Baseball Capsules: Clemens' lawyers ask N.Y. judge to toss suit

Morneau said on Wednesday that he is still optimistic that he will eventually return from his concussion to help out in 2010, even though he still can't sit in the dugout to watch a full nine innings.

"To keep the symptoms down they say to limit the stress," Morneau said with a sheepish shrug.

Easier said than done for a player as competitive as Morneau, the 2006 AL MVP and one of the pillars of the Twins clubhouse. He went on the disabled list after taking a knee to the head while sliding into second base in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays on July 7.

He took some batting practice in August and has sat in the dugout for some games at Target Field, but doctors have advised him to take it slowly in those stressful activities to expedite the recovery process.

"We're late in the game, it's more wanting to be out there," Morneau said. "We got a tie game or we're up by one and we've got runners on base, you're sitting there wanting to be out there. The adrenaline starts going and you starting thinking about what you would do in that situation. We're just trying to limit that stuff. That's part of it."

Morneau hasn't played since and is still feeling symptoms from the concussion. But he did say he is "having more good days than bad" this week.

"It comes and goes. The last couple days I've felt pretty good and been really encouraged," he said. "It's going to take a few days like that. It's not going to be just one or two where I can all of a sudden go out there and play. I have to feel like myself."

His return sure would be a boost to the Twins, who have surged to the top of the AL Central even without their slugger in the lineup. Michael Cuddyer has moved from right field to first base and filled in admirably and the Twins led the Chicago White Sox by 4½ games when the day started on Wednesday.

It's the second straight September that Morneau has been forced to watch from the bench. He missed the final three weeks of last season and the playoffs with a back injury.

"Being in here after the game and seeing everybody excited, it's tough for me to be around that," Morneau said. "As good as it is to see it, it's definitely hard to be around, not feeling like you're a part of it."

Morneau was hitting .345 with 18 homers and 56 RBIs when he went down the first week in July. Even though he hasn't played in two months, only Jim Thome (22) and Jason Kubel (19) have more homers than Morneau on the Twins.

"It's just a long process," he said. "It's frustrating watching it and not being a part of it. This is what we play for and you never know how many chances you're going to get to win.

"Being the first year in this stadium and not being able to be a part of it has been very difficult. The boys are playing well, that's made it easier. It's still my goal of making it back this year."

It hasn't been all bad news for Morneau. He was recently nominated as a finalist for the Roberto Clemente Award, given annually to a major league player who combines community service with excellence on the field.

"It's a real special honor," Morneau said. "What he did as a player and off the field helping so many people was something special and it's very humbling to be nominated and recognized."

Morneau grew up in the Vancouver area and idolized Canucks forward Trevor Linden, who was also very active in the community. He made it a priority to do the same thing when he made it to the big leagues.

"When you do anything off the field it's not for recognition or awards or anything like that, it's to try and make a difference in someone's life," Morneau said. "It's very special to be recognized and it's nice, but there's a whole lot of guys in here doing great things."

-- Jon Krawczynski

This time, it's Joyce who plans on being perfect.

Joyce, widely considered one of the majors' top umpires, cost the Tigers right-hander a perfect game on June 2 when he incorrectly called the Indians' Jason Donald safe at first on what should have been a game-ending grounder.

Joyce acknowledged missing the call after watching a video replay. His heartfelt apology to Galarraga, and the pitcher's calm and graceful acceptance of it, drew praise as a model for sportsmanship during a time when athletes more often attract headlines for misbehavior.

About 12 hours after the missed call, Joyce wiped away tears at home plate as Galarraga brought out the Tigers' lineup card for the next day's game. The two had hugged the night before when Joyce sought out Galarraga to apologize.

Joyce wasn't aware Galarraga was pitching Friday until being told by The Associated Press, and he said he is looking forward to it.

"I've seen him since, I've talked to him; the only difference is I'm not going to be at first base, I'm going to be at home plate," Joyce said Wednesday night in Pittsburgh after Atlanta beat the Pirates 9-3. "Apprehensive, but also kind of excited about it, really, to be honest with you."

This will be the first series Joyce has umpired in Detroit since making a call that is likely to be remembered for as long as the sport is played — and not necessarily for all the wrong reasons.

"It's just the apprehension of walking out on that field," Joyce said. "It'll be the first time I'm back. Even though I have talked to Armando and everything is very, very, very, very good, it's still always in the back of my mind. It's going to be a little apprehension; just walking onto the field is going to be something."

The missed call drew even the White House's attention, with presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs calling on baseball to award Galarraga a perfect game. It also renewed support for baseball to rely on instant replay to correct such mistakes.

Major League Baseball quickly ruled the call would stand — changing it would have unprecedented — and there are currently no plans to expand replay beyond deciding home run calls.

