Infection may sidelineGrieve for a long time

© St. Petersburg Times
published April 21, 2003

BALTIMORE -- Ben Grieve is headed to the disabled list because of an infection on his left hand and could need surgery that would lead to an extended absence.

Grieve was released from Bayview Medical Center on Sunday morning after two days of intravenous antibiotics reduced much of the swelling and redness. He will see Tampa-based hand specialist Dr. John Rayhack this week for a full evaluation of the problem that started in the webbing of his left thumb.

But based on what Orioles specialist Dr. Martin Deitch told trainer Ken Crenshaw, the Rays expect Grieve to be out for at least one to two weeks. Deitch also told them the cause of the repeated problem may be a suture from an operation that never dissolved properly, and that surgery to have the suture removed may be the best option.

"Preliminarily they're thinking of maybe even cutting into it," manager Lou Piniella said. "That's a possibility. ... If that happens it would be longer than seven to 10 days."

Grieve spent two nights in the hospital and, according to team officials, spent Sunday at the team hotel. He was not seen at the stadium. Grieve is expected to fly home with the team tonight and see Rayhack as soon as Tuesday.

"The hand is much better according to the doctor and according to Ben too," Crenshaw said. "It's almost a normal hand now."

The Rays, who already are without Travis Lee, have to make a roster move to replace Grieve. With only three available position players on the 40-man roster, Felix Escalona, Antonio Perez and Jared Sandberg, and none doing well, Piniella wasn't sure what they'd do.

"We'll wait until we get home and probably do something on Tuesday," he said. "We're going to bring a pitcher (Dewon Brazelton) up midweek. To use that spot and go to 13 pitchers, I don't know. Probably not."

JINXED: After making an American League-high 16 errors in their first 11 games, the Rays had gone six straight games, one shy of the team record, without a miscue. In the second inning, rightfielder Damian Rolls misplayed a ball off the wall.

MIA: It's rare that one player makes a huge difference in a lineup, but the Rays seem to be feeling Lee's absence. In the 11 games before he got hurt, they averaged 5.8 runs. In the seven other games, they've averaged 3.6.

"We've got a couple pieces out of our lineup and it's going to show from time to time," Piniella said.

CASH COW: Piniella didn't wait to reward Jorge Sosa for earning the first win by a Rays starter Saturday. Piniella had promised a steak dinner; instead he handed Sosa a $100 bill.

"He can use it where he wants," Piniella said. "I told him he should take his catcher (Javier Valentin) with him."

RIGHT ON: Wanting to use as many right-handed bats as he could against Baltimore left-hander Omar Daal, Piniella put both catchers in the lineup, with Toby Hall behind the plate and Valentin as the DH.

Some managers consider that too much of a risk, but Piniella said he wasn't concerned since he wouldn't pinch hit for Valentin, who is a switch-hitter. "I'll always have the extra catcher in the lineup," he said.

FAMILIAR FOE: Bench coach Sam Perlozzo managed the Orioles on Sunday as Mike Hargrove went home to Texas to be with his sick mother. Perlozzo was a coach on Piniella's staff for three years in Cincinnati and three in Seattle.

MISCELLANY: The 2-hour, 5-minute game matched the second shortest in team history. ... Rocco Baldelli has 28 hits through 18 games, third behind Coco Laboy (Montreal, 1969) and Nomar Garciaparra (Boston, 1997) among rookies over the past 35 years. ... Despite what some of the boxscores indicated, Lance Carter did not get a save Saturday because he came in with a four-run lead.

OUTTA LEFTFIELD

Lou Piniella made his major-league debut for the Orioles near the end of 1964 season, pinch hitting for Robin Roberts and grounding out to shortstop. "I remember coming back to the dugout," Piniella said, "and Robin said, 'Young man, I could have done that myself.' " Piniella also was used three times as a pinch-runner, even though he wasn't exactly known for his speed. "Put it this way," Piniella said, "I was faster than Boog Powell."