Post by lingzi on Sept 12, 2012 8:45:56 GMT 1
LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Dodgers placed centre fielder Matt Kemp on the 15-day disabled list on Thursday for the second time this month because of a left hamstring strain. Ed Reed Womens Jersey . And this time, the training staff is going to make sure there are no recurrences when he returns to the lineup. Kemp went 1 for 4 with a double in two games since being reinstated from the disabled list on Tuesday. He left Wednesday nights game against Milwaukee after scoring all the way from first base on a first-inning double by Andre Ethier. "He has a little bit of swelling in the same area, as well as a new strain in a higher part of that hamstring," said Sue Falsone, who is in her first year as the clubs head athletic trainer after spending the previous five seasons as the teams physical therapist. "Theyre both Grade-1s, which means that theres not a lot of muscle fiber tear. Its the lowest grade of a muscle strain, so thats good news. But having multiple strains in one muscle, obviously its going to be a little bit longer from a rehab standpoint. So were just going to take it day-by-day." Falsone said the best-case scenario for Kemp is four weeks before he can play again. He spent two weeks on the disabled list the first time the hamstring bothered him and when he got back to the dugout after his latest mishap, he broke a bat over his knee in frustration. "Its nobodys fault," Kemp said after Wednesdays game. "I was happy to be back. It felt great, and I thought I was 100 per cent. But now Im going to be sitting out a while. It feels worse than the first time. This is my first time ever really having any hamstring problems, so I dont know how to really treat it. I know theyre very tricky and they can always come back. So I definitely have to take it slow and make sure its healed." Kemp was leading the league with 12 home runs when he aggravated the hamstring running out a grounder May 13 against Colorado -- ending his consecutive games streak at 399. He played in two rehab games with Triple-A Albuquerque over the weekend, going 5 for 7 with two homers and five RBIs. "We have benchmarks and milestones in place, and he achieved all of them or he wouldnt have been out there playing," Falsone said. "But I dont think you can say that the first strain caused the second strain. So well put him through all the same rigours that we did before -- all the baserunning, all the deceleration stuff -- but were just going to take longer to do it." Los Angeles entered Thursday with a major league-best 32-18 record and a 5 1/2-game lead over San Francisco in the NL West despite their first three-game losing streak. And with Kemps bat missing from the third spot in the order, the Dodgers will be hard-pressed to fill the void on a long-term basis. "Its frustrating for everybody," Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw said. "We all feel bad for Matt. I know nobody feels worse than he does. He wants to play -- bad. Its never easy for the team to deal with when your superstars out. But at the same time, the games keep coming. So youve got to keep playing and keep grinding." "This is our first tough stretch of the year, but well come out of it and well be better for it," said. "We dont know how long Matts going to be out, but weve got to play like we did the first time he was out, and the guys who stepped up have got to keep doing that." Kemp, who finished runner-up to Milwaukees Ryan Braun in last years NL MVP voting, is batting .355 with 28 RBIs in 36 games. Last season, he hit .324 with 39 homers and 126 RBIs -- falling one homer shy of becoming only the fifth player in big league history with at least 40 homers and 40 stolen bases in the same season. "We thought Matt was ready to roll," manager Don Mattingly said. "We wouldnt have thrown him out there if we didnt think he was a hundred per cent -- or if he didnt think he was a hundred per cent. This should be a challenging time for us. Its the time you find out what kind of club you are and what kind of character you have. We were pretty resilient for a couple of weeks when Matt was out (9-5), and guys stepped up and did their thing. And were going to have to do it again." The Dodgers promoted second baseman-outfielder Alex Castellanos from Triple-A Albuquerque. Castellanos, who will be making his major league debut, was hitting .379 with 10 doubles, four triples, five homers and 14 RBI in 22 games with Albuquerque. Lardarius Webb Jersey . Mariner was an assistant coach for the Revolution from 2004 to 2009 before taking a coaching job Plymouth Argyle in England. He is now completely focused on the plight of Toronto FC -- a team that is still looking for its first win since he took the helm. Karlos Dansby Jersey . Langen told him the Germans couldnt figure out how Lueders was beating them when they had so