McGwire Won’t Face Randy Johnson Today

Mark McGwire, bothered by soreness in his surgically repaired right knee, won’t be back in the St. Louis lineup until the Cardinals play their home opener Monday.

Manager Tony La Russa had said Friday he expected McGwire to start against Arizona on Saturday, but he changed his mind on the advice of doctors.

McGwire won’t be in the lineup against Randy Johnson today, either, La Russa said, “unless something dramatic happens tonight--if some of this new medicine kicks in, and I don’t expect it will.”

La Russa said McGwire was trying different medication in an attempt to ease the persistent soreness. McGwire is discouraged by the lack of progress in the knee this spring.

McGwire won’t be in the lineup, but pitcher Rick Ankiel will. St. Louis is taking a low-key approach as the struggling young left-hander prepares for his first start of the season against Johnson and the Diamondbacks.

“I’m not going to talk about it,” McGwire said about Ankiel’s debut, “and I think the less you guys talk about it, the better off he is.”

The appearance will be Ankiel’s first of the regular season, and first in a game that counts since his awful blowup in the postseason last year, when he threw nine wild pitches in four innings.

The Cardinals have decided that the way to get Ankiel back to his good form is to keep him in the majors, not send him to the minor leagues. Ankiel did well in his last side session Thursday, pitching coach Dave Duncan said.

“It was a lot of fun. He threw the ball great,” Duncan said. “I think he was very positive. I was.”

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Former Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams has contacted the Texas Rangers about returning to baseball. A representative of the New Orleans’ Saint running back made a call to Ranger General Manager Doug Melvin during the last week of spring training to discuss his interest, Ranger spokesman John Blake said.

Williams has not played baseball since spending 12 games with Batavia of the Class-A New York-Penn League in 1998.

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High winds reaching speeds of 60 mph caused a piece of temporary vinyl tarp designed to keep rainwater out of Milwaukee’s Miller Park, the nearly $400-million ballpark, to fall off the stadium’s roof before the game between the Brewers and Cincinnati Reds. Nobody was hurt. . . . Detroit put pitcher Brian Moehler on the 15-day disabled list because of a sore shoulder and activated third baseman Dean Palmer. . . . Colorado put pitcher Juan Acevedo on the 15-day disabled list and recalled pitcher Craig Dingman from triple-A Colorado Springs. Acevedo, acquired in a six-player deal with Milwaukee on Wednesday, aggravated a groin injury after throwing four pitches in relief Friday night against San Diego. . . . The Reds optioned pitcher Rob Bell, who started Friday night against Milwaukee, to triple-A Louisville and brought up pitcher Justin Atchley.