-- Alan Robinson

Yankees relievers Marte, Aceves not expected back

NEW YORK (AP) — Injured relievers Damaso Marte and Alfredo Aceves are not expected back in the New York Yankees' bullpen this season.

"I would say that's rapid development," Colorado Rockies manager Jim Tracy said.

Gonzalez's remarkable 2½-week tear has put the Rockies back into the thick of the pennant race and placed him squarely in the hunt to become the first hitter to lead his league in homers, RBIs and batting average since Boston's Carl Yastrzemski did it in 1967.

No NL player has done it since St. Louis' Joe Medwick in 1937.

Heading into action Thursday, the man his teammates have dubbed "CarGo" was the NL leader in batting average (.340) and RBIs (100) and his 32 homers trailed leader Albert Pujols by four.

During a career-best 16-game hitting streak that began Aug. 23, Gonzalez's graceful swing has been on full display with a 32-for-62 streak that includes nine doubles, two triples, seven homers and 21 RBIs as he's packed 25 points onto his batting average.

He's put up these numbers despite batting leadoff for 44 games earlier this season. Since moving into the third spot in the batting order in June 22, Gonzalez is batting .377 and since that date he leads the National League in hits, batting average, home runs, RBIs and slugging percentage.

"When you talk about what's been done already and what's looming out there on the horizon, it's a little scary to think about how talented this guy is," Tracy said. "This guy's a very, very special player. He makes a strong argument he's the best player in the league when you add it all up."

If he doesn't win the Triple Crown, how about Most Valuable Player?

The 24-year-old slugger flashes solid credentials regardless of where the Rockies finish. He's the only player in the National League with a slugging percentage above .600 and he recently became just the 12th player since 1952 to collect extra-base hits in 10 consecutive games.

It's not just his bat that's turning heads, either.

He's swiped 23 bases. He roams all three outfield spots at cavernous Coors Field as if he's been playing each position his entire career, routinely making terrific catches at the wall and nailing runners with one of the best arms in baseball. He's made just one error all season.

"He's capable of doing anything," Rockies ace Ubaldo Jimenez said. "He can play defense, he can run and steal some bases, throw runners out. He can do it all."

Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker sees not a single weakness in Gonzalez's game.

"He's a real tough out, he's got a great swing. He's going to hit the ball all over the ballpark," Baker said. "You really don't know where to play him. He has the ability to hit all kinds of pitches. He's a heck of a ballplayer."

Before the All-Star break in 2009, Tracy was dealing with questions about why he was stubbornly sticking with Gonzalez in the lineup.

Sure, he was showing occasional flashes of brilliance as he had in the Arizona and Oakland farm systems and with the Athletics in 2008, when he hit 22 doubles before joining the Rockies in the no-longer-debated Matt Holliday trade, but his lack of discipline at the plate was making it easy on pitchers.

Things began to click right after the break last season and he finished with a .284 average with 13 homers and 29 RBIs in 89 games.

Then, he went wild in the playoffs, collecting 10 hits in 17 at-bats against the Philadelphia Phillies in the division series. Remarkably, nine of those hits came off lefties.

He's on the same kind of roll now.

"He absolutely loves this time of the year," Tracy said. "This guy rises. He goes to another level."

Cleanup hitter Troy Tulowitzki, who provides protection for Gonzalez to see some better pitches than he would otherwise, said Gonzalez is sporting a swagger that's only helping him get better.

"The confidence oozes out of him," Tulowitzki said. "I think that's the biggest difference in him from last year to this year is the confidence. That's huge. If you can walk up there with a swagger and know that you're a special player, that's going help you a lot in the field. And that's what he does each and every day."

Gonzalez said his playoff performance made him realize how good he could be.

"That totally changed my mentality, my preparation and everything because maybe I wasn't trying that hard before and now I'm trying really hard because during the playoffs, that was special and that was something that I wanted to win so bad and I wanted to be really good," Gonzalez told The Associated Press.

"My whole mentality and preparation were really good. So, I carried that into the season, and that's why I've been doing so good."

Gonzalez has heeded Tracy's instructions to shrink his strike zone this season, forcing pitchers to elevate their offerings.

Now that Tulowitzki has found his power stroke after returning from a broken wrist that sidelined him for six weeks, the Rockies sport one of the league's best 1-2 punches in 3-4 spots in the order.

"I always let him know that the reason he's having such a big year is because his protection's there," Tulowitzki said, only half-jokingly.

"It's true," Gonzalez said. "Well, Tulowitzki was out for like a month and I was doing pretty well then, too."

-- Arnie Stapleton

He'll have to decide where to hang the huge oil painting commissioned in honor of his 600th career save, where to put the ball from Tuesday night's achievement and when to respond to the hundreds of calls and text messages he received.

Hoffman says he talked to commissioner Bud Selig on Wednesday morning and also spoke with Hall of Famer Robin Yount after finally getting to bed well past 3 a.m.

