Alou Could Miss Season With Injury

In a diagnosis that shook the Houston Astros, all-star outfielder Moises Alou learned Monday he has torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and likely will miss most, if not all, of the season.

Alou hurt himself last week when he fell off a treadmill while training at his home in the Dominican Republic. The Astros hoped the injury was not serious, but an MRI in Houston revealed a torn ACL.

“This is a devastating blow for our team,” Astro General Manager Gerry Hunsicker said by telephone from training camp in Kissimmee, Fla. “Clearly, this was the worst-case scenario we could have imagined.”

Alou, 32, finished third in the NL MVP voting last season behind Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire. Playing his first season in Houston, Alou hit .312 with 38 home runs and 124 RBIs in helping the Astros win the NL Central championship.

Surgery has not been set, though Hunsicker hoped it would happen sometime next week.

Minus Alou, the Astros will rely on Carl Everett and Richard Hidalgo to fill the void.

*

Florida rookie third baseman Mike Lowell underwent surgery for testicular cancer and awaited pathology reports that will help determine further treatment.

“The prognosis for recovery is excellent,” General Manager Dave Dombrowski said Monday. “It is not a life-threatening situation. We will know much more in the next 24 hours.”

A small testicular mass was discovered Friday when Lowell underwent a routine physical examination. Lowell, 24, had a testicle removed Sunday in an outpatient operation at a Fort Lauderdale hospital.

*

Texas closer John Wetteland strained his right ankle during a workout at Port Charlotte, Fla., and is expected to miss the next week or two.

Wetteland, who had 42 saves and was 3-1 with a 2.03 ERA, will be sidelined while the swelling goes down.

*

Long Beach’s Sean Burroughs, an 18-year-old third baseman who was the Padres’ No. 1 draft choice this season, is making a good impression at the club’s minor-league mini camp at Peoria, Ariz.

“He’s got a good feel for the bat,” Padre General Manager Kevin Towers said Monday after watching the left-handed hitter scatter line drives. “He uses all fields, he stays within himself. He hits the ball out of the park without even trying. He’s going to be a good one.”

The Padres plan to start Burroughs--son of former major leaguer Jeff Burroughs--at Class-A Fort Wayne, Ind., this season.

*

After traveling by private jet Sunday night, Mark McGwire reported to the Cardinals’ spring training camp at Jupiter, Fla.

After hanging up pictures on his locker of his son, Matthew, and Pope John Paul II, whom he met in St. Louis last month, McGwire chatted with teammates, worked in the weight room and took batting practice. He then played table tennis with some other players on a new table set up in the clubhouse earlier in the day, then left.

“We hope the people in St. Louis, and here, will give him some space, let him go to a restaurant, go to the mall,” Cardinal Manager Tony La Russa said.

McGwire, who set the home run record last season with 70, did not speak with reporters. The Cardinals have scheduled a news conference Wednesday after the team’s first full-squad workout.