Rogers breaks hand hitting water cooler
NOTES
Kenny Rogers broke a bone in his non-pitching hand when he hit a water cooler in frustration, and the Texas Rangers pitcher will miss at least one start.
Rogers, 9-3 with an American League-leading 2.46 ERA, broke a bone at the base of his right pinkie after coming out of his last home start, June 17 against Washington, said manager Buck Showalter.
Showalter said the left-hander missed his scheduled start against the Los Angeles Angels, and indicated Rogers could miss another turn as well since it would take 10-12 days for the broken bone to heal completely.
John Wasdin (0-0, 1.38 ERA in five relief appearances) started in Rogers’ place.
Rogers gave up six runs, 10 hits and three walks in 3 1/3 innings of a 6-0 loss last Wednesday at the Angels. He won his previous nine decisions, a career best, including the game after which he got hurt.
Controversial Rocker released
John Rocker was released by the Long Island Ducks in Central Islip, N.Y., after the pitcher told the Atlantic League team he wanted to reassess his future.
Rocker joined the Ducks in April and went 0-2 with a 6.50 ERA in 23 games, striking out 19 and walking 28 in 18 innings.
“After pitching for two months with Long Island, the consistency required to pitch at the major-league level, and the consistency I demand from myself, are not where they should be,” Rocker said in a statement released by the team.
Once a feared closer, Rocker’s mouth earned him as much notoriety as his arm. In 1999 he made derogatory remarks in Sports Illustrated about gays, minorities and foreigners. Rocker later said he was baiting New York fans.
Numbers up for interleague play
Interleague games averaged 32,985 fans this year, an 11.5 percent increase over last year’s average of 29,581.
The move of Montreal to Washington was a factor in the rise, with the Nationals averaging 33,046, up from the Expos’ average of 8,137 last year.
Attendance overall averaged 30,352 through Sunday, up 1.9 percent from the 29,782 average last year.
Since interleague play started in 1997, N.L. teams have an eight-game lead in the win column – 1,104-1,096.
Clearing the bases
The N.L. East-leading Washington Nationals lost first baseman Nick Johnson for three to seven days after he bruised his right heel on a play at the plate during a loss to Toronto on Sunday. Johnson is hitting .320 with eight home runs and 41 RBIs. … Cleveland Indians minor league pitcher Kyle Denney remained hospitalized in Buffalo, N.Y., with a fractured skull, a day after he was hit in the head by a line drive. He is expected to be released today.