Bad elbow flares up on Burnett

By Compiled from Times wires
© St. Petersburg Times
published April 27, 2003

MIAMI - Marlins ace A.J. Burnett is headed back to the disabled list, and he could be there awhile.

Burnett had pain, inflammation and a lack of flexibility in his right (pitching) elbow after Friday night's start against the Cardinals, the third time in eight months he has had similar problems.

He plans to meet with Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala., on Monday and might need surgery, general manager Larry Beinfest said Saturday.

Burnett will be placed on the 15-day disabled list Monday but could be sidelined much longer.

"The length of time is totally undetermined at this time," Beinfest said.

Burnett began the season on the disabled list with inflammation in his elbow, which kept him on there nearly a month last season.

MEDAL FOR JACKIE ROBINSON: Jackie Robinson, who broke baseball's color barrier in 1947, will be honored posthumously with a Congressional Gold Medal, Congress' highest honor.

Robinson was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1962. He died 10 years later.

Dodgers president and CEO Bob Graziano said the honor is "well-deserved and long overdue."

ANGELS: Centerfielder Darin Erstad went on the 15-day disabled list with tendinitis in his right hamstring. Outfielder Gary Johnston was called up from Triple-A Salt Lake.

A'S: Outfielder Jermaine Dye went on the 15-day disabled list with torn cartilage in his right knee. He's expected to miss three to five weeks.

INDIANS: Outfielder Milton Bradley went on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring. ... Right-hander Jason Bere is scheduled to pitch a simulated game today and probably will be sent on a rehabilitation assignment soon.

METS: Left-hander Al Leiter is donating $1,000 for each of his wins this season to a charity that finances scholarships for children of military personnel killed during the Iraq war. The Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation covers all four branches of the military.

ORIOLES: Manager Mike Hargrove rejoined the team after missing six games to be with his ill mother. Hargrove left April 20 to return to his hometown of Perryton, Texas, where Rita Ann Hargrove was hospitalized for an infected gall bladder. She had surgery twice over the past week.

REDS: Catcher Jason LaRue left after four innings with a bruised right shoulder. He is day to day.

YANKEES: Closer Mariano Rivera expects to rejoin the team for the start of a six-game homestand Tuesday after pitching a perfect inning in his third extended spring training start. ... Right-hander Jose Contreras, the Cuban defector demoted because of ineffectiveness, threw 40 pitches in his second simulated game in three days.