much to work with and the Canadians so little at the time. Matt Cassel Jersey . It will help realize the ambition of US President Barack Obamas administration to secure all vulnerable nuclear materials worldwide within four years, analysts said. Special coverage: Hus visit to the Americas Related readings: S Korea to hold next nuclear summit; DPRK welcomed Security experts sound cautionary note for summit World leaders arrive in Washington for nuke summit Debate: Nuclear summit Hu, Obama to meet at nuclear security summitThe decision will help ease tensions among international players, and has served as a forecast for the handling of atomic fuel in the future, said Zhai Dequan, deputy director of the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association. Sebastian Janikowski Jersey . There is a chance forwards Alex Ovechkin and Jason Arnott could rejoin the lineup for the game. Neither was on the ice with two frequent healthy scratches, Tyler Sloan and DJ King. Instead, forwards Jay Beagle and Jason Chimera skated with them Tuesday morning. Brian Dawkins Jersey . The 25-year-old winger recorded 17 goals and 43 points in 75 games for the Predators last season. In 10 post-season games, Kostitsyn notched a goal and an assist in 10 games. EDMONTON -- Dany Heatley further cemented his unpopularity among Edmonton Oilers fans. Heatley tied the game with two seconds left in regulation and Matt Cullen scored the shootout winner in the Minnesota Wilds 2-1 comeback victory on Thursday night With Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom pulled, Heatley put a shot under the arm of Oilers starter Nikolai Khabibulin to force overtime as Minnesota (3-2-2) won its ninth straight over Edmonton. "It was like he refused to lose that game tonight," Minnesota head coach Mike Yeo said of Heatley. "I was pleased with the guys and their willingness to stick with it and keep battling. I was impressed how they believed they could get it done. I was happy to see Dany Heatley get that goal because he was one of the guys who was at the forefront." Heatley originally drew the ire of Edmonton fans when he refused a trade that would have sent him to the Oilers two years ago. "It felt good," Heatley said of his tying goal. "Weve been in every game, we feel like, this season. Weve lost by one or given up the lead. I thought we dominated the second and third periods tonight and I felt like we deserved it. It was nice to get that win." Ryan Jones scored the lone goal for the Oilers (2-2-2), who have lost four of their last five games. Edmonton also led at one point in every one of its games this season. "We have to start closing games," said Edmonton forward Eric Belanger, who rang a shot off the post in the shootout session. "Were playing well but we need to finish." Both goalies finished with 30 saves. The Oilers had the best chance early on as Taylor Hall made a pass through to a hard-charging Jordan Eberle, who couldnt get a handle on the puck before crashing into the Minnesota net. Four minutes later Ryan Smyth interceppted an errant Greg Zanon pass in the Wild zone and fed it in front to Jones who had an easy tap-in. Mike Wallace Jersey. . Cullen had the Wilds best opportunity midway through the second when he split the defence and saw an opening five-hole. Khabibulin, however, slammed his pads shut to make the save and keep the Oilers ahead. Edmonton missed out on another chance to make it a two-goal game with five minutes left in the second as Belanger got a partial short-handed breakaway, but hit the crossbar. The shots were a pretty tight 18-17 favouring the Oilers after 40 minutes. The Wild kept the pressure on in the third period but Khabibulin stood tall for the majority of the period, notably making a key kick save on Heatley with three minutes left. "I thought we played well, but it came down to tenths of seconds," said Oilers head coach Tom Renney. "I have nothing but confidence in this team. Theyre a pleasure to coach because they want badly to do the right thing." Both teams return to the ice on Thursday as the Wild are in Vancouver and the Oilers play host to the New York Rangers. Notes: The only previous meeting between the two teams this season was also a 2-1 shootout win for the Wild. ... Edmonton had forward Taylor Hall back in the lineup after missing Tuesdays game with the flu. ... Edmonton forward Sam Gagner has been cleared to play his first regular season game and will likely play for the team on Thursday. ... Minnesota was without defenseman Mike Lundin and forward Cody Almond, both sidelined with back issues. ... The Wilds top line of Mikko Koivu, Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi were back together after the coaches opted to try Pierre-Marc Bouchard in Setoguchis place for their last game. ... Bouchard came into the contest with 38 points in 39 career games against the Oilers. ' ' '