Baseball Guru
03-31-2002, 04:57 AM
By BOB BAUM
PHOENIX (AP) - Jay Bell, the leading candidate to replace injured Matt Williams at third base for the Arizona Diamondbacks, will start the season on the 15-day disabled list with a slight tear in his right calf muscle.
Bell was one of five players placed on the 15-day DL Saturday as the defending World Series champions announced their season-opening 25-man roster.
The others on the injured list are pinch hitter-first baseman Greg Colbrunn, first baseman Erubiel Durazo and pitchers Todd Stottlemyre and Greg Swindell.
Williams and pitchers Matt Mantei and Armando Reynoso were placed on the 60-day disabled list.
Bell last played on Wednesday, when he came out of the game against the Cubs in Mesa because of pain in the calf.
``It was a no-brainer,'' manager Bob Brenly said of the decision to place the 36-year-old Bell on the disabled list. ``He needs to let that thing heal up. He wasn't going to be able to do that playing every day, playing part-time or pinch-hitting or anything. It's something that needs to be shut down and treated.''
Brenly said he believes Bell will be ready to play at the end of the 15 days, which are retroactive to Thursday.
Craig Counsell will shift from second to third for the season opener on Monday against San Diego, with Junior Spivey starting at second.
Spivey was one of several players who benefitted from Arizona's injury problems. Others include third baseman Chris Donnels, outfielder Quinton McCracken and left-handed reliever Eddie Oropesa, who all made the team.
Stottlemyre, out all of last season because of a dead nerve in his right shoulder, is scheduled to come off the injured list to start April 9 in San Diego.
With Colbrunn, who is coming off arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow, and Bell expected back relatively soon, some tough decisions have only been delayed.
``But that's why we wait until we have to make decisions,'' Brenly said. ``Crazy things happen. Injuries happen. I'm glad we did wait until the last minute.''
Brenly said Oropesa, who appeared in 30 games for Philadelphia last season, was the final player to make the roster, beating out right-handed relievers Erik Sabel and Jose Para.
With Swindell sidelined with left shoulder tendinitis, the team needed a second left-handed pitcher Brenly said. The only question was whether Oropesa's hamstring was healthy. When the reliever was able to cover first on a play in Saturday's exhibition finale against the Chicago Cubs, ``that was all we needed to see,'' Brenly said.
PHOENIX (AP) - Jay Bell, the leading candidate to replace injured Matt Williams at third base for the Arizona Diamondbacks, will start the season on the 15-day disabled list with a slight tear in his right calf muscle.
Bell was one of five players placed on the 15-day DL Saturday as the defending World Series champions announced their season-opening 25-man roster.
The others on the injured list are pinch hitter-first baseman Greg Colbrunn, first baseman Erubiel Durazo and pitchers Todd Stottlemyre and Greg Swindell.
Williams and pitchers Matt Mantei and Armando Reynoso were placed on the 60-day disabled list.
Bell last played on Wednesday, when he came out of the game against the Cubs in Mesa because of pain in the calf.
``It was a no-brainer,'' manager Bob Brenly said of the decision to place the 36-year-old Bell on the disabled list. ``He needs to let that thing heal up. He wasn't going to be able to do that playing every day, playing part-time or pinch-hitting or anything. It's something that needs to be shut down and treated.''
Brenly said he believes Bell will be ready to play at the end of the 15 days, which are retroactive to Thursday.
Craig Counsell will shift from second to third for the season opener on Monday against San Diego, with Junior Spivey starting at second.
Spivey was one of several players who benefitted from Arizona's injury problems. Others include third baseman Chris Donnels, outfielder Quinton McCracken and left-handed reliever Eddie Oropesa, who all made the team.
Stottlemyre, out all of last season because of a dead nerve in his right shoulder, is scheduled to come off the injured list to start April 9 in San Diego.
With Colbrunn, who is coming off arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow, and Bell expected back relatively soon, some tough decisions have only been delayed.
``But that's why we wait until we have to make decisions,'' Brenly said. ``Crazy things happen. Injuries happen. I'm glad we did wait until the last minute.''
Brenly said Oropesa, who appeared in 30 games for Philadelphia last season, was the final player to make the roster, beating out right-handed relievers Erik Sabel and Jose Para.
With Swindell sidelined with left shoulder tendinitis, the team needed a second left-handed pitcher Brenly said. The only question was whether Oropesa's hamstring was healthy. When the reliever was able to cover first on a play in Saturday's exhibition finale against the Chicago Cubs, ``that was all we needed to see,'' Brenly said.