Angels’ Shoemaker has surgery to stop bleeding in skull
Los Angeles Angels pitcher Matt Shoemaker underwent surgery Sunday night to stop the bleeding from a small fracture in his skull sustained earlier in the day.
Angels general manager Billy Eppler told reporters in Oakland on Monday that Shoemaker was resting comfortably in a Seattle hospital, calling the surgical procedure “fairly routine.”
Shoemaker was hit in the right side of his head by a line drive off the bat of Seattle Mariners third baseman Kyle Seager during the second inning of Sunday’s game.
The 29-year-old right-hander was diagnosed with a small skull fracture and hematoma. Eppler said Shoemaker will remain in Seattle for a few days before returning to Southern California and added that the pitcher is expected to make a full recovery.
“We’ve exhaled a little bit,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia told the Orange County Register. “They hopefully corrected what was causing the bleeding. He’s resting comfortably. Hopefully it looks like everything is taken care of. Now it’s just a recuperation process for Matty. Our thoughts and prayers are with him.”
Shoemaker is 9-13 with a 3.88 ERA in his third full season with Los Angeles. He had a sensational rookie campaign, posting a 16-4 record and 3.04 ERA.
LSU suspends Boutte one game for vicious hit
LSU on Monday suspended offensive guard Josh Boutte one game for a flagrant personal in the waning moments of Saturday’s loss to Wisconsin.
Boutte will miss the Tigers’ home opener against Jacksonville State on Saturday.
Boutte, a senior, was thrown out of the game after he leveled Wisconsin defensive back D’Cota Dixon, who had intercepted a pass to ice the Badgers’ 16-14 upset of No 5 LSU.
LSU coach Les Miles said that Boutte called Dixon on Monday morning and apologized.
“Josh made a mistake and will serve a one game suspension because of it,” Miles told reporters. “Even though this was done by mistake, a play like this does not belong in the game of football and therefore action must be taken.
“This play does not define Josh as a person and is not indicative of the type of player he is. We sincerely apologize for his mistake.”
Dixon told the Orlando Sentinel there were no hard feelings.
“I don’t blame the kid. He probably was frustrated,” Dixon said. “If I was ranked No. 5 and we lost to an unranked team and we were supposed to go to the national championship, I’d be upset too. It is what it is. It’s part of the game. No hard feelings.”
Sarkisian joins Saban’s staff at Alabama
Former Southern California and Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian has been hired by Alabama as an offensive analyst, coach Nick Saban announced Monday.
Sarkisian was fired as the Trojans’ coach early last season following a series of alcohol-related incidents. He filed a wrongful termination lawsuit and later agreed to binding arbitration to settle the issue.
Saban said he first discussed with Sarkisian about joining Alabama’s staff “quite a while ago.”
“I told him that we’d love to have him as part of the organization,” Saban said Monday. “He’s gone through some personal things himself to get himself in a very positive position and wants to continue to do those things in the future. Professionally, he loves coaching, and so we thought it would be a good thing for our organization to have (him).”
The 42-year old Sarkisian joins a Crimson Tide offensive staff led by offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin, also a former USC head coach. The two coached offense together at USC under Pete Carroll.
As an analyst, Sarkisian is allowed to watch film of games and practice, and provide input on the weekly game plan. He is not allowed to have a hands-on coaching role or interact with players on the football field for the nation’s top-ranked team.