Johnson could miss Yankees’ postseason
Yankees lefty Randy Johnson has a herniated disc in his lower back, an injury that could prevent him from pitching in the playoffs next week.
The injury was discovered during an MRI exam Thursday. After being examined, Johnson received an epidural injection Friday.
New York manager Joe Torre said. “If it doesn’t ease the discomfort, I’m not sure he’s going to be able to pitch. But we don’t expect that to be the case.”
Torre’s announcement came one day after the crosstown Mets said Pedro Martinez will miss the postseason.
Chien-Ming Wang and Mike Mussina will pitch the opening two games of the best-of-5 series against Detroit or Minnesota. Johnson is scheduled to pitch Game 3 on the road Friday.
If after watching the weekend sessions the Yankees don’t think Johnson can pitch, the Yankees would use Jaret Wright and Corey Lidle in Game 3 and, if necessary, Game 4.
O’Neil rests after bad turn
Negro leagues great Buck O’Neil took a turn for the worse late Thursday but was resting comfortably in a Kansas City hospital Friday, friends said.
The 94-year-old O’Neil was admitted to the hospital Sept. 17 with extreme fatigue. O’Neil, one of the driving forces in the creation of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, has lost his voice and can only whisper.
A former Negro leagues batting champion and player-manager with the Kansas City Monarchs, O’Neil holds many distinctions in his long career. In February, he fell one vote short of induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Brett bust found on roadside
A bronze bust of former Kansas City Royals third baseman George Brett was found in a roadside box after it was stolen this week from the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.
An unidentified person found the box in a ditch near the Lake of the Ozarks community of Camdenton in Springfield, Mo., and called Camden County sheriff’s deputies, the sheriff’s office said. Camdenton is about 80 miles from Springfield, site of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.
The box was closed with duct tape and labeled, “Please return to the police, stolen property,” the sheriff’s office said.
Clearing the bases
Cleveland ace C.C. Sabathia had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, two days after he shut out the Chicago White Sox for eight innings in his final start this season. … Derrek Lee of the Chicago Cubs has spent the last two weeks researching Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis, after his daughter was diagnosed with the disease. He has teamed with Boston Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck, whose son is one of only about 3,000 people in the United States with the disease. … A federal appeals court rejected a bid to free Greg Anderson, Barry Bonds’ personal trainer, who has been jailed for refusing to testify to a grand jury. … Washington Nationals manager Frank Robinson isn’t sure whether the club is preparing a ceremony in his honor for the season’s closing weekend.