MLB roundup: Marlins' Stanton better; Angels' Pujols still healing
On star slugger is feeling better, but another is going to take a while to recover.
Miami Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton said Thursday he's feeling better after being struck on the helmet a day earlier by a Jose Fernandez fastball.
X-rays were negative and there was no sign of a concussion. Stanton said his vision returned to normal after a few hours, and he hopes to play in the Marlins' first spring training game Saturday.
Fernandez, 20, felt terrible about the pitch and took some verbal abuse from teammates for the incident. Stanton told reporters that it will help Fernandez feel like a part of the team.
However, it's not going as well for Los Angeles Angels first baseman Albert Pujols, who is recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. He may not appear in spring training games until mid-March, manager Mike Scoscia said.
The team feels that Pujols will be ready for Opening Day on April 1.
Pujols, 33, had the procedure early in the offseason. He arrived to spring training a few days early and has been taking batting practice.
---Major League Baseball Players Association head Michael Weiner said reporters shouldn't rush to conclusions regarding players' associations with a Florida clinic accused of supplying banned performance-enhancing drugs.
Weiner started his annual tour of the 30 spring training camps in New York Mets camp, and said that the league is still investigating Biogenesis of America, a defunct anti-aging clinic in Coral Gables, Fla.
"It's been a topic of discussion, and we've initiated conversation with guys throughout the offseason, even before the Miami issue came up," Weiner told reporters. "Appropriately so, there's a lot of discussion among players about what is the best drug treatment to have. Having said that, players understand that what's happening in Miami at this point remains to be seen in terms of fairness and judging things on the evidence. But there is a lot of talk in the clubhouse about where we should be on the Joint Drug Program, and that's a good thing."
---Longtime Arizona Diamondbacks broadcaster Joe Garagiola ended his Hall-of-Fame career Wednesday after 57 years in the booth.
He had surgery in 2009 to remove a brain tumor, but said his health wasn't a factor in his decision to leave. He simply wanted to spend more time with his wife of 63 years, Audrey.
"I've often said it's the best catch I ever made," Garagiola said of his wife. "The wife is the one who really makes it for you. She's the one who took care of the kids. I was the guy that was on the plane flying here, there, everywhere, coming home and telling her about it, and she'd just smile and say, 'That's great.'"
