Major league baseball notes

Posted: July 29, 2009 at 4:27 a.m.

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LITTLE ROCK — CARDINALS Wellemeyer bumped

ST. LOUIS - The St. Louis Cardinals are sending struggling Todd Wellemeyer to the bullpen.

It did not come as a surprise to the right-hander, 7-9 with a 5.79 ERA.

"I'll be in the bullpen for who knows how long and try to make the best of it," Wellemeyer said. "We had to switch it up and see how it goes.

"I'm going to make it a good thing for me, that's all there is to it."

Wellemeyer threw a bullpen session Tuesday before the Cardinals played the Los Angeles Dodgers. Manager Tony La Russa said the pitcher will be available for relief duty beginning Thursday.

"We don't lack any confidence in what he's capable of doing, but he's been struggling," La Russa said. "I think he understands."

The Cardinals plan to recall righthander Mitchell Boggs from Class AAA Memphis to take Wellemeyer's turn against the Houston Astros on Friday night. Boggs has started four times for St. Louis this season and is 1-0 with a 3.22 ERA.

St. Louis began the day in second place in the NL Central, a half-game behind Chicago.

Wellemeyer went 13-9 with a 3.71 ERA last year in his first full season as a starter. He said he's been impatient to finish off hitters and ends up leaving balls up in the strike zone.

"Mechanically I feel good, and now it's just a matter of just going out there and competing my butt off," Wellemeyer said. "I know what I need to do."

Even if Wellemeyer returns to the rotation, it'll probably be as a spot starter. The Cardinals have nine days off the rest of the season after a heavy early schedule, and La Russa plans on going with four starters whenever possible.

Chris Carpenter (9-3, 2.19), Adam Wainwright (11-6, 2.95), Joel Pineiro (9-9, 2.95) and Kyle Lohse (4-6, 4.35) all are having much stronger years than Wellemeyer.

Rookie center fielder Colby Rasmus, who had a second cortisone injection for a bruised left heel Monday, was back in the lineup and batting sixth. Rasmus totaled three at-bats the previous four games, none of them starts.

Rasmus was back in the lineup partly because outfielder Rick Ankiel has a slightly strained groin sustained in a swing Monday.

Infielder Julio Lugo, 9 for 19 with a home run and three RBI in four games since joining the Cardinals, was not in the lineup for the first time. Shortstop Brendan Ryan got a second consecutive start after tying his career high with four hits Monday.

GIANTS Johnson has torn rotator cuff

SAN FRANCISCO - Randy Johnson has a torn rotator cuff and won't be ableto throw for the San Francisco Giants for at least three weeks.

San Francisco Manager Bruce Bochy said Tuesday the 303-game winner had an MRI on his injured left shoulder Monday and the test showed some tearing.

The 45-year-old Johnson is 8-6 with a 4.81 ERA with the Giants this season but hasn't played since injuring himself while batting during a 7-1 loss to Houston on July 5.

The Big Unit told reporters Monday he is feeling better than he originally did but Bochy said the team doesn't expect Johnson to resume playing catch for another three weeks.

RED SOX-WHITE SOX Outfielders traded

BOSTON - In a swap of outfielders, the Boston Red Sox traded Mark Kotsay and cash to the Chicago White Sox for Brian Anderson on Tuesday.

The Red Sox are second in the AL East and designated the 33-year-old Kotsay for assignment last week. The White Sox are second in the AL Central and sent the 27-year-old Anderson to Class AAA last week.

Kotsay hit .257 with 1 home run and 5 RBI in 27 games for the Red Sox this year. He started out the season on the disabled list while recovering from back surgery.

Kotsay is a career .281 hitter in 13 seasons with Florida, San Diego, Oakland, Atlanta and the Red Sox. He started all seven games for Boston inlast year's AL championship series loss to Tampa Bay.

He is a lifetime .373 hitter (25 for 67) as a pinch-hitter. Kotsay has 113 assists since 1998, ranking third among big league outfielders behind Bobby Abreu (117) and Vladimir Guerrero (115).

Anderson was hitting .238 with 2 home runs and 13 RBI when the White Sox sent him down to Class AAA Charlotte. The Red Sox will option him to Class AAA Pawtucket.

Anderson is a career .225 hitter with 20 home runs in 334 games since making his major league debut with Chicago in 2005. Like Kotsay, Anderson is known for his defense.

RANGERSPadilla still weak

ARLINGTON, Texas - Texas Rangers pitcher Vicente Padilla, still weak from the swine flu, was scratched from Tuesday night's start against the Detroit Tigers.

The Rangers made the announcement 3 1 /2 hours before gametime. Padilla was diagnosed with the illness last week and missed a start against Boston. The team thought he'd recovered and was ready to return to the rotation, but Padillatold club officials Monday night that he needed more time.

Doug Mathis, normally a long reliever, took Padilla's place. Mathis made his second start of the season and sixth of his career.

Padilla, who hasn't started since July 17 after coming down with the flu, threw in the bullpen prior to Tuesday night's game.

Rangers Manager Ron Washington said Padilla is a possibility to start Thursday night against Seattle.

"We'll give him another day," Washington said. "He said his legs didn't feel good enough that he thought he could go out there. ... If Padilla is ready to go Thursday, he'll go Thursday."

Rookie Derek Holland is still scheduled to start for Texas on Thursday night, with Kevin Millwood set for Friday night. But Millwood is recovering from a strained left gluteus muscle which forced him out of his last start after two innings Sunday.

Millwood had a throwing session Tuesday and said he felt better. But the club is unsure if Millwood will be healthy enough to start Friday night.

RED SOX

Matsuzaka upsets team

BOSTON - Boston Red Sox Manager Terry Francona said the club isdisappointed that sidelined pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka went public with his concerns on how the team is handling his training techniques.

Matsuzaka was 1-5 with an 8.23 ERA before going on the 15-day disabled list June 21 with a mildstrained right shoulder. Last season, he was 18-3 with a 2.90 ERA.

Matsuzaka met with the team Friday and is continuing his conditioning at Boston's spring-training complex in Fort Myers, Fla. He expressed his concern to a Japanese newspaper, and news of the interview broke in Boston on Tuesday.

He's in the third season of a six-year, $52 million contract.

- Democrat-Gazette Press Services

Sports, Pages 19 on 07/29/2009

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