Covering the bases

Cleveland gives Doby his due

CLEVELAND -- Larry Doby waited years before he told his son certain baseball stories, the ones of hatred and horror, the ones he faced as the first black to play in the American League.

Doby was surrounded by prejudice everywhere: on the street, in the clubhouse, and especially on the field.

"He got taunted, and there were bench jockeys who would ride him," Larry Doby Jr. said. "But he never held any grudges. He forgave. He didn't forget."

The Indians honored Doby on Friday night as each member of Cleveland's team wore the Hall of Famer's No. 14 to honor the 60th anniversary of him following Jackie Robinson over baseball's color barrier.

'Confused' La Russa forgets Pujols in lineup

ST. LOUIS -- Cardinals manager Tony La Russa rewrote his lineup card to include Albert Pujols several hours before Friday night's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, forgetting that he had planned to give his star a day off later in the weekend.

The original lineup had Chris Duncan batting third and playing first base. In the revision, Pujols took Duncan's spot.

"I confused myself," La Russa said. "I thought it was today, but it wasn't today, so I had to make a new lineup."

Japan's first drug suspension: an American

A former Triple-A pitcher from California has become the first player in Japanese baseball history to flunk a drug test. Rick Guttormson, who played in the San Diego and Seattle minor league systems, was suspended for 20 days Friday after testing positive for a banned substance.

His team, the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, was fined $63,000.

SHORT HOPS: Adam Hughes, a plumber from La Jolla, Calif., said Friday that he was going to sell Barry Bonds' record-tying 755th home run ball.

* Carlos Beltran was activated from the disabled list Friday and was in the New York Mets' starting lineup.

* The Atlanta Braves put Octavio Dotel on the 15-day disabled list with a right shoulder strain.