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Bill Hall will be expecting at least another 4 to 6 weeks until he recovers from his left calf injury, but the Brewers infielder believes it will be much quicker.
“I think two weeks,” Hall said. “It’s definitely not going to be 4-6 weeks.”

The incident happened last Thursday, when Hall had a partial tear on his left calf muscle during a conditioning session. During sprint drills, he was strapped with resistance bands which he thought had snapped and hit the back of his leg.

An MRI scan last Friday assured that it was indeed an injury, but Hall said that it was not that serious. He met with athletic trainer Roger Caplinger to future rehabilitation programs.

“Once the muscle released and stopped being tense, it was [much better],” Hall said. “I’m walking on my own now with no trouble. Two days ago, I felt like I needed crutches.”

Although feeling much better, Hall would still be cautious. Last 2007, he was also injured, spraining his right ankle as a center field at Pittsburgh, and was thought to miss a good six weeks. Hall returned 2 1/2 weeks after his injury, but went down to a .185 average in August with only 5 home runs in the final two months.

Attempting a comeback this time is not an option for Hall until his doctors gives him the go signal.
“Spring Training is longer this year and even though I’m feeling good, there’s no reason to be pressing things,” he said. “I’ve talked to football players I know, and they say this can be a one of those bad things if you don’t let it heal all the way.”

After the Los Angeles Angels signed Ervin Santana to a four year $30 million deal last Saturday, are the Giants be thinking of doing the same their own superstar, right hander Tim Lincecum?

Maybe, but not on immediate time. Club officials and Luncecum himself said last Sunday that multiplayer deal talks are not active, although everything can change with one phone call.

“Nothing’s going on right now,” Lincecum said Sunday. Generally, he added, the business side of baseball concerns him “very little. I’m just worried about the season. What I hear, I hear about from my agent [Rick Thurman] and I haven’t heard anything. I’m just playing the waiting game.”

Lincecum is the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner. Santana on the other hand, owns a 51-37 career record, an All-Star season, and finished 16-7 with a 3.49 ERA.

Lincecum is 18-5 with a 2.62 ERA and has a ML high 265 strikeouts last season. During the Giant’s opening workout for their pitchers and catchers, Lincecum threw with his usual flair off the bullpen. It was his third throwing session off a mound this year, and can clearly be said that he is still on the verge of “bringing the old out of himself.”

“My dad always says, ‘Find rhythm first,’ so I tried to do that,” Lincecum said.

At one point, Lincecum played with his two-seam fast ball. Guided by Mark Gardner, Lincecum threw one that the bullpen coached liked.  “Atta boy,” catcher Eli Whiteside hollered. “I figured it out,” Lincecum called back, grinning.

Earlier this week, the Commissioner’s Office contacted the Major League Baseball Players Association due to concerns about specific allegations that union executive Gene Orza tipped off a player before the latter was scheduled to be tested for performance enhancing drugs last 2004, all these under The New York Times Friday edition report.

It was said that the contact was made in line to the allegations that was revealed in the Sports Illustrated cover story that was published this week about Alex Rodriguez, in which the Yankee infielder admitted that he honestly took performance enhancing drugs during his three year stint with the Rangers.
In accordance to The Times, the Commissioner’s Office contacted the union in line to that exact incident that was cited in Sports Illustrated saying that the union’s chief operating officer (Orza) warned an anonymous player last September 2004 that he would be tested on the 24th, also stating to the player that “there should be nothing in your system”. In addition, SI said that Orza also warned ARod that there would still be an upcoming test that same month.
The League’s executive vice president Rob Manfred Told The Times that he already raised the issue to the union officials.

“I have discussed with the Major League Baseball Players Association the more detailed allegation about advance notice given to a player of a test on Sept. 24, 2004,” Manfred said. “The union has been unable to provide any additional information and stands by its previously issued denial that any tipping occurred.”

Greg Bouris, the union’s spokesman confirmed to The Times that Manfred spoke to a union official, saying that they (the union) did not give nor told anyone in advance that they are instituting a test in 2004.
“We have done nothing improper,” Bouris said.

Earlier this week, Orza denied all the magazine’s charges against him. “It makes juicier stuff to suggest there were tip-offs,” Orza said on Monday. “But there weren’t. I don’t care about the press coverage. It’s irrelevant.”

In an announcement released Saturday, the union said that “there was no improper tipping of players in 2004 about the timing of the drug tests.” In that same statement, MLBPA executive director Don Fehr said that he gave out a 10-page letter, clarifying that to Representative Henry Waxman, Chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, following that of the Mitchell Report.