Baseball Guru
07-21-2001, 07:42 PM
by TOM WITHERS
AP Sports Writer
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Indians outfielder Ellis Burks, whose right thumb was broken by a pitch against the Houston Astros, was placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday.
Burks hasn't played since getting hit last Sunday by Houston's Octavio Dotel, and the Indians made the move retroactive to Monday.
''I tried to take batting practice yesterday but it's not ready for that,'' said Burks, batting .290 with 22 homers and 78 RBIs in his first season with the Indians. ''Instead of hurting the team anymore, everybody decided we'd better rest it.''
Dave Hollins, who signed a minor league contract with the Indians, was purchased from Triple-A Buffalo and was in uniform for Saturday's game against the Detroit Tigers.
Hollins was hitting .302 with 14 homers and 58 RBIs in 69 games with the Bisons.
Burks said his thumb is still swollen and he's not able to grip a bat properly.
''I need to get the swelling down and get some more movement in it,'' he said.
Burks was one of three Indians hit by Astros pitchers last week in a series of brushback pitches between the clubs that led to a seven-game suspension for Cleveland ace Bartolo Colon.
Marty Cordova and Juan Gonzalez both got drilled in the same inning by Houston reliever Jimmy Mann on Tuesday night, and Colon retaliated by firing a fastball over the head of Astros catcher Scott Servias and was ejected.
Burks is still annoyed at being hit, and said he's puzzled by baseball's ruling against Colon, who is appealing his suspension and will start Sunday.
''If (Colon) had just flat out drilled him in the ribs I don't think he would have been suspended at all,'' Burks said. ''The umpires wanted to send a message as far as throwing at someone's head. That's not what you want to do.''
Gonzalez was back in Cleveland's lineup on Saturday after missing three straight games with a bruised hand.
AP Sports Writer
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Indians outfielder Ellis Burks, whose right thumb was broken by a pitch against the Houston Astros, was placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday.
Burks hasn't played since getting hit last Sunday by Houston's Octavio Dotel, and the Indians made the move retroactive to Monday.
''I tried to take batting practice yesterday but it's not ready for that,'' said Burks, batting .290 with 22 homers and 78 RBIs in his first season with the Indians. ''Instead of hurting the team anymore, everybody decided we'd better rest it.''
Dave Hollins, who signed a minor league contract with the Indians, was purchased from Triple-A Buffalo and was in uniform for Saturday's game against the Detroit Tigers.
Hollins was hitting .302 with 14 homers and 58 RBIs in 69 games with the Bisons.
Burks said his thumb is still swollen and he's not able to grip a bat properly.
''I need to get the swelling down and get some more movement in it,'' he said.
Burks was one of three Indians hit by Astros pitchers last week in a series of brushback pitches between the clubs that led to a seven-game suspension for Cleveland ace Bartolo Colon.
Marty Cordova and Juan Gonzalez both got drilled in the same inning by Houston reliever Jimmy Mann on Tuesday night, and Colon retaliated by firing a fastball over the head of Astros catcher Scott Servias and was ejected.
Burks is still annoyed at being hit, and said he's puzzled by baseball's ruling against Colon, who is appealing his suspension and will start Sunday.
''If (Colon) had just flat out drilled him in the ribs I don't think he would have been suspended at all,'' Burks said. ''The umpires wanted to send a message as far as throwing at someone's head. That's not what you want to do.''
Gonzalez was back in Cleveland's lineup on Saturday after missing three straight games with a bruised hand.