BACK BOTHERING RICHAR (8:59 p.m. ET)
White Sox second baseman Danny Richar missed his fifth consecutive game Sunday because of back problems that have prevented him from performing simple baseball activities.
Richar said the back pain was particularly intense Saturday.
"I tried to take a couple of ground balls, and I couldn't do it," Richar said. "I took a couple [Sunday], and it still bothered me a lot. I'm working in the training room every day as much as I can to be ready."
Richar and the White Sox are unsure when he'll return. Manager Ozzie Guillen said Richar had an MRI and the results showed there was no major damage.
Richar was expected to compete for the second-base job with Juan Uribe and rookie Alexei Ramirez this spring, but he was a week late because of visa problems. When Richar did arrive, so did his back problems, which he originally suffered playing winter ball.
-- The Associated Press
WESTBROOK ENCOURAGED (8:18 p.m. ET)
Jake Westbrook pitched three strong innings and the Cleveland Indians hit three solo home runs to defeat the Washington Nationals 5-2 in a split-squad game Sunday.
Westbrook, whose first start this spring was delayed because of a sore arm, gave up one hit and one walk and struck out five in his second outing.
"I felt fine and threw all my pitches, even one curveball in there," said the right-hander who usually relies on a sinker. "I threw about 50 pitches, and it all feels good."
Westbrook, who missed seven weeks early in the 2007 season with a left oblique strain, took time off early in camp after experiencing tightness in his right arm.
Also, Nationals CF Elijah Dukes was hit in the left hand by a pitch from RHP Masa Kobayashi and left the game for precautionary reasons. The Nationals said Dukes has two bruised fingers, with minimal swelling and full range of movement. Dukes was expected to be able to play Monday.
-- The Associated Press
MATSUI RUSTY, HUGHES GOLDEN (5:57 p.m. ET)
Phil Hughes was unhittable for four innings. Hideki Matsui's swing looked rusty all afternoon.
Hughes put together an impressive outing and Matsui returned to the New York Yankees' lineup Sunday in a 6-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins.
Making his first appearance of spring training since surgery on his right knee in November, Matsui went 0-for-3 with two groundouts and a flyout as the designated hitter.
But Hughes, part of a package the Yankees initially offered to Minnesota for ace Johan Santana this offseason, pitched four hitless innings at Hammond Stadium. The 21-year-old right-hander, who went 5-3 with a 4.46 ERA as a rookie in 2007, retired his first nine batters before walking two in the fourth. He struck out one and threw 56 pitches.
"I was locating the fastball. That was No. 1. The breaking ball was about where I want it to be, so I was happy with that," Hughes said. "I just hope I don't waste all of the good innings during spring training."
Also, the Twins removed RHP Scott Baker from their rotation for a few days because of a sore muscle in his side. He's not expected to be out for long. ... Minnesota closer Joe Nathan returned after an ankle injury and pitched a perfect seventh.
-- The Associated Press
COLON'S COMEBACK CONTINUES (4:58 p.m. ET)
Bartolo Colon's comeback picked up speed Sunday when he showed excellent control in his first batting practice session of spring training and was scheduled to pitch in a game Thursday.
Colon has been impressive since Boston signed the 2005 AL Cy Young Award winner to a minor league contract Feb. 25. He threw three bullpen sessions in the previous six days without facing hitters.
"He's ready for some game activity," pitching coach John Farrell said after Sunday's 43-pitch session.
Colon won't throw more than 30 pitches or two innings against Tampa Bay in his spring debut, Farrell said.
After Sunday's batting practice session against four minor leaguers, Colon said through a translator that he "feels better than ever" after two injury-plagued seasons.
-- The Associated Press
SHEFFIELD SITS OUT AGAIN (4:12 p.m. ET)
Gary Sheffield missed his third straight spring training game with leg cramps Sunday but is expected to return to the lineup in a couple of days.
Detroit's designated hitter sat out against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday. The 39-year-old slugger is expected to play Tuesday when the Tigers host the Cincinnati Reds in a split-squad game.
Tigers manager Jim Leyland said he sensed Sheffield was capable of playing Sunday, but decided two more days off couldn't hurt.
"I'd be worried more if he was the shortstop, where you've got to play, take ground balls, make the double play," Leyland said. "He's probably not going to play the outfield to start with. If he's able to hit to start with, that's good enough for right now."
-- The Associated Press
JAYS' RYAN IMPROVING (1:12 p.m. ET)
Blue Jays closer B.J. Ryan felt so good after his second spring training simulated game Saturday that he's not even thinking about his elbow that underwent Tommy John surgery last year.
