With stress fracture in foot, Twins` Hunter placed on DL

With stress fracture in foot, Twins` Hunter placed on DL   

 

Associated Press
Sun, Jul 16, 2006  

 

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Twins placed center fielder Torii Hunter on the 15-day disabled list Sunday after learning the five-time Gold Glove award winner has a stress fracture in his left foot.

 

Hunter was the third Twins outfielder disabled in the past four days, a discouraging development for a team that is desperately trying to catch the Tigers and White Sox in the AL Central race.

 

Lew Ford strained a muscle on his right side while swinging at a pitch in Thursday`s game, and Shannon Stewart returned to the DL for the second time this season after reinjuring his left foot Saturday night.

 

Outfielder Josh Rabe was recalled from Triple-A Rochester to take Hunter`s place, and he is expected to join the team for Monday night`s game against the Devil Rays.

 

Oddsmakers have Minnesota listed as a -139 favorite. The total is set at 9 1/2.

 

Rondell White`s rehabilitation assignment ended hastily when Stewart went down, and he was the designated hitter on Sunday against the Indians. Jason Tyner was brought up after Ford`s injury, and he played left. Michael Cuddyer was in right field, and Nick Punto - a utility infielder who became the starting third baseman a month ago - started for Hunter in center.

 

Jason Kubel, who took over as the regular left fielder when Stewart got hurt the first time in late May, is fighting sore knees and can`t run full speed. Kubel and backup catcher Mike Redmond were the only two available bench players Sunday, with corner infielder Terry Tiffee away after the birth of his twin boys.

 

``We`re in dire straits right now,`` manager Ron Gardenhire said before the game.

 

Both Hunter and Stewart had MRI tests done Sunday morning. Stewart`s revealed an aggravation of a previous incomplete tear of the plantar fascia tissue in his left foot, according to the team. Hunter`s showed a stress fracture in the fourth metatarsal, one of the long bones that extends from heel to toe.

 

Hunter, whose 2005 season ended two months early when he broke a bone near his left ankle while trying to make a catch in center field, left Saturday night`s game after two innings. Until Sunday, he was out of the lineup only once, despite playing with persistent soreness in that foot this year.

 

His absence was undoubtedly the biggest blow for Minnesota, which missed Hunter`s leadership dearly after the injury last season. He`s batting .269 with 14 homers and 49 RBIs.

Kyle Busch gets first win of 2006

Kyle Busch gets first win of 2006   

 

Associated Press
Sun, Jul 16, 2006  

 

LOUDON, N.H. -- Kyle Busch (+1500) had to go to overtime Sunday at New Hampshire International Speedway for his first NASCAR Nextel Cup victory of the year.

 

Busch passed Elliott Sadler (+5000) for the lead 61 laps from the end and appeared to have the third victory of his career all wrapped up before a crash involving Hendrick Motorsports teammate Brian Vickers and rookie Clint Bowyer brought out a caution flag on lap 298, just three laps from the scheduled end of the Lenox Industrial Tools 300.

 

With a number of drivers concerned about running out of the fuel, including Sadler, the race was extended even longer when Robby Gordon (+7500) ran into the back of Michael Waltrip (+10000) on lap 303.

 

The last restart finally came on lap 307. By that time, both rookie Denny Hamlin (+1500) and Carl Edwards had moved past Sadler, but Busch easily pulled away from the challengers.

 

Edwards dove past Hamlin for second place on the final lap and Hamlin then appeared to run out of gas, fading all the way to sixth as Greg Biffle (+800), Mark Martin (+2000) and Kevin Harvick (+1000) all drove past on the final straightaway.

 

Sadler ran out of gas on the final restart and wound up 25th, the last driver on the lead lap.

 

The 21-year-old Busch was positioned for the victory when crew chief Alan Gustafson brought the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in for a gas-only pit stop during a caution period on lap 211.

 

Busch, the younger brother of 2003 Cup champion Kurt Busch (+1500), restarted seventh when the green flag waved on lap 215 and worked his way steadily to the front. Sadler inherited the lead, with Busch right behind him, when they stayed on track while the drivers in front of them pitted during another caution on lap 235.

 

The restart came on lap 238 and it took Busch just three laps to get around Sadler. He led the rest of the way.

 

``I asked Alan on that last pit stop if we were OK on gas if we went extra laps,`` Busch said. ``He said it would be fine, but all off a sudden they`re telling me, `Save gas! Save gas! Save gas!` I wasn`t sure what to think.``

 

On a hot, sticky day filled with crashes, defending Cup and race champion Tony Stewart crashed early in the race and fell out of the top 10 in points with only seven races left before the start of the Chase for the championship.

Fade bait: Twins can`t deal with injuries

Fade bait: Twins can`t deal with injuries   

 

By Josh Hansen
Sun, Jul 16, 2006  

 

A set of bad breaks is slowing down Minnesota`s speedy outfield. But the bleeding doesn`t stop there.

 

Lew Ford, Shannon Stewart and most notably, Torii Hunter, are all nursing their respective injuries and with the exception of Hunter, will be out of Minnesota’s lineup for at least today’s series-opener with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Both Stewart and Ford are on the 15-day DL after an MRI on Hunter’s left foot revealed a stress fracture, he was also placed on the 15-day DL Sunday.

 

“For that team, there is no margin of error. Pretty much anything less than a 100 percent healthy roster is bad news,” says Covers Expert Larry Ness.

 

Minnesota’s small-ball, small market attitude doesn’t afford the Twins any options should someone like Hunter, arguably the X-Factor among those injured, hit the DL for a prolonged length of time.

 

Hunter left Saturday’s game after two innings with shooting pains in his left foot. X-Rays taken after the game were inconclusive but team officials believe the injury is related to Hunter`s season-ending injury from last year.

 

The Twins did nothing except drop six of the next seven without Hunter in 2005, but finished with a respectable 28-31 record in the two months he missed with a broken ankle.

 

A similar outcome is in the cards considering Minnesota’s upcoming schedule.

 

Beginning today, the Twins play the Tampa Bay Devil Rays before heading to Cleveland, Chicago and then back home versus Detroit. While Minnesota is a league-best 32-11 at home, playing those teams on the road will present a problem for the Twins, who rank among the bottom five in road scoring.

 

“It will hurt them when they go on the road more than at home because they’ve built their team to play around that dome,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “That will hurt them more especially when they run into some tough pitching against Chicago.”

 

Adding insult to injury is Minnesota’s 11-21 record versus Central division opponents.

 

After the upcoming four-game set with the Devil Rays, the Twins play eight games versus division opponents, lining Minnesota up for a second half decline, according to Ness.

 

“Look at their Central record and overall record versus the American League and it doesn’t bold well for the second half,” says Ness.

 

“This upcoming stretch, is not one in which you’d expect to see them win many games.”