Bonds Has a Sore Hip After Falling Down Stairs

San Francisco Giant star Barry Bonds ended up with a sore hip after tripping and falling down a flight of stairs in his rented spring training home in Scottsdale, Ariz.

“I just slipped down the steps. I just fell and hit the marble floor,” Bonds said before heading to the hospital for an MRI exam on his right hip. “I hit the floor with my hip and went straight down.”

The Giants said results of the MRI exam were inconclusive and that doctors planned to continue studying the results in hopes of having a more definitive diagnosis by this morning.

Bonds, who skipped the Giants’ practice while a chiropractor worked on him, said X-rays on his hip and back showed no damage and the MRI exam was precautionary.

“It just seems like something’s pinching a nerve in my hip every time I lean forward,” said the outfielder, who signed a lucrative contract extension last week.

“I’m concerned, but concern’s not going to do any good,” Manager Dusty Baker said. “If it is serious, this is the best time for this to happen. He has a high tolerance for pain and he heals quickly.”

*

Livan Hernandez, the Cuban defector once considered the Florida Marlins’ best rookie pitching prospect, is considered a longshot to begin the season in the majors.

Hernandez is competing with veterans Rick Helling and Mark Hutton, the front-runners for the only vacancy in the rotation, and rookie Tony Saunders, the Marlins’ minor-league pitcher of the year in 1996.

The Marlins gave Hernandez a $2.5-million signing bonus in January 1996. But in the past year, team officials have wondered about his arm and attitude, especially since his weight ballooned and his fastball dropped into the 80s.

Hernandez’s weight, however, is down 15 pounds to 220 and he says, “My mind has changed a lot. My mind is already in the major leagues.”

*

An MRI on the left elbow of St. Louis Cardinal pitcher Lance Painter did not reveal any serious ailments. Painter felt tightness in his elbow while throwing Monday. Painter said he will begin throwing again Thursday.