"My fastballs were lively, and I was pitching in the zone," Ryan told reporters. "I was just focused on trying to finish, from start to finish, when I got to home plate."
Saturday's 16-pitch outing saw Ryan throw mostly fastballs and cutters, with a few breaking balls sprinkled in. He recorded two strikeouts in one inning of work and allowed a weak single.
Ryan is slated to toss another simulated game Tuesday.
WAGNER ADDS THIRD, FOURTH PITCH TO ARSENAL (10:15 a.m. ET)
The Mets' historic collapse in September, and the possibility that hitters are catching up to him, led closer Billy Wagner to add a changeup and curveball this spring to go along with his usually overpowering fastball and slider.
"The expectations are high around here, as they should be, and I want to be right there when we're living up to them," Wagner told the New York Post. "It was kind of a helpless feeling for me [at the end of last year]. I don't want that to happen again."
Wagner suffered from back spasms at the end of last season that kept New York's dominating closer on the shelf late as the Mets surrendered a seven-game lead in the National League East with 17 games left to play.
"It was a helpless feeling," Wagner told the newspaper. "I would have done anything to make a difference, but my body wouldn't let me."
ROWAND WOULDN'T MIND SEEING CREDE WITH GIANTS (9:52 a.m. ET)
New Giants outfielder Aaron Rowand wasn't directly advocating for San Francisco to acquire Joe Crede via trade, but when prompted by reporters as to whether the team should try to deal for the third baseman, Rowand was clear in his opinions about his former White Sox teammate.
"There's no doubt, no doubt," Rowand told reporters when asked whether Crede could help the Giants. "I know I keep saying it over and over again, and I'm biased. I'm not playing recruiter, it's not like I'm going to [the front office] and saying, 'Get him.'
"They asked me and, obviously, everyone knows what he can do on the field. I told them, 'You're asking a guy who is biased, but I'll give you my answer.' God knows I want to play with Joe again."
Rowand signed with San Francisco this offseason as a free agent for $60 million over five years.
CORTISONE SHOT HELPS NATS' HILL (9:42 a.m. ET)
Washington's Shawn Hill received a cortisone shot in his right arm Friday, decreasing the pitcher's chances he'll be the team's starting pitcher when the Nats open their new stadium this season.
"It didn't feel great, but I threw what I was supposed to throw," Hill told The Washington Post. "I was just a little frustrated with just the fact that I still had some pain. But I was still throwing."
Nats general manager Jim Bowden said that the team is trying to find out what's wrong but noted that the shot did result in immediate improvement for Hill.
"They injected it, and he had instant relief," Bowden told the newspaper. "What that means, I don't know. We'll have to wait and see when he goes back on the mound."
BRAUN IMPRESSING YOST WITH HIS DEFENSE (9:33 a.m. ET)
Ryan Braun, Gold Glove outfielder? It's certainly possibly, according to his manager.
Braun showed off his bat last season as a rookie, blasting 34 home runs in 451 plate appearances. He spent the 2007 season at third base before the move to the outfield this year.
"He's been much, much better than I thought he'd be at this point," Brewers manager Ned Yost told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "He's got an opportunity one day to win a Gold Glove in left field. He certainly does."
DUNCAN EYES MONDAY RETURN (9:27 a.m. ET)
Cardinals outfielder Chris Duncan, who owns an .081 batting average this spring, plans to return to the batting cages Sunday after injuring his lower back.
"It felt better, felt good," Duncan told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Saturday. "I don't know what caused it. Maybe I slept wrong. Maybe I took too many swings in the cages."
After Duncan missed Friday's spring training game, team officials hope he can return to action Monday. Duncan has just one hit and five walks this spring.
GIRARDI MIFFED BY LATE-INNING INCIDENT VS. RAYS (9:21 a.m. ET)
Yankees manager Joe Girardi understands injuries happen during spring training. The broken wrist suffered by one of his minor league catchers is not among Girardi's list of acceptable ailments, however.
Girardi was fuming after Tampa Bay Rays infielder Elliot Johnson barreled over Yankees minor league catcher Francisco Cervelli, fracturing his wrist -- the second time since the end of last season it has been broken.
"I think it's uncalled for," Girardi told reporters. "It's spring training. You're going to get people hurt, and that's what we got -- we got Cervelli hurt."
Girardi added: "It's one thing to get hit by a pitch that gets away or to twist an ankle running the bases, but I don't understand this … I don't understand it. During the season, I'm all for it. It happens in the season, and as a catcher, I understand that. But in spring training, I don't believe in it."
