Associated Press
The baseball notebook …NEW YORK ó Roger Clemens was scheduled for an ESPN Radio interview today, the publication date of an unflattering book about the seven-time Cy Young Award winner.
“American Icon: The Fall of Roger Clemens and the Rise of Steroids in America’s Pastime” by four New York Daily News reporters covers the pitcher’s alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs, charges he has repeatedly denied.
“He was asked to do it,” Clemens’ lawyer, Rusty Hardin, said Monday about the interview. “That would be my guess as to what the impetus for it is, but I’m not sure. There’s nothing new about the case that would spark it.”
Clemens is under investigation by a federal grand jury in Washington that is trying to determine whether he lied when he told a congressional committee last year that he had not used illegal performance-enhancing drugs. He also has sued his former personal trainer, Brian McNamee, who told baseball investigator George Mitchell that he had injected Clemens with drugs.
HAMILTON’S RETURNROUND ROCK, Texas ó Josh Hamilton is ready to rejoin the Texas Rangers.
The All-Star center fielder said his left rib cage muscles “felt good” after his final game Monday on a rehabilitation assignment. He will return to Arlington for evaluation today, when he’s eligible to return from the disabled list for the opener of a three-game series against Seattle.
Hamilton played all nine innings in center and was 1 for 3 with a double and two walks in Triple-A Oklahoma’s 6-5 loss to Round Rock. He went 2 for 5 with three walks in two games with the RedHawks.
Last year’s AL RBI leader is hitting .242 with two runs and 10 RBIs in 10 games with the Rangers. He hurt his ribs crashing into an outfield wall April 21 in Toronto.
DOM’S FUNERAL
WELLESLEY, Mass. ó Boston Red Sox fans, family and friends paid their final respects to former team great Dom DiMaggio.
Teammate Johnny Pesky and former Red Sox CEO John Harrington were among those attending a funeral Mass at St. Paul Church in Wellesley on Monday.
Harrington said DiMaggio was dearly loved by former team owners Tom and Jean Yawkey.
DiMaggio’s family says he died Friday with the Red Sox game playing in the background. He was 92.
The center fielder was the younger brother of Yankees Hall of Famer Joe, and played in the same outfield as Ted Williams, yet he had an outstanding 10-year career of his own.
He was known as the “Little Professor” because of his glasses, slight frame and intelligence. He was a lifetime .298 hitter and a seven-time All Star.
CONTRERAS OUT
CLEVELAND ó The Chicago White Sox promoted left-hander Jimmy Gobble from Triple-A on Monday to take the roster spot of struggling starter Jose Contreras.
The White Sox purchased the contract of Gobble from Charlotte.
Gobble went 0-1 with a 5.25 ERA in relief appearances at Charlotte after signing with the White Sox on April 6. The 27-year-old Gobble is 22-23 lifetime with a 5.23 ERA and four saves, all with the Kansas City Royals.
Contreras was 0-5 with an 8.19 ERA in six starts.