FORT MYERS - The Red Sox will play some of their toughest games this season without Nomar Garciaparra.
The star shortstop will start the season on the disabled list with an injured right Achilles' tendon and is likely to miss at least three weeks.
That means the Red Sox will be missing two key regulars while playing the Yankees seven times by April 25. Rightfielder Trot Nixon is expected to be sidelined until early May with a lower back problem.
Doctors said there is no structural damage to Garciaparra's inflamed tendon and almost no risk of this becoming a long-term problem.
"I don't like missing more time than I anticipated, but the good thing is we know we have a structured program to be able to talk to all the doctors and get everyone on the same page," Garciaparra said. "My body will tell me when I'm ready."
STEROID PRECURSORS RESTRICTED: Legislation limiting sales of steroid precursors such as androstenedione, a substance Mark McGwire used in his record-breaking home run year, won approval by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee.
The measure would ban over-the-counter sales of precursors, which act like steroids in the body. The Food and Drug Administration said this month it would ban sales of androstenedione.
INDIANS ADD ARM: Cleveland acquired left-hander Jeriome Robertson from the Astros for minor-league outfielders Luke Scott and Willy Taveras. Robertson went 15-9 with a 5.10 ERA as a rookie, then got bumped from the rotation when Houston signed right-hander Roger Clemens and left-hander Andy Pettitte.
During a 3-2 loss to the Astros, Indians centerfielder Milton Bradley was removed by manager Eric Wedge for not running hard on a second-inning popup that dropped in for a single. Bradley told a team spokesman he had a tight groin.
BYE-BYE BUBBA: Bubba Trammell's comeback bid with the Dodgers ended when the former Devil Rays outfielder was released. Trammell hoped to return to the majors after leaving the Yankees last summer because of depression.
Also, the Dodgers said right-handed reliever Paul Shuey would open the season on the disabled list after rupturing a tendon in his right thumb. Shuey probably will miss at least six weeks.
BRAVES: The team released outfielder Gary Matthews Jr. hours before it would have been obligated to pay him his entire 2004 salary.
GIANTS: Right-hander Jason Schmidt, who will start the season on the disabled list with shoulder discomfort, pitched three strong innings in a minor-league game. ... When SBC Park opens today for the first of three home exhibition games, 121 wireless access points will provide high-speed Internet access in all concourses and seating areas.
MARLINS: Outfielder Brian Banks was released two days before he was scheduled to have right knee surgery. He was offered a minor-league contract and expects to re-sign.
ORIOLES: Left-hander Omar Daal will miss at least three months, and possibly the season, after arthroscopic surgery on a frayed rotator cuff.
PIRATES: Joe Beimel was released in a surprise move, meaning both projected left-handed relievers have been cut. Mark Guthrie was released two days earlier.
REDS: Centerfielder Ken Griffey, who sat for the second game in a row with a strained right calf, got more treatment and showed major improvement.
ROYALS: Closer Mike MacDougal will begin the season on the disabled list with four starting pitchers. The right-hander has not pitched since March 13 because of a stomach virus. Also opening the season on the disabled list will be right-handers Miguel Asencio, Runelvys Hernandez and Kevin Appier, who had elbow surgery, and Kyle Snyder, who had shoulder surgery.
TIGERS: Former Rays right-hander Jason Johnson said he expects to be ready to start opening day despite a blister on his right middle finger.
OBITUARY: Bob Cremins, a Red Sox pitcher who faced Babe Ruth in his first big-league appearance in 1927, died Saturday at home in Pelham, N.Y. He was 98.
