Schilling says Palmeiro feats should be erased
Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling said Wednesday that Rafael Palmeiro has “no credibility” to talk about steroids, and the Baltimore slugger’s achievements should be wiped from baseball’s record books.
In an interview with Boston radio station WEEI on Wednesday, Schilling recalled that he and Palmeiro sat together in March when both testified before Congress. Palmeiro denied taking steroids at the time, but was given a 10-day suspension Aug. 1 after failing a drug test.
“He obviously sat next to me in Washington and lied,” Schilling said. “I don’t know that there’s any way to prove that anything he did was not under the influence of performance-enhancing drugs.”
Palmeiro had 3,020 hits and 569 homers going into Baltimore’s game against the Angels on Wednesday.
Schilling, who is scheduled to return to the Red Sox rotation Thursday night against the Kansas City Royals after filling in as the closer, said earlier drug scandals took away his idealism about baseball.
“I just kind of got to the point where I finally realized that liars and cheaters and criminals exist in all professions,” he said. “Baseball doesn’t absolve us from being human beings.”
Duke expects to miss start
Unbeaten Pittsburgh rookie Zach Duke said that he expects to miss a start after spraining his left ankle running the bases Tuesday night.
Duke retired all six St. Louis batters he faced Tuesday before stepping awkwardly on second base during the second inning of the Pirates’ 10-0 victory.
Cards, Pirates scuffle
The St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates got into a brief shoving match during batting practice at Pittsburgh, prompting the umpires to hold a pregame meeting with managers Tony La Russa and Lloyd McClendon.
It did not appear any punches were thrown during the four-minute scuffle, which occurred with the Pirates finishing up their hitting and the Cardinals stretching. St. Louis pitching coach Dave Duncan and Pittsburgh hitting coach Gerald Perry appeared to be restrained by teammates.
“There was some pushing and shoving, just two competitive clubs,” McClendon said. “Both clubs want to win. Things probably got a little bit out of hand.”
Police still search for Gooden
Tampa, Fla., police talked to relatives and acquaintances of Dwight Gooden for a third day in their effort to find and arrest the former baseball star, who fled after being pulled over on suspicion of drunken driving.
Authorities say the 41-year-old Gooden was visibly intoxicated when he was pulled over for driving erratically near downtown Tampa early Monday. He twice refused to get out of the car for a field sobriety test, drove away suddenly and hasn’t been seen since, police said.
White requires season-ending surgery
Detroit Tigers outfielder Rondell White will have surgery to repair a tear in his left rotator cuff, ending his season.
White was examined Monday in Cincinnati, where an MRI revealed a significant rotator cuff tear, according to Kevin Rand, the team’s head athletic trainer. The 11-year veteran will have surgery there before the end of the week, probably Friday.
Stewart sits with strained shoulder
Shannon Stewart’s injured left shoulder kept him out of Minnesota’s lineup against the division-leading Chicago White Sox. X-rays on Stewart’s shoulder showed no damage, and an MRI also was negative. His injury has been termed a strained shoulder, and his status is day to day.
Yankees have rare comeback
New York’s 5-4 victory over Toronto on Tuesday night included a comeback not seen in the American League in 56 years.
The Yankees became the first A.L. team to erase deficits in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings to win in the ninth since the Washington Senators against the St. Louis Browns on May 21, 1949, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
The other team with a similar comeback victory was the Boston Red Sox in 1938, also against the Browns.