Balls & Strikes / Paul Wiecek

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/06/2009 (6276 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Numbers

66666

66666

51

The Wire

“ö Yet another Jays pitcher comes up ailing; right-hander Casey Janssen put on 15-day disabled list on Wednesday with inflammation in throwing shoulder; Janssen sat out all last season after surgery on same shoulder.

“ö Pitcher John Smoltz to return to the hill a week today; Smoltz scheduled to make his debut for the Red Sox against Washington; return marks end of year-long rehab following shoulder surgery.

“ö Indians manager Eric Wedge calls out shortstop Jhonny Peralta and benches him after Peralta fails to advance runners; “Jhonny is no baby anymore,” says Wedge. “He’s got to recognize what he has to do and do it. It’s nothing more or less than that.”

“ö Former big leaguer Mel Hall sentenced to 45 years in prison after being convicted of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl in Fort Worth, Texas and sexually abusing or inappropriately touching three girls; Hall had coached girls in late ’90s; played 13 years in big leagues, with Cubs, Indians, Yankees and Giants. He retired in 1996.

Foul Ball

The list of drug cheats in baseball continues to grow.

Atlanta Braves minor leaguer Rafael Cruz was suspended for 50 games by Major League Baseball this week after testing postitive for stanozolol, the steroid made famous by disgraced Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson.

Cruz, 32, is a bit of a baseball oddity. He began his pro career as a catcher, but later switched to pitching. He signed with the Braves in the off-season after pitching in Japan the past couple years. He had a 1-1 record in eight relief appearances for the Braves Triple-A affiliate in Gwinnett.