Broken Finger Sidelines Thome

Philadelphia first baseman Jim Thome broke the middle finger of his right hand during fielding drills and probably will sit out the rest of spring training.

Thome was injured Friday while taking ground balls at the Phillies’ spring training complex at Clearwater, Fla. X-rays taken Saturday confirmed the injury.

“If this is going to happen, I’m glad it happened now,” Thome said. “It’s disappointing, but I can’t dwell on it.”

Thome is expected to be sidelined for a minimum of three weeks. Phillie General Manager Ed Wade said recovery time could be as long as eight weeks if Thome needed to have pins inserted to stabilize a tendon. Thome will be examined by a specialist today.

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New York Met outfielders Karim Garcia and Shane Spencer were involved in a dispute with two local residents outside a restaurant near the team’s spring training complex in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Met General Manager Jim Duquette said that the team would reprimand the outfielders and that he had apologized to a representative of the restaurant chain.

Exact details on the confrontation between the players and local residents were unclear.

No police report was filed.

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Alex Rodriguez went three for three with a triple in the New York Yankees’ 14-5 spring-training victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.

While his production at the plate is a given, it’s his move to third base that’s under scrutiny.

He made a nice play to come in on Greg Myers’ bouncer in the second, but he couldn’t quite get a glove on Jorge Posada’s pickoff throw on the foul side of the bag later in the inning, and the ball skipped into left for a run-scoring error on the catcher.

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Orlando Hernandez is returning to the Yankees. El Duque, recovering from a shoulder injury that caused him to miss last season, agreed to a one-year contract that guarantees him $500,000. The deal is subject to Hernandez’s passing a physical.