By Compiled from Times wires
Published June 10, 2003
Roger Clemens' failed attempt to win his 300th game on Saturday against the Chicago Cubs got a 5.2 overnight rating for Fox, the highest for a regular-season game on the network since 1998.
The rating was the third highest for a regular-season game on the network overall, behind only the Sept. 5, 1998, broadcast of Houston vs. St. Louis, and the Sept. 26, 1998, broadcast of the Cubs vs. Houston. Both of those games got a 5.4 overnight rating and were televised during the home run chase involving Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa.
The rating for the Yankees' 5-2 loss to the Cubs was a 79 percent increase over the 2.9 overnight rating for the previous week's broadcast. It was an 86 percent increase over last season's fourth broadcast on the network.
Ninety-five percent of the country's markets saw the Yankees-Cubs game because the Oakland vs. Philadelphia game was rained out.
Overnight ratings measure the 55 largest TV markets in the United States, covering nearly 70 percent of the country. Each overnight rating point represents about 735,000 TV homes.
Sosa appeal hearing today
Sammy Sosa's appeal of an eight-game suspension for using a corked bat will be held today in Baltimore.
The Cubs don't expect an immediate decision on the appeal, the team said. The appeal will be heard by Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer.
Chicago plays against the Orioles today at Camden Yards.
Sosa was suspended for eight games Friday by Bob Watson, baseball's vice president in charge of discipline, but the appeal allows him to play until he has a hearing and a ruling is made.
He was ejected from a game against the Devil Rays on June 3 when his bat shattered after hitting a ground ball and umpires discovered cork halfway up the handle of the bat.
Reds blue over rotation
CINCINNATI - The offense is adequate. The bullpen is fine. The defense is getting better. The only thing holding back the Reds is the starting pitching, their main concern since spring training. But manager Bob Boone thinks it's getting better.
The Reds haven't been able to make a move in the NL Central because their starters keep letting them down. They spend most of their time trying to overcome an early deficit.
As a result, they've spent a lot of time stuck around .500. They're 30-32, stuck in fourth place, 51/2 games back. They have a penchant for last-inning wins, and a pitching staff that makes them necessary.
"It's a team thing," Boone said. "It doesn't matter who gets the win, as long as the Reds do. It's like making par. There are a lot of ways to get there, but the idea is to get there."
In the past 22 games, the rotation is 1-11 with a 7.35 ERA. Overall, the rotation has a 6.73 ERA - worst in the majors - and opponents are batting .307 off starters.
JOHN HENRY RETURNS: The next stop for John Henry Williams, released by the Northern League's Schaumburg Flyers on May 28, will be the Southeastern League. The 34-year-old son of Hall of Famer Ted Williams was signed by the unaffiliated developmental league and will play for the Selma Cloverleafs. He will join the team Thursday in Pensacola.
ANGELS: Centerfielder Darin Erstad was activated from the disabled list and played his first game since April 19.
DODGERS: The team agreed to terms with seven draft picks, including first-round pick Chad Billingsley and Thomas Piazza, younger brother of Mike Piazza.
EXPOS: Three baseball officials planned to meet today with Portland's mayor and business leaders to discuss moving the team to Oregon. Baseball's delegation includes general counsel Tom Ostertag, executive vice president for administration John McHale Jr. and chief financial officer Jonathan Mariner.
PADRES: Reliever Jay Witasick, who injured his right elbow during spring training when he threw out a bag of trash that included a watermelon, was recalled from his rehab assignment and reinstated from the disabled list.
PHILLIES: Jose Mesa entered Monday needing one save to tie Steve Bedrosian's club record of 103. Mesa is one of 10 pitchers to record at least 100 saves with two different teams since major-league baseball began keeping the statistic in 1969.
RED SOX: Dave Wallace, a former pitching coach for the Mets and Dodgers who was working in the Los Angeles front office, was hired to be Boston's interim pitching coach while Tony Cloninger takes a leave of absence to fight cancer. It's not clear how long Cloninger, who has been receiving chemotherapy near his Kings Mountain, N.C., home, will be out. He was diagnosed with bladder cancer in the spring. Although Wallace has spent most of his time in the NL, he said he would quickly get up to speed on the Red Sox staff. He was already aware of some of the problems, including a series of injuries and the team's 5.26 ERA - second-worst in the league.
TWINS: Infielder Chris Gomez was placed on the 15-day disabled list with an injured right knee. First baseman Justin Morneau was called up from Triple-A Rochester.
OBITUARY: Businessman C. Carlisle Tippit, a former part-owner of the Cleveland Indians, died Saturday of kidney failure in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. He was 83.
