Spiezio back with Cards
St. Louis Cardinals infielder Scott Spiezio was activated from the restricted list on Friday, about five weeks after leaving the team to undergo treatment for substance abuse.
Spiezio said he received daily treatment on an outpatient basis. The rehabilitation process began on Aug. 10, the day after the Cardinals removed him from the active roster.
“I was out of control for a while,” Spiezio said. “I learned a lot and I’m ready to start contributing in a good way now.”
Spiezio, who turns 35 next week, was plugged into the lineup at third base and batted sixth against Chicago.
Spiezio said he’d been struggling with substance abuse for six or seven months, although he wouldn’t disclose the drug.
Ramirez eyes return
Manny Ramirez is getting closer to returning from a strained muscle in his left side, but the Boston outfielder appears to be a long shot to play in the three-game series with New York.
Ramirez was out of the lineup for the 16th consecutive game after being injured on Aug. 28, in a loss to New York in the opener of a three-game sweep.
Ankiel has HGH talks
Cardinals outfielder Rick Ankiel told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he met earlier this week with baseball officials to answer questions about human growth hormone.
Major League Baseball had requested a meeting after a New York Daily News report that Ankiel received eight shipments of HGH in 2004. Under its current drug policy, baseball does not test for HGH, and the drug was not banned until 2005.
Clearing the bases
A federal judge denied a request by Hearst Corp., on behalf of The San Francisco Chronicle and Albany Union Times, to make public the names of baseball players implicated in obtaining steroids. … Attendance at minor league baseball games reached a record high for the fourth consecutive year, with nearly 43 million fans passing through the turnstiles. The total attendance of the 14 leagues was 42,812,812, an increase of more than 1.1 million fans from 2006. … Philadelphia reliever Antonio Alfonseca was suspended for four games after he was ejected for hitting Colorado’s Todd Helton with a pitch.