Surgery Is Possible on Griffey’s Shoulder

Ken Griffey Jr. will be sidelined for at least six weeks as he recovers from a dislocated right shoulder. He landed hard on the shoulder while diving for a fly ball in left-center field during a 9-7 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Saturday.

Dr. Timothy Kremchek, the Reds’ team doctor, popped the shoulder back into place at the ballpark on Saturday.

X-rays and other tests found no fractures or major injury to the rotator cuff.

Griffey will try to rehabilitate the shoulder rather than have surgery, and optimistically could be playing again in six to 10 weeks, Kremchek said. There is a possibility that he might have to have surgery anyway.

“If he had surgery now, he’d miss the season,” Kremchek said, after examining Griffey on Sunday. “If we rehab him and he’s unable to get back, he still has surgery and misses the season. Looking at the tests and examinations we’ve done on him, I think there’s an excellent chance he’ll be able to return this year.”

The Reds haven’t made a roster move to replace Griffey. Manager Bob Boone planned to start shortstop Barry Larkin in center on Sunday, but changed his mind after talking to him for a half-hour.

Larkin played one game in center this spring, the first time in his pro career that he had appeared in the outfield. Boone said he will take fly balls before games to get used to the position.

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The New York Yankees’ home opener today against the Minnesota Twins was postponed because several inches of snow were expected in the area. The game will be played Tuesday afternoon.

“They’ve had this forecast for a few days,” Manager Joe Torre said Sunday after the Yankees won at Tampa Bay. “It didn’t surprise me.

“We want to play, but obviously they feel that if we did play, it would have been in-between, stop and start and I think everybody dreads that kind of a ballgame. It’s not fair for the fans to see the first game like that.”

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Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter is getting a second opinion on his dislocated left shoulder. He’ll fly to Birmingham, Ala., to be examined by noted orthopedist Dr. James Andrews. Team doctors said that the injury should be treated “conservatively” and not with an operation.

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The Minnesota Twins put reliever Mike Fetters, who has a strained left hamstring, on the 15-day disabled list and recalled pitcher Juan Rincon from triple-A Rochester.