Baseball Notebook | Curt Schilling, Red Sox squabble over injury

BOSTON — Curt Schilling has an injured right shoulder, and the ballplayer and the Boston Red Sox have been squabbling over whether he should have surgery that could cost him the season or try something less drastic.

"There have been disagreements these past few weeks in an effort to provide me with a solution that would allow me to pitch as much as possible during the 2008 season," Schilling wrote in his blog. "At no time did I ever consider taking a course of action against the club's wishes. In the end, regardless of who agreed with whom, I have chosen the club's course of action and will vigorously pursue any and every option I can to be able to help this team to another World Series title in 2008."

The Red Sox said in a statement: "Curt Schilling was examined by Red Sox doctors in January after he reported feeling right-shoulder discomfort. Curt has started a program of rest, rehabilitation and shoulder strengthening in an attempt to return to pitching."

The Boston Herald reported Schilling might have injured his rotator cuff or labrum, a problem serious enough to consider surgery that could keep him out for the whole 2008 season. The Boston Globe reported that even without surgery Schilling would be out until at least the All-Star break.

The 41-year-old right-hander said in November after agreeing to an $8 million, one-year contract that this will be his last year.

The dispute over Schilling's treatment went far enough to lead Schilling to consult with the players union over his rights.

"I have been consulted by Curt and his representative," said Michael Weiner, a lawyer for the players union. "The Red Sox have no basis to take any action against Curt."

A player has the right to seek a second opinion from his own doctor, but it's in dispute what happens when the team's doctor and the player's disagree on the treatment.

Clemens, McNamee

on Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON — The photograph of Brian McNamee's evidence shows a crushed can of Miller Lite, some gauze and cotton pads and a single hypodermic needle.

The detritus and the needles inside the beer can will prove that Roger Clemens took performance-enhancing drugs, McNamee's lawyers said after McNamee, Clemens' former personal trainer, gave a seven-hour deposition to staff members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Thursday.

"Roger Clemens has put himself in a position where his legacy as the greatest pitcher in baseball will depend less on his ERA and more on his DNA," said McNamee's lead lawyer, Earl Ward.

Down the marbled hallway a half-hour later, Clemens' lawyers presented a completely different picture after a day of ushering Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young Award winner, to one-on-one meetings with about a dozen members of Congress.

The so-called evidence, the lawyers Rusty Hardin and Lanny Breuer said, was manufactured by an unstable accuser with a vendetta against Clemens, who once treated him like a member of the family.

"In the cheapest, most mean-spirited stunt, he has made up a bunch of evidence," Breuer said.

Hardin said of McNamee, "This was a man who wanted to shake Roger down."

Clemens and McNamee are scheduled to testify next Wednesday before the full committee.

Hardin said the pitcher would comply with any request from a federal authority to provide a DNA sample.

Notes

• The new Yankee Stadium's price tag is now $1.3 billion, up from the original estimate of $1 billion.

• Right fielder Ryan Church and the New York Mets avoided an arbitration hearing, agreeing to a $2 million, one-year contract.

• RHP Zack Greinke and outfielder Mark Teahen agreed to one-year deals with the Kansas City Royals, avoiding arbitration. Greinke agreed to $1.4 million, while Teahen will get $2,337,500.

• The Baltimore Orioles avoided arbitration with RHP Daniel Cabrera by agreeing on a $2,875,000, one-year contract.

• Former American League Rookie of the Year Eric Hinske agreed to a minor-league contract with the Tampa Bay Rays.

• Infielder Eric Bruntlett and Philadelphia agreed on a $600,000, one-year contract, avoiding arbitration.