Lee Broke Wrist Against Dodgers

Chicago Cub first baseman Derrek Lee broke two bones in his right wrist in a collision with the Dodgers’ Rafael Furcal and is expected to be in a cast up to six weeks.

Lee, last year’s National League batting champion and two-time Gold Glove winner, suffered the injury in a freak play during the seventh inning Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium.

Furcal led off with a bunt single to the right of the mound, where Scott Eyre dived for the ball and flipped it toward first base with his glove. The ball sailed over Lee’s glove as Furcal collided with him.

Lee was examined by Cub physicians Thursday in Chicago and is expected to go on the disabled list today.

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New York Yankee minor league manager Oscar Acosta and team official Humberto Trejo were killed in a car accident Wednesday night in the Dominican Republic.

Acosta, the manager of the Gulf Coast Yankees of the Rookie League, and Trejo, the Yankees’ field coordinator in the Dominican Republic, were killed after their car collided with an SUV on a highway outside of Santo Domingo, said Carlos Rio, Yankees director of operations in Latin America.

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The Atlanta Braves, already without shortstop Edgar Renteria (strained side) and third baseman Chipper Jones (sprained ankle and knee), learned that second baseman Marcus Giles has a sprained ligament in his left middle finger.

The injury was discovered in an MRI exam. The Braves plan to bring up infielder Martin Prado from double-A Mississippi for today’s game at Washington.

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Outfielder Jody Gerut will report to the Pittsburgh Pirates’ extended spring training camp for conditioning and will not have knee surgery.

The agreement was reached Thursday, shortly before a scheduled hearing on the grievance filed by the players’ association after the club stopped paying his $875,000 salary.

Gerut was demoted to triple-A Indianapolis at the end of spring training. He then told Pirate General Manager Dave Littlefield his right knee was hurting and he would not report.

While the Pirates agreed with a doctor’s findings that Gerut has tendinitis, they said he passed all medical tests and was fit to play.

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The percentage of black pitchers in the major leagues last year was half of what it was in 1983.

The University of Central Florida’s Institute for Diversity and Ethics said that 3% of pitchers, 1% of catchers and 11% of infielders were black last year, based on 40-man rosters listed in 2005 media guides. That compares with 26% of outfielders.

In 1983, 6.6% of pitchers were black, the study said.