He was back at work for Milwaukee's game against St. Louis, just with another memento for his collection. He says he has kept a baseball from at least 95 percent of his saves, only missing a few from his early days in the league.

"Last night as great as it was, but we're hearing the same music as we have the last 160 days, it's the same feeling at the ballpark," he said. "It was unbelievable for the moment, but as we've all been a part of and seen and witnessed, it just moves on."

Hoffman, who had his game cap sent to the Hall of Fame, says his phone stopped accepting voicemails from all the well wishers. He thanked the fans in San Diego, where he received a standing ovation after the accomplishment was shown on their scoreboard.

"As a player, you just don't expect to be received that way," he said. "They're in the middle of a pennant race, their focus is staying ahead of the Giants. To take the time was a class move by the organization as well."

It took a lot longer than expected, but it now says "600" on the big board in left-center in Miller Park. The 1,000 T-shirts commemorating the event sold out in about 20 minutes.

The club says another shipment will arrive before the weekend.

Hoffman said he spent some time thinking about what he'd say to the fans and the players, and used a line similar to Andre Dawson's Hall of Fame induction speech, saying, "If you love the game, it's going to love you back."

"I had a couple of angles, I didn't know how much I wanted to get in the bittersweet relationship — the sweet that I accomplished it and the bitter in the path that it took," Hoffman said. "The journey might not have been the one that I foresaw, but one that can be looked upon as a good thing. It's a better teaching tool than anything else."

General manager Doug Melvin said he wished everyone had heard Hoffman's speech to the club afterward.

"I wished all 160 of our minor league players could be there, but I said also I wished all young players in Major League Baseball could be in there, not just our players," he said. "I'm big into Western movies, I felt like I was following John Wayne."

Hoffman blew five of his first 10 save opportunities and lost his closer's job to rookie John Axford. His numbers have been much better lately with a 2.63 ERA in his last 29 appearances.

"Ax was sitting at the corner of opportunity and success, and I got Wally Pip-ed," Hoffman joked. "We've dealt with this together."

Axford has said he's not the closer and Hoffman says the role is Axford's.

"Trevor has been fantastic to me this entire time, he's been a fantastic mentor," said Axford, who has converted 20 of 22 saves. "I can understand and know what he's gone through almost 700 times when he's trying to close out games. Just knowing that emotional side, knowing how tough it is to close out a game, means even more."

Hoffman's second season in Milwaukee could be his last. Even if the right-hander who turns 43 next month wants to pitch, the Brewers must decide if they want to pick up his $7 million option or buy it out for $500,000, with Axford succeeding at a price that's significantly lower.

"Offseason decisions can wait until the offseason, but I think everybody felt they were a part of something special with something like that, a milestone," Melvin said. "I believe you never give up on somebody who has the character he does, you just don't give up on them."

Hoffman returned to the field, doing what he's done since arriving in Milwaukee. He led the rest of the Brewers' relievers in workouts with a smile on his face.

"He could've taken the day off," Melvin quipped.

No chance.

-- Colin Fly

Davidson said he decided to throw out 44-year-old Sean A. Ottow of Waukesha, Wis., in the bottom of the seventh inning Tuesday night because he wanted to make sure Molina wouldn't do something to escalate the situation. Davidson spoke Wednesday before the series finale.

"Molina, I thought he was going to go toward (the fan) and I said, 'I'll take care of it,'" said Davidson, who was the plate umpire. "I was going to wait until between innings and not be so obvious, but I figured after he said that, he was very intoxicated, I needed to take care of it."

Molina has declined to discuss the ejection.

Ottow had said he had been talking to Molina all evening, but the umpires said several Brewers players mentioned how drunk Ottow seemed. When an usher asked Ottow to leave, he stood and posed with his arms in the air to cheers from fans. Ottow was cited for disorderly conduct by police. In Milwaukee, that typically draws a $185 fine.

"I never swore at him," Ottow said while handcuffed to a bench on Miller Park's service level on Tuesday night. "He just got the umpire to throw me out. We were bantering back and forth and I guess Molina couldn't take it anymore.

"You'd think these guys would have tougher skin than that," he said.

In the second, Milwaukee manager Ken Macha was thrown out by second base umpire Tim Timmons, Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan was ejected from the dugout by Davidson in the third and Milwaukee center fielder Chris Dickerson was tossed by Davidson in the fifth before the fan's ejection.

The Brewers' 4-2 win over the Cardinals will be remembered because Trevor Hoffman earned his 600th career save, but Davidson laughed when asked about the crew making four ejections in one game.

"I thought it was great," he said.

-- Colin Fly

Ramirez sits out with sore back

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Marlins pitcher Josh Johnson has right shoulder inflammation and a strained mid-back, making it unclear when the All-Star will return to the mound.