Aaron Senneof Rochester hopes he has dodged a serious arm injury.
The farmhand of the Florida Marlins has yet to participate in hitting and throwing drills in spring training because he suffered a muscle strain in his left elbow (his throwing arm). If he would have torn the URL ligament, he would have needed Tommy John surgery and would have been sidelined about a year.
"It might be a partial tear," Senne said. "A partial tear is not close to a full tear."
Senne said he suffered the injury playing catch with a friend prior to the start of training camp.
"There were no real warning signs," he said. "I just felt it pop. It could have been a lot worse."
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Senne was advised to take six weeks off from hitting and throwing. He still has participated in other drills at camp, in Jupiter, Fla., and has even stood in the batter's box to look at live pitching. He just hasn't been able to swing.
The 2010 10th-round Marlins draft choice hopes to begin complete training in 10 days.
"I can't wait to get back," he said. "You just have to deal with it. I'm looking forward to a big year."
Senne expects to start the regular season in Class A ball, either the Marlins' higher class in Jupiter or lower Class A ball in Greensboro, N.C.
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Michael Restovichof Rochester will start the 2011 baseball season with the Charlotte Knights of the International League.
The Knights are the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. According to the Knights' roster, Restovich is a member of the White Sox 40-man roster, which means he can be recalled at any time to the big leagues.
Restovich appeared in just two games with the White Sox during spring training. He went 1-for-4 and drove in a pair of runs, with a two-run single.
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Two former Minnesota Twins, Jesse Crainand Philip Humber, are relief pitchers for the White Sox.
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The Twins opened their 2011 season on Friday night. The Twins have won six of the past nine division titles in the American League Central Division.
Sports Illustrated picks the Twins to win the division with a 90-72 record, beat the New York Yankees in the first round of the playoffs and then fall to the Boston Red Sox in the division championship series.
ESPN The Magazine picks the Twins to finish in a tie for second place in the division with an 83-79 record, three games behind the Chicago White Sox.
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Lanier Frush Holt, a former reporter at the Post-Bulletin, is a teacher at Butler. The Bulldogs are in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament in men's basketball.
"The funny thing about a school as small as Butler making it to the Final Four is that the NCAA allots like 2,000 tickets to a school for the games," Holt said on his Facebook page. "That means like half of Butler is heading to Houston right now. If I taught on Fridays I'd literally have to cancel classes today!"
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The Bulldogs will play in the national semifinals today against Virginia Commonwealth.
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Goodhue's Josh Wiemehas been named the Class A Coach of the Year in girls basketball. Wieme guided the Wildcats to a berth in the Class A state tournament this season and Goodhue finished with a 26-5 record and was ranked No. 1 in the state in the final regular-season poll.
Heath Olsonof Spring Grove was named the Class A Assistant Coach of the Year. Spring Grove lost to Goodhue in the Section 1A championship game this season. The Lions were ranked No. 3 in the state in the final regular-season poll.
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Triton senior Logan Spitzackwas one of four Minnesota high school students honored during ceremonies at the boys basketball state tournament.
Spitzack earned an Academics, Arts and Athletics Award. Established in 1988, the award, popularly known as the Triple "A" Award, recognizes and rewards high school seniors for their achievements in the classroom, the arts and athletics.
Spitzack will receive a four-year, $1,000 scholarship from the Minnesota State High School League for being honored.
