Derrek Lee pulled from Monday’s game with strained oblique

By May 16, 2011, 9:36 PM EDT
17 Comments

The oblique epidemic has claimed yet another victim.

Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports that Derrek Lee was pulled from Monday’s game against the Red Sox with a strained left oblique. He was replaced at first base by Jake Fox in the bottom of the third inning after going 1-for-2 with an RBI double.

Lee, who signed a one-year, $7.25 million contract over the winter, is batting just .231/.311/.346 with four home runs, 14 RBI and a .657 OPS over his first 177 plate appearances this season.

If Lee needs a trip to the disabled list, which is often the case with these type of injuries, it’s possible that the Orioles could put Luke Scott at first base in order to rest his right shoulder while giving Felix Pie regular duty in left field.

Roger Clemens will be an analyst for ESPN on opening day

Associated PressMar 23, 2023, 12:09 AM EDT
Getty Images
0 Comments

Roger Clemens will be an analyst for ESPN when the defending World Series champion Houston Astros host the Chicago White Sox on opening day.

Clemens made four appearances on last year’s KayRod Cast with Michael Kay and Alex Rodriguez. He will be stepping in on March 30 for David Cone, who will be doing the New York Yankees opener against the San Francisco Giants on YES Network.

“Roger has been sort of a friend of ours for the last year, so to speak, he’s in. He’s been engaged, knowledgeable and really present,” said ESPN Vice President of Production Phil Orlins. “You know, whatever past may be, he’s still tremendously engaged and he really brought that every time he was with us.”

Clemens was a seven-time Cy Young winner but his career after baseball has been tainted by allegations of performance-enhancing drug use. He is a Houston native and pitched for the Astros for three seasons.

Orlins said that with the rules changes and pitch clock, it is important to have a pitcher in the booth with Karl Ravech and Eduardo Perez.

“We don’t feel like we have to have the dynamic of Eduardo with a pitcher, but we certainly think that works. Throw in the added factor of rule changes and it is better to have a batter-pitcher perspective,” Orlins said.

Orlins did not say if this would open the door for future opportunities for Clemens as an ESPN analyst.