Knee Problem Forces McGwire Out of Lineup

Mark McGwire was out of the St. Louis Cardinals’ lineup for the second game in a row Friday night after spending the day with the therapists who had been part of his rehabilitation following surgery on his right knee.

“My knee’s not that good, so we’ll figure out what we need to do,” McGwire said before the Cardinals opened a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

McGwire sat out Thursday night’s 11-2 loss at Colorado after experience soreness the previous night.

Doctors have told him he’s ahead of where he should be in terms of playing time, but he sounded discouraged.

“It has to do with doing the physics of playing the game,” McGwire said. “You can do all the therapy you want, but if your knee doesn’t respond to playing the game, moving around and hitting, and basically you’re playing on one leg, it’s pretty much not that good, is it?”

The usual large group of fans who show up to watch McGwire take batting practice were disappointed on Friday.

St. Louis Manager Tony La Russa said he planned to start McGwire today but was unsure about Sunday.

“He had some extra soreness after a couple of those Colorado games, so he came in today and we gave him a lot of treatment,” La Russa said. “A couple of guys who worked on his rehab are in town to take a look at it. We expect him to play [today].”

Center fielder Jim Edmonds also was out of the lineup for the second game in a row with a sore toe.

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Derek Jeter went one for three in his final extended spring training game and headed to New York to rejoin the Yankees today.

Jeter missed the Yankees’ first four regular season games because of a strained right quadriceps. He is eligible to come off the 15-day disabled list before New York plays Toronto.

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When the New York Mets play their home opener Monday against the Atlanta Braves, about 300 extra police officers will be assigned to keep the peace if needed when John Rocker takes the field.

The extra security for Rocker began last season after the Braves’ relief pitcher made derogatory comments about New York, gays, and immigrants in a Sports Illustrated article.

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Boston put infielder Chris Stynes on the 15-day disabled list and recalled infielder Lou Merloni from triple-A Pawtucket. . . . Philadelphia put outfielder Brian L. Hunter on the 15-day disabled list and recalled outfielder Jason Michaels from triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre. . . . Cleveland third baseman Travis Fryman, on the disabled list because of a torn elbow ligament, removed himself after six innings in a minor league game at triple-A Buffalo and was heading back to Cleveland for evaluation.