn to Nelson Figueroa (or even Jorge Sosa) when the fifth starter's spot comes up. That won't come into play this weekend, however, as New York is expected to throw out Maine, Pelfrey, and Santana in their three-game series against the rival Atlanta Braves. Maine is scheduled to go up against Tim Hudson on Friday, with Pelfrey facing Tom Glavine on Saturday, and Santana looking to outduel John Smoltz in Sunday's contest.
And while the Mets have lost a pitcher to injury, the Braves will have Smoltz making his season debut after a short stint on the disabled list. The veteran righthander was placed on the DL in the last week of spring training with a sore shoulder, but he has pitched effectively in a minor-league outing since then and looks to be ready for this weekend. He'll be in tough to get the win against Santana, though, as the big lefthander showed on Monday that he isn't going to have any trouble adjusting to the National League. Santana held the Florida Marlins to two earned runs on just three hits over seven innings in his Mets debut, and he struck out eight opposing batters for good measure.
First pitch for Friday's series opener is set for 7:35pm ET at Turner Field. Saturday's game gets underway at 3:55pm ET, with Sunday's matchup at 1:35pm ET. Check the BetUS MLB odds section for all the latest lines and totals for this weekend's schedule.
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