Around the AL: White Sox lose Quentin

It’s not uncommon for hitters to injure their wrists after being accidentally struck by a thrown ball. Carlos Quentin sustained a fracture after striking his bat on purpose.

Quentin, the Chicago White Sox outfielder who was leading the AL with 36 home runs, had a screw inserted in his wrist during Monday’s surgical procedure at Rush University Medical Center. He’ll be re-evaluated in two to three weeks.

The injury occurred the previous week in Cleveland, and it removed a 100-RBI slugger from the lineup. It also was one of the quirkier mishaps in recent memory.

“My last at-bat, second pitch, I fouled it off against (Cliff) Lee," Quentin told reporters. "Something I've done thousands of times since I was a kid, I had my bat in the left hand and kind of hit down on the bat head with my right hand (with a) closed fist. I hit it a little bit low and nicked my wrist.

“I finished the at-bat, and 40 minutes later, I started feeling something in my wrist. I woke up the next morning and that was that. It's something I've done a lot. Unfortunately, it hit the bone perfectly and not in a good spot.”

It’s something that manager Ozzie Guillen wishes would no longer be part of Quentin’s routine in the batter’s box, though he won’t lecture the outfielder.

“That's up to him,” Guillen said. “He's not my child. My job is winning games. My job is putting guys out there. I'm not going to tell the players what to do, what not to do. The only thing I tell them is don't go drink and drive. That's it.”

Of more concern is whether Quentin returns before the end of the regular season.

“I don't think I'm going to count on him until the year is over,” Guillen said, “because (if he does), he will give me some hope. And I don't like to live in hope. I like to be realistic, know what I have and prepare myself the best I can with what I have."

Wallets closed

Don’t look for the Seattle Mariners to be big spenders in the free-agent market this winter. At least, not according to team president Chuck Armstrong, who told the Seattle Times that the Mariners will fill their needs from within.

"If I have my way, the plan will be that we're not going to make a splash in 2009," Armstrong said. "We want the ability to contend on a continuing, year-by-year-by-year basis."

With their payroll around $118 million, the Mariners were supposed to do it in 2008. They signed pitcher Carlos Silva to a four-year, $48 million deal. They gave catcher Kenji Johjima a three-year, $24 million extension. They sent five players to Baltimore for left-hander Erik Bedard. And they proceeded to register the worst record in the AL.

The Mariners are trying to avoid being the first team in the majors to boast a nine-figure payroll and lose 100 games.

"I'm not ready to concede anything (next season)," Armstrong told the paper, "but my main thing is, we're not going to put all of our chips on 'Red 79.' We're not going to put all our chips on 2009, because we put all of our chips on 2008 and it didn't work out."
 
Trembley staying

Orioles manager Dave Trembley said he never doubted his return in 2009, so the news last week that the club picked up his option didn’t come as a relief.

Winning an occasional game would bring that sense, however.

“I always knew I was coming back,” said Trembley, who took over for fired manager Sam Perlozzo on June 18, 2007. “I never doubted one bit that I was going to come back, because I’m dealing with people who it’s important for them to [value] hard work, being fair, being honest — all those things we’ve always thought were important. It’s never been about me.”

Apparently, it also isn’t about the Orioles’ record, which has left them firmly in last place in the East Division.

“I think I have a responsibility to be fairly objective about the level of talent the manager has, and the degree of difficulty, and try to assess the areas the front office and I need to improve,” team president Andy MacPhail said. “The record is not a 100 percent function of the manager.”

The Orioles added a club option for 2010. Trembley has invited back the entire coaching staff.

“He deserves it. He has done a lot for the organization in his year and a half,” right fielder Nick Markakis said. “He’s been a great manager. He knows his stuff. And it’s relaxing to go out there and play and have fun and he’s not down your throat every two minutes.”

“I love Dave,” second baseman Brian Roberts said. “But it’s not the manager that’s going to take us to the next level. We have to do it on the field. A manager can only do so much.”

Did you know...?

Heading into the weekend, there had been 14 nine-inning complete games this season in which the starter needed 100 pitches or fewer.

The only pitcher do it more than once is Tampa Bay’s James Shields, who had a 92-pitch complete game against the Los Angeles Angels on May 9 and a 99-pitch complete game against Boston on April 27.

Here are the lowest pitch counts for nine-inning complete games this season:

Aaron Cook, Colorado  vs. San Diego, July 1 – 79
James Shields, Tampa Bay vs. LA Angels, May 9 – 92
Chien-Ming Wang, Yankees vs. Boston, April 11 – 93
Paul Byrd, Cleveland vs. Toronto, Aug. 9 – 94
Jake Westbrook, Cleveland vs. LA Angels, April 8 – 94
Dana Eveland, Oakland vs. Tampa Bay, May 21 – 95
Ervin Santana, Angels vs. Kansas City, May 5 – 97
Braden Looper, St. Louis vs. Cincinnati, Aug. 11 – 98
John Lackey, Angels vs. Oakland, Aug. 26 – 98
Jon Garland, Angels vs. Toronto, June 6 - 98
James Shields, Tampa Bay vs. Boston, April 27 – 99
Paul Maholm, Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia, April 27 – 99
Nate Robertson, Detroit vs. Seattle, June 6 – 100

In record time

Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez entered Tuesday night needing two saves to tie the single-season record of 57 held by Bobby Thigpen. But he’s already reached a few milestones.

Rodriguez has posted the most saves by a Latin player, passing Mariano Rivera (53). He also is the youngest player to reach 200 career saves (26 years, 239 days), doing so with the fewest appearances.

Thigpen set the single-season record back in 1990.

Some quick hits:

• Angels pitcher Jered Weaver sustained cuts on the middle and ring fingers on his right hand when he gripped the underside of a bench in the visiting dugout at Comerica Park. Weaver missed his next start.

• Each time Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia steps to the plate at Fenway Park, he’s bathed in chants of “MVP, MVP.” Must be the .328 average, 45 doubles, 17 homers, 77 RBIs and 111 runs scored that he took into Tuesday night’s game. “I don’t listen to that,” he said. “I just try to get good at-bats and help our team win.”

• Going into the weekend, Pedroia was batting .667 in the cleanup spot, with two homers and seven RBIs. “I told him I was going to put an ‘S’ on his chest,” Mark Kotsay said. “His energy is unbelievable.”

• Josh Hamilton put on a brilliant display of power hitting in the Home Run Derby, but maybe it took a little too much out of him. He was hitting .310 with 21 homers, 95 RBIs and a .552 slugging percentage before the break. He entered the weekend hitting .281 with 10 homers, 26 RBIs and a .521 slugging percentage since the break. Maybe it’s just coincidence.

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