Pitcher Has Skull Fracture

Cleveland Indian minor league pitcher Kyle Denney remained hospitalized Monday because of a fractured skull, a day after he was hit in the head by a line drive.

Buffalo Bison athletic trainer Todd Tomczyk said Denney was experiencing dizziness and nausea but was expected to be released from the hospital today. Denney will be put on the disabled list, but Tomczyk said it was too early to determine when he will be able to begin rehabilitation.

Denney, who appeared in four major league games with the Indians last year, is no stranger to unfortunate injuries.

He made national headlines in September when he was hit in the right calf by a bullet that came through the side of Cleveland’s bus in Kansas City as the team traveled to the airport.

The bullet caused only a flesh wound, probably because of the tough leather of the knee-high go-go boot he was wearing, Denney and his trainers said. That day, all Cleveland rookies wore outrageous outfits on the bus as part of a hazing ritual.

Denney also was struck in the knee by a thrown bat during a spring training game, forcing him to sit out the 2005 season opener. He later spent 33 days on the disabled list because of an elbow injury.

“Unfortunately, things have happened to Kyle, but he’s not the type of guy to sit around and dwell on those kinds of things,” Bison Manager Marty Brown said. “He’s a tough guy, and he’ll be fine.”

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George Steinbrenner is growing impatient, a sign that changes are ahead for the New York Yankees, who are 5 1/2 games behind the first-place Boston Red Sox in the American League East.

Team executives are due in Tampa, Fla., today for meetings with Steinbrenner that could be a prelude to trades aimed at improving poor pitching and disastrous defense.

“My patience is a little short by the fact that the team is not performing up to its great capabilities,” Steinbrenner said in a statement issued by spokesman Howard Rubenstein. “The players have to want to win as much as I do.”

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John Rocker, who had 38 saves for Atlanta in 1999, was released by the Long Island Ducks after the pitcher told the Atlantic League team he wanted to reassess his future.

Rocker, 30, joined the Ducks in April and went 0-2 with a 6.50 earned-run average in 23 games, striking out 19 and walking 28 in 18 innings.