Lost Weekend

The White Sox received their fair share of bad news over the weekend. On Friday, they learned that Carlos Quentin has a fractured wrist and will have to undergo surgery that could put the rest of his season in jeopardy. On the same day, manager Ozzie Guillen told reporters that he expects Joe Crede to miss the remainder of the year due to a back injury. Oh, and the team also learned that recovery from a torn Achilles tendon may keep Jose Contreras out for much of the 2009 campaign.

Quentin, who was widely considered to be a top MVP contender, has been a huge catalyst for the White Sox offense this season, hitting .288/.394/.571 with 36 homers and 100 RBI. He will be sorely missed over the final weeks of the season.

Crede has hit .248 while appearing in only 97 games, but has been a solid power source while providing strong defense at third base. He's a free agent after this year, and it should be interesting to see which team is willing to take a gamble on him. A talented player who is still only 30 years old, Crede has battled chronic back problems throughout much of his career. He's totaled only 144 games over the past two seasons and has hit just .237 during that span.

The White Sox are in position to absorb these injuries better than most teams. Even without Quentin, they can still field an outfield alignment of Jermaine Dye, Nick Swisher and Ken Griffey Jr.Paul Konerko has been hitting much better of late and deserves regular playing time at first base anyway. At the hot corner, Juan Uribe figures to take the reigns for the remainder of the season, and - in spite of some lackluster overall numbers this season - he has been hitting quite well since the beginning of August.

Even without Quentin and Crede this weekend, the White Sox took two of three from the Angels and expanded their lead in the AL Central to two and a half games. Now, for a look at what else happened around baseball over the past few days.

* Billy Wagner suffered a setback during a simulated game on Sunday and may miss the rest of the season. After releasing an errant pitch, Wagner walked off the mound shaking his head and reportedly said, "That's it. I can't do it anymore."

That's bad news for the Mets. They've had a rather difficult time effectively replacing Wagner in the bullpen. Luis Ayala has recently stepped into the closer role and has gotten the job done, picking up saves in six of his nine appearances since coming over from the Nationals and posting a 3.00 ERA during that time. Yet, considering Ayala's unimpressive performance in Washington over the first four-and-a-half months of the season, there's no assurance that he'll continue to convert saves reliably.

Playing down the stretch in a tight playoff race without a consistent closer is dicey territory, and it's a situation that the Phillies, who trail the Mets by one game in the NL East, can be thankful they don't have to deal with.

* The Mariners announced on Saturday that Jeff Clement will undergo season-ending surgery on his knee, thus bringing a disappointing rookie campaign to a close. The 24-year-old hit .227/.295/.360 with five homers and 23 RBI while striking out 63 times in 203 at-bats.

It will be interesting to see how the Mariners handle Clement next season. It seems difficult to believe they could send him back to Triple-A after the numbers he put up there this year (1131 OPS, 14 HR, 43 RBI, 35/30 K/BB in 48 games), and the team remains contractually tied to Kenji Johjima. They could try him at DH full-time, though that would greatly increase the pressure on him to hit, or they could try him at first base, though he hasn't played an inning at the position since joining the Mariners.

* David Ortiz said Sunday that he has been dealing with lingering "clicking" in his wrist and that the issue has forced him to adjust his swing. The wrist problems may have sapped some of his power, but they seemingly haven't affected his overall performance too much as he has hit .296/.419/.493 since returning to the Sox after missing all of June and much of July with a torn tendon sheath in his wrist. The Red Sox want Ortiz in their lineup during their hot pursuit of the Rays, with whom they open a huge three-game series tonight, and the slugger claims to feel no pain in the wrist. He'll play through the clicking for the remainder of the season and perhaps seek to address the problem during the offseason.

* Chris Young came within four outs of hurling a perfect game against the Brewers on Sunday, but surrendered a home run to Gabe Kapler with two outs in the eighth inning. He still completed the game, finishing with just two hits and zero walks allowed. Young, who has spent much of the season on the DL and has struggled with inconsistency when he's been on the mound, could be a factor down the stretch, but don't count on it.

AL Quick Hits: Cliff Lee notched victory No. 21 and lowered his ERA 2.28 with another fantastic performance against the Royals on Sunday . Mike Mussina remains stuck at 17 wins after losing to the Mariners Sunday and may need to win out in order to reach 20 victories for the first time in his career . J.D. Drew took live batting practice on Saturday and is in line to return early next week . Paul Konerko homered for a third straight game on Sunday, and is really turning it on for the White Sox down the stretch . Chris Lambert earned his first career victory by defeating the Twins on Sunday . Francisco Rodriguez earned his 55th save on Sunday, bringing him within two of the all-time record . Carlos Silva was scratched from his Sunday start due to back stiffness . Troy Percival gave up a walk-off grand slam on Saturday but remains likely to hold down the closer position from here on out despite Dan Wheeler's effectiveness in the role.

NL Quick Hits: Chris Perez rebounded from back-to-back blown saves by slamming the door on Marlins on Sunday . Alfonso Soriano went deep three times in a win over the Reds on Saturday, his third career three-homer game . Attempting to pitch through a strained oblique, Wandy Rodriguez lasted just one inning on Sunday . Ben Sheets tossed a complete game shutout on Saturday, and is apparently feeling better after leaving his previous start with groin tightness . Nate McLouth received six stitches after being hit in the face with a ball while attempting a sliding catch in the outfield on Sunday, and is considered day-to-day . The Nationals have activated Dmitri Young from the 15-day disabled list . Mike Jacobs hit his 30th home run of the season on Sunday, but the home run power is negated by a relatively weak 808 OPS . Brandon Webb was hit hard for a third consecutive start on Saturday, raising further concerns about his health.

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