SIZEMORE INSPIRES WORLD CHAMPS

Grady Sizemore, who missed most of the 2010 world championship season with the Eliminators, is back on the active roster and while hitting below .125 in the early going, has inspired his teammates with the way he is battling his way through microfracture surgery in his right knee, a potentially career-threatening procedure.

It comes at a very good time for a ballclub that has arguably been harder-hit by injuries than any other ballclub, losing ace Adam Wainwright to season-ending surgery, moundmates Philip Hughes and Johnny Cueto to other injuries, LF Delmon Young and (especially) last year's batting titlist, C Joe Mauer, who has a mystery diagnosis ("bilateral leg weakness") and an uncertain future. Add in a 7-11 start, and it's no wonder why the defending world champs are in last place in the competitive Eastern Division:



In some ways, Worcester seems better prepared for this onslaught of fallen chess pieces than last season, where GM Matt Caskey avoided any serious mishaps in the second half and watch his .300-hitting lineup decimate foes with hit after hit after hit. In addition to improving their overall roster depth, the Eliminators have added some quality left-handed pitching.

Unfortunately, veteran southpaws like Ted Lilly (0-3, 7.52) have yet to deliver on their potential. In his most recent outing, Lilly gave up three in the first to the Yankee Stompers, watched Ricky Romero (2-1, 4.18) flirt with a shutout for seven innings, and coughed up two of the three long balls allowed en route to a 7-1 defeat. Sizemore made a sensational catch to rob rookie J.P. Arencibia of a second long ball, but went 0-for-2 before being lifted for a pinch-hitter against Romero. "I'm not doing it yet the way I want," Sizemore conceded. "If I do a better job, we would have a better record."

His teammates, however, see it differently. Sizemore's return has allowed OF Carl Crawford to return to his comfort zone in left, and brought some aggression back to the lineup at the plate and on the basepaths. "Injuries are a part of the game," said backup C Russell Martin, getting a lot of unexpected playing time with Mauer out. "We will find a way."

Worcester, of course, is not the only club dealing with a wave of injuries:

ANAHEIM:

OF Josh Hamilton (shoulder fracture)
RHP Peter Moylan (lower back strain)
RHP Zack Greinke (cracked rib)

BROOKLYN:

RHP Neftali Feliz (right shoulder)
C Jason Castro (tear in foot)
2B Chase Utley (right hand tendinitis)

CASSELTON:

SS J.J. Hardy (left oblique strain)
1B Kendry Morales (toe)
RHP Darren O'Day (torn labrum)
LHP Johann Santana (shoulder surgery)

CENTRAL CALIFORNIA:

RHP David Aardsma (left hip surgery)
LHP J.P. Howell (left labrum surgery)


FROSTBITE FALLS:

C Victor Martinez (tweaked groin)
RHP Andrew Bailey (forearm strain)
3B Evan Longoria (strained left oblique)

LOS ANGELES:

RHP Andrew Cashner (forearm strain)
OF Logan Morrison (foot)
RHP Brad Lidge (shoulder)
OF Domonic Brown (right hand fracture)
RHP Brad Lincoln (bruised right arm)

NEW ENGLAND:

3B Scott Rolen (sore left shoulder)
RHP Takashi Saito (hamstring)

POTTSYLVANIA:

2B Aaron Hill (hamstring)
RHP Randy Wells (forearm strain)
RHP Joe Blanton (elbow impingement)
2B Skip Shumaker (strained right triceps)
RHP Santiago Casilla (right elbow)
RHP Stephen Strasburg (Tommy John surgery)

SIN CITY:

RHP Homer Bailey (shoulder impingement)

ST. FRANCIS:

RHP Joel Zumaya (right elbow)
LHP Scott Downs (food poisoning)
LHP Dallas Braden (shoulder surgery, out for season)

WORCESTER:

C Joe Mauer (bilateral leg weakness)
LF Delmon Young (sore ribs)
RHP Phil Hughes (dead arm)
RHP Johnny Cueto (right bicep)
RHP Adam Wainwright (Tommy John surgery, out for season)

YUMA:

LHP Brian Matusz (intercostal strain)
SS Rafael Furcal (broken left thumb)
LHP Hong-Chih Kuo (injured back)
3B Ryan Zimmerman (abdominal strain)


In other BARB action:

PHILADEPHIA 6, POTTSYLVANIA 0

WP: Roy Halladay (3-2, 2.52)
LP: Mark Buehrle (1-3, 6.84)

Roy Halladay handed the Creepers their eighth loss by way of a shutout this season, putting up a five-spot to blow out their hosts with help from a grand slam off the bat of Adrian Gonzalez. It was the sixth time that an opposing hurler had gone all the way in a whitewash against Pottsylvania, which simply doesn't have enough offense to be competitive in any division right now.

YUMA 3, SIN CITY 2

WP: Luke Gregorson (1-0, 2.08)
LP: Matt Capps (0-2, 7.20)

Buster Posey's second hit of the game, a sharp single that scored Martin Prado from third, proved to be the difference-maker as Matt Capps could not retire any of the hitters he faced in the bottom of the tenth, as the host Firebirds prevailed in extra innings in front of their fans in Yuma.

ST. FRANCIS 5, CASSELTON 4

WP: Joaquin Benoit (1-0, 7.00)
LP: Mike Adams (0-1, 1.69)
SV: Nunez (2)

Jose Bautista snapped a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the eighth with his third HR of the year, helping bail out an ineffective Matt Guerrier, who had squandered a 4-1 lead in the seventh, after a rain delay led to an early exit for starter Brett Myers.

BROOKLYN 10, ANAHEIM (AC/BC) 6

WP: Brandon League (1-0, 9.95)
LP: Jonathan Sanchez (2-1, 2.96)

The visiting Moabs managed to hand AC/BC starter Jonathan Sanchez his first loss of the year despite a poor outing by their own Francisco Liriano, who allowed eight of the thirteen baserunners he faced to reach base and departed with a 7.78 ERA in the second frame. Brooklyn was bailed out by backup C John Buck, who drilled a pair of long balls off Sanchez to provide 3 RBI. Upton and Tulowitzki also went deep for the Moabs, who lead all of BARB in runs scored.

FROSTBITE FALLS 8, CENTRAL CALIFORNIA 6

WP: Fausto Carmona (1-0, 5.30)
LP: C.J. Wilson (1-3, 4.21)
SV: Perez (2)

Albert Pujols led the Squirrels attack with two of the club's four long balls on the day, and Rickie Weeks reached four times from the leadoff spot to cause general havoc for C Ramon Hernandez and the rest of the host .45's. Michael Young and Jayson Werth also added boundary belts to the outing.