Doctor Recommends Surgery for Garciaparra

A doctor who examined Nomar Garciaparra said surgery is the best option to relieve severe pain in the all-star shortstop’s right wrist.

“He was able to tolerate it, and he is a very tough-minded individual to tolerate it. I think he has reached a stage where he can’t tolerate it anymore,” Dr. Frank McCue, a hand specialist at the University of Virginia, said Monday.

“Swinging the bat is one of the hardest things on the wrist,” McCue said.

Asked if Garciaparra needed surgery, McCue said, “I think he probably does.”

Garciaparra and the Red Sox will decide whether to have the surgery, which General Manager Dan Duquette has said could sideline the shortstop between 10 to 16 weeks. Duquette previously said it was doubtful Garciaparra would be ready for opening day.

The absence of the two-time batting champion could be devastating to the team’s playoff chances. “I don’t even want to talk about it,” pitching ace Pedro Martinez said last week.

McCue said Garciaparra could continue to play with the injury if he received cortisone injections every day. “I would say that would not be the best thing to do,” McCue said.

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Ken Griffey Jr. had to be helped off the field after suffering another hamstring injury only a week before opening day.

The Cincinnati Red center fielder slipped as he rounded third while trying to score on a single during the seventh inning of the Kansas City Royals’ 3-2 victory, suffering a strained left hamstring.

“You look forward to starting the season and right now, I can’t do it,” Griffey said in a downcast voice. “That’s right now. Things could change day by day though.”

The Reds didn’t rule him out for Monday’s opener against the Atlanta Braves, initially taking a wait-and-see approach.

Trainer Mark Mann said there was no indication that Griffey had torn the hamstring. The Reds planned to wait a day before making a guess at how long he’ll be sidelined.

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Seeking an experienced right-hander for their bullpen, the Colorado Rockies acquired veteran Mark Leiter from the New York Mets for right-hander Brian Rose.

Colorado had been seeking a setup man since Jerry Dipoto retired this spring.

Leiter, whose brother Al is a starter for the Mets, might fit the relief role for the Rockies. In seven spring training games, he has given up two earned runs and struck out 11 in 11 2/3 innings.

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Norm Charlton pitched a perfect ninth inning for his first save of the spring in the Seattle Mariners’ 8-6 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Charlton, 38, apparently has won a roster spot over right-hander Ryan Franklin, who started the game and gave up six runs on eight hits. “I think Norm has put himself in a very good position by the way he’s pitched in this camp,” Manager Lou Piniella said. . . . Shane Reynolds, making his first appearance since having surgery on his left knee Dec. 19, pitched a hitless inning as the Houston Astros defeated the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-1. . . . Dean Palmer has biceps tendinitis and will not be at third base on opening day for the Detroit Tigers. “He could DH, but he might not even be ready to do that,” Tiger Manager Phil Garner said.

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Chicago Cub pitcher Julian Tavarez took a flying kick at the San Francisco Giants’ Russ Davis after a third-inning confrontation, setting off a bench-clearing brawl in Chicago’s 6-3 victory at Mesa, Ariz. It is the third testy incident involving Tavarez this spring. In the Cubs’ first exhibition, Tavarez threw a pitch over the head of the Giants’ Barry Bonds and last week he hit Colorado’s Jeff Cirillo in the arm with a pitch.