The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Dodgers’ Gonzalez to take 2-week break

First baseman won’t swing bat as elbow tendinitis heals.

- Pacers: Cavaliers: Wizards: Noteworthy: Today’s Events Sunday’s Game

Adrian Gonzalez is taking a two-week break from hitting to heal tendinitis in the Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman’s right elbow.

Gonzalez still hopes to play for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic next month, he said Friday after reporting to camp in Glendale, Ariz.

Gonzalez, 34, said he pursued his usual varied offseason workout program, including weightlift­ing and boxing exercises. It left him with a case of tennis elbow, or inflammati­on on the outside of the elbow after forearm tendons are overused.

“I don’t play tennis,” Gonzalez laughed.

The hitting break is purely a precaution, and Gonzalez said the injury isn’t thought to be serious. He initially felt the pain in December, but kept working out until the brink of spring training.

“There’s no pain when I’m just doing normal things, but I just feel it when I squeeze something — the bat or the glove,” said Gonzalez, who throws with his left hand. “I’d say it’s about 90 percent (healthy), but you want to get that last 10 percent.”

Gonzalez hit .285 with 18 homers and 90 RBIs last season, and he played every postseason game during the Dodgers’ run to the NL Championsh­ip Series.

Rangers: Third baseman Adrian Beltre, 37, reported to spring training with a strained left calf muscle that will sideline him about three weeks and keep him out of the opening round of the World Baseball Classic.

Yankees: Tyler Austin fouled a ball off his left foot early this week during a prespring training workout, and manager Joe Girardi said an MRI found a small bone break. Austin will be in a boot for three weeks and won’t start baseball activities for six weeks.

Marlins: Shortstop Adeiny Hechavarri­a told a federal jury Friday in Miami that he lied to federal investigat­ors in 2012 about knowing a key figure in an alleged Cuban ballplayer smuggling network linked to Florida sports agent Bartolo Hernandez and trainer Julio Estrada, who are accused of conspiracy and alien smuggling.

Royals: The toxicology report on pitcher Yordano Ventura won’t be released to the public following his death last month in a car crash in his native Dominican Republic. The findings only will be released to Ventura’s family and attorneys.

Giants: Infielder Aaron Hill agreed to a minor league contract and would get a $2 million, one-year deal if he is added to the 40-man roster.

■ Right fielder Hunter Pence is going through all baseball activities except for hitting after he injured a side muscle during a workout in Houston before arriving to spring training.

Nationals: Second baseman Daniel Murphy thinks Tim Tebow has some ability with a bat — he just needs more work. Murphy said he recently spent time working on batting with Tebow, the Heisman Trophy winner and former NFL quarterbac­k who now is pursuing a baseball career. Tebow is expected to be in minor league camp with the Mets next month. “I think that the power is real. What he needs is at-bats,” Murphy said. “He needs 500, 600 plate appearance­s to try to make adjustment­s on the fly.”

Noteworthy: Nick Swisher says he has retired. Slowed by knee injuries the past several years, Swisher, 36, played in 55 games last season for the Yankees’ Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre team, then ended his season in July when his second child was born. Swisher hit .249 with 245 homers and 803 RBIs in 12 major leagues seasons.

Point guard Isaiah Thomas had 29 points in Thursday night’s loss at the Bulls, marking his 41st consecutiv­e game with at least 20 points, breaking the team record set by Hall of Famer and 13-time NBA All-Star John Havlicek during the 1971-72 season.

Indiana heads into the All-Star break on a seasonlong six-game losing streak, during which the Pacers played the Wizards and Cavaliers twice each, Milwaukee on the second night of a back-to-back and the Spurs. And it doesn’t get any easier after the All-Star break: Indiana plays three of the Western Conference’s top six teams in their first four games back, facing Memphis at home and then Houston and San Antonio on the road after a trip to Miami.

Despite a 7-8 record in January when LeBron James questioned the team’s desire to win, the Cavaliers are 39-16 and have the best record in the Eastern Conference. They also are just one game off their pace from last season, when they were 40-15 through 55 games en route to a 57win season and their first championsh­ip in franchise history.

Washington, which is 18-5 since the beginning of January, scored 100 points for the 22nd consecutiv­e game in Thursday’s 111-98 win at the Pacers.

The NBA is warning Texas over a proposed “bathroom bill” targeting transgende­r people that is similar to a North Carolina law that prompted the league to move the All-Star Game out of that state this year. The NBA joined the NFL in suggesting Texas will be overlooked for future big events if lawmakers pass a bill requiring people to use bathrooms that correspond to the sex on their birth certificat­e. NBA spokesman Mike Bass says an environmen­t where people are treated“fairly and equally”weighs heavily when the league chooses host locations. Texas has three NBA teams and has hosted three All-Star Games since 2006.

 ?? CHARLIE RIEDEL / AP ?? The Padres run sprints during Friday’s spring training workout in Peoria, Ariz. The Padres’ first Cactus League game is Feb. 25 against the Mariners.
CHARLIE RIEDEL / AP The Padres run sprints during Friday’s spring training workout in Peoria, Ariz. The Padres’ first Cactus League game is Feb. 25 against the Mariners.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States