BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE MAJOR LEAGUES : Torn Ligament Sidelines Braves’ Bielecki for Season

Pitcher Mike Bielecki of the Atlanta Braves will miss the rest of the season because of a torn ligament in his pitching elbow.

“I expect to have surgery later this week,” Bielecki said Wednesday. “I was told I can come back stronger than ever.”

Bielecki (2-4) will become the first Atlanta pitcher to miss a start in the last two seasons. Pete Smith will take his spot in the rotation at San Francisco this weekend.

Bielecki tore the medial collateral ligament in his right elbow in the third inning of Tuesday night’s game against the Houston Astros.

Bielecki had a 2.57 earned-run average in 19 games, including one shutout.

Smith had a 7-4 record at triple-A Richmond, with a 2.14 ERA. He went at least seven innings in all 15 starts.

Chicago Cub outfielder Andre Dawson says he is trying to decide what to do after the club said it doesn’t have the money to sign him for next year.

“I’ll just weigh my options,” Dawson said before Wednesday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

General Manager Larry Himes said Dawson will have plenty of options because he will be a free agent at the end of the season.

Dawson, 38, reportedly wants a two-year extension.

“I don’t want it to become anything personal,” Dawson said. “It’s their choice, their decision. I haven’t made any demands, we haven’t proposed anything. But it opens my eyes to a lot of things.”

Dawson, who has been hobbled for years because of bad knees, said he wants to end his career in the National League.

The New York Yankees gave Manager Buck Showalter a three-year extension, guaranteeing his job--at least on paper--through the 1995 season.

No Yankee manager has lasted three successive seasons since Ralph Houk, who held the post from 1967 through 1973, George Steinbrenner’s first year of ownership.

Showalter, the youngest manager in the majors at age 36, has guided the Yankees to a 47-53 record. They have shown improvement and avoided long slumps and are aiming for their first year with more than 74 victories since 1988. The Yankees went 71-91 last season.

“I don’t look at it like I have three years to get things done,” Showalter said. “I want to get things done tonight.”