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April 11, 2005
Mueller Out For Month
BOSTON (AP) -- Red Sox thirdbaseman Bill Mueller suffered a groin injury that will keep him out of the lineup for at least a month.
The switch-hitter came up to the plate in the last of the fourth in the annual Patriots Day Game at Fenway Park when he tripled down the firstbase line off of New York Yankees hurler Mike Mussina.
As rightfielder Gary Sheffield scurried after the ball, Mueller scrambled around the bases and beat Tony Womack's relay to Alex Rodriguez at thirdbase. Unfortunately for the former batting champion, he tore a groin muscle in the process.
His replacement in the game was Kevin Youkilis, who went 0-2 with a run scored in Boston's 6-4 loss to the Yankees.
Team doctors said after the game that Mueller will be out for roughly four weeks.
After the game, the Red Sox placed Mueller on the 15-day disabled list and replaced him on the roster with utility man Lou Merloni, a native of Framingham, Mass.
Merloni, 34, has played the majority of his career with Boston.
He debuted in 1998, playing in 39 games and hitting .281 with a homerun and 15 RBI in 96 at bats. His lone homer came during his first at bat at Fenway Park.
In 409 career games over seven years, he's hit .273 with 14 homeruns and 123 RBI. In addition to Boston, he has also played for the San Diego Padres (the beginning of 2003 before returning to the Red Sox) and with the Cleveland Indians last year.
League Transactions
-- The New York Yankees released Omar Daal and signed Santiago Ramirez, Steve Cox, Denny Hocking, Edwards Guzman, Charles Gipson, Barry Wesson, Olmedo Saenz, Andre Ethier and Oswaldo Navarro to minor league contracts.
-- The Texas Rangers released Chad Allen, Kameron Loe and Michael Tejera; signed Matt Guerrier to a minor league contract.
-- The Cincinnati Reds released Luke Prokopec, Chris Booker, Juan Cerros, Julio Zuleta and Ricky Stone.
-- The Cincinnati Reds signed Tino Martinez, Rodrigo Rosario, Stephen Randolph and Dustin Majewski to minor league contracts, Yo****aka Mizuo to a one-year deal worth $724,000.
-- The Kansas City Royals released Brian Anderson and signed Jason Kosow, Luis Lopez, George Arias, Mike Redmond and Phil Hiatt to minor league contracts.
-- The Colorado Rockies released Keith Osik and signed Vance Wilson to a one-year deal worth $300,000.
-- The Los Angeles Dodgers released Scott Dunn and signed Kevin Cave to a minor league contract.
-- The San Diego Padres signed Daniel Konecny, Brent Mayne and Dean Palmer to minor league contracts.
-- The Philadelphia Phillies released Andres Galarraga and signed Randy Flores to a one-year deal worth $1.568 million.
-- The Atlanta Braves signed Jed Hansen and Yuniesky Betancourt to minor league contracts.
-- The Florida Marlins signed Sandy Alomar Jr. and John Flaherty to minor league contracts.
-- The Toronto Blue Jays released Buddy Carlyle, Randy Dicken, Scott Schoeneweis, Luther Hackman and Ken Huckaby; signed Cal Eldred to a one-year deal worth $720,000; signed Brook Fordyce and Einar Diaz to minor league contracts.
-- The Pittsburgh Pirates released Paul Chiaffredo, Mike Johnston, Charles Maldonado and John Grabow; signed Ryan Franklin to a one-year deal worth $488,000; signed Jeriome Robertson and Mike Porzio to minor league deals.
-- The Chicago White Sox released Jorge Toca and signed David Shepard to a minor league contract.
-- The New York Mets released Aaron Heilman.
-- The San Francisco Giants signed Jamie Burke to a one-year $300,000 deal.
-- The Houston Astros released Trenidad Hubbard and signed Ben Davis to a minor league contract.
-- The Milwaukee Brewers released Wes Obermueller and Ricky Bottalico.
-- The Minnesota Twins released Mo Vaughn, Kimera Bartee and Todd Ritchie; signed Preston Larrison to a minor league contract.
-- The Cleveland Indians released Kyle Denney and Kyle Collins; signed Mike Stanton to a one-year deal worth $800,000.
-- The Oakland A's signed Jon Rauch to a minor league contract.
-- The Chicago Cubs released Jared Blasdell and signed Chris Heintz to a one-year deal worth $300,000; signed Pedro Astacio to a minor league contract.
-- The Washington Nationals released Chris Latham and Robert Machado.
-- The Los Angeles Dodgers released Rodney Myers and signed Mike Crudale to a one-year deal worth $724,000.
-- The Arizona Diamondbacks signed Sandy Martinez to a minor league contract.
-- The Seattle Mariners released Jared Thomas and signed John Koronka to a minor league contract.
-- The Tampa Bay Devil Rays signed Mike Judd to a minor league contract.
-- The Baltimore Orioles released Jason Grimsley and Rodney Ormond; signed Brian Hensen to a minor league contract.
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