With Fastball on Wane, Bones Released by Orioles

Ricky Bones, who failed to win a game with the Baltimore Orioles and appeared to be losing the zip on his fastball, was released by the Orioles on Friday night.

The move was made after the Orioles’ game against the Chicago White Sox was postponed because of rain. He was replaced on the 25-man roster by Doug Linton, who will start the opener of today’s day-night doubleheader.

Bones, 30, played the last two seasons with the Kansas City Royals before signing with the Orioles as a free agent in December. He had a 1.62 earned-run average through April, but he was placed on the disabled list on July 2 because of right arm fatigue and never again showed the form he displayed early in the season.

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Oriole owner Peter Angelos was sued for malpractice in Miami-Dade Circuit Court by a woman who claims he failed to file an asbestos-related death case in a timely manner.

In 1992, Angelos was retained by Carol Simpson, a Lakeland woman whose husband, George, 75, died from an asbestos-related disease allegedly contracted at work. George Simpson had been employed by Florida Power and Light in Miami for more than 20 years.

In 1998, a judge dismissed the case, ruling the statute of limitation expired before the complaint was filed.

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Gregg Jefferies was activated from the 15-day disabled list by the Detroit Tigers, who optioned Gabe Alvarez to triple-A Toledo.

Jefferies, 31, had been on the disabled list since Aug. 3 because of a strained right hamstring. Before the injury, he was hitting .204 with six home runs and 18 runs batted in.

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Brien Taylor, a former top pick in baseball’s amateur draft, will work out with the Cleveland Indians’ rookie league affiliate at Burlington, N.C., in another attempt at a comeback.