Times wires
Sunday, February 20, 2011
CLEARWATER — New Phillies ace Cliff Lee has been held back this spring because of soreness in his side, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
The left-hander, signed as a free agent this offseason, developed the soreness while throwing at home in Arkansas, the newspaper reported. General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said Lee was examined by team physician Michael Ciccotti before camp opened.
"He was diagnosed with a mild strain," Amaro told the Inquirer. "We shut him down for a week and now he's right back on time. We're probably being a little cautious with him, but he feels great now and he should be fine."
Lee, 32, has opened the season on the disabled list twice with abdominal strains, including last season with Seattle.
Jays: Snider ailing
DUNEDIN — Blue Jays OF Travis Snider is being slowed by an injury to his upper ribcage area, MLB.com reported.
Snider has soreness in the intercostal muscles on his left side. He was hurt last week while playing golf at Innisbrook.
"I tweaked something about four or five days ago and we've just been taking a very cautious approach with the idea in mind that the ultimate goal is to be ready for opening day," Snider told the website.
Manager John Farrell said he didn't think the injury was serious.
Yanks: 3,000 pursuit
TAMPA — Yankees captain Derek Jeter plans to enjoy his upcoming trip to 3,000 career hits. The shortstop is 74 hits from the milestone.
"It's going to be a party the whole year," Jeter joked. "I've always been one that tries to shy away from anything that's personal and not talk about it much. Couldn't wait for it to be over with because I really didn't like the focus to be on me. Now, I think, it's going to be more of enjoying every day."
Jeter, 36, is the Yankees' all-time hits leader.
"It's something that's very hard to do," Jeter said of getting 3,000 hits. "Not too many people have done it."
NO THANKS: RHP Kevin Millwood, 36, rejected a minor-league contract offer, the New York Post reported.