CLEARWATER, Fla. — PHILLIES
Lee had muscle strain
Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Cliff Lee said a side muscle strain was the reason his first bullpen session lasted just eight pitches a week ago.
Lee (Benton, Arkansas Razorbacks) said Monday that he’s “perfectly fine” and the strain under his left armpit is “not really a major issue.” He completed his next two pitching sessions last week, and took part in fielding practice during the first week of spring training.
Lee, 32, signed a five-year, $120 million contract with the Phillies as a free agent in December. He said he felt discomfort while playing catch last month in Arkansas.
“I had a little minor, something going on in my arm pit,” Lee said at Phillies camp Monday. “I called the trainers, went to Philadelphia, and they diagnosed it. I didn’t throw for a few days, built back up and here I am. I’m perfectly fine and right with everyone else. It’s not really a major issue.”
“He’s 100 percent,” Phillies General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said.
After Lee’s abbreviated session last Tuesday, pitching coach Rich Dubee brushed aside questions about the ace pitcher’s health.
“It’s kind of where he’s at,” Dubee said, explaining that pitchers cometo camp at different stages of their throwing program.
CUBS
Dempster gets opener
MESA, Ariz. - Ryan Dempster was selected Monday by Chicago Cubs Manager Mike Quade to start the season opener against Pittsburgh on April 1.
Dempster was picked over righthander Carlos Zambrano, who has started the last six openers for the Cubs. Zambrano will start the second game of the season followed by Matt Garza in Game 3. The Cubs obtained Garza during the offseason from Tampa Bay.
“We know they are 1, 2 and 3,” Quade said. “I still say you can’t split them. They’re all going to need to pitch well. I looked at matchups.It’s opening day, OK, and it’s a big deal. But I looked at matchups going into Milwaukee, so on and so forth. There’s 100 reasons that go into this.”
Zambrano has a 9-5 record with a 3.19 ERA at Milwaukee’s Miller Park. The Cubs open a series there April 8, and Zambrano will be scheduled to pitch that game. Dempster will miss the Milwaukee series if the rotation holds.
Quade said he called all three pitchers into his office, and that all were in accord with the decision. Earlier in spring training, Quade said he would wait as long as possible to pick his opening day starter.
Dempster, who has been both a reliever and a starter for the Cubs since 2004, was 15-12 with a 3.85 ERA last season. Zambrano was11-6 with a 3.33 ERA and went 8-0 over his final 11 starts after spending part of the season on the restricted list while getting treatment for anger management. Garza was a 15-game winner for the Rays a year.
YANKEES
Steinbrenner critical
TAMPA, Fla. - New York Yankees co-Chairman Hank Steinbrenner thinks his team’s celebration of its 2009 World Series championship might have lasted too long.
“I think, maybe, they celebrated too much last year,” Steinbrenner said Monday. “Some of the players, too busy building mansions and doing other things and not concentrating on winning. I have no problem saying that.”
When it was pointed out that Yankees captain Derek Jeter was building a large multimillion dollar home in Tampa last year, Steinbrenner said he wasn’t singling out any on particular individual on the ballclub.
“I was just saying, maybe they were riding the wave of ’09 a little too much, and it happens sometimes,” Steinbrenner said. “This year in spring so far, from what I’ve seen and what I’ve been told, they’ve come in with a real, new drive and determination - the kind they had in ’09.”
New York lost in the AL Championship Series last season to Texas after fading in the second half of the season and winding up with the AL wild card.
Sports, Pages 19 on 02/22/2011