Steve Kiefer

Steve Kiefer sits in his Columbus, Ohio, home, his left leg in a cast from his ankle to his knee, and faithfully listens to the Columbus Clippers' International League baseball games on the radio. It's hardly the way Kiefer wants to spend the summer, but he hasn't had much of a choice thanks to the cast. And he just can't stand to see the Clippers play in person. At least not until he can play third base for the New York Yankees' triple-A franchise again.

Steve Kiefer sits in his Columbus, Ohio, home, his left leg in a cast from his ankle to his knee, and faithfully listens to the Columbus Clippers' International League baseball games on the radio. It's hardly the way Kiefer wants to spend the summer, but he hasn't had much of a choice thanks to the cast. And he just can't stand to see the Clippers play in person. At least not until he can play third base for the New York Yankees' triple-A franchise again.

Milwaukee Brewers infielder Steve Kiefer suffered cuts that required nearly 200 stitches to close when hit in the neck by a beer bottle during an altercation at a nightspot in Mesa, Ariz.

Robin Yount is considered one of Milwaukee's leading clutch hitters, but when he singled in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth Wednesday to beat Minnesota, 3-2, at Milwaukee, it was only his third game-winning hit of the season. Yount, who leads the Brewers with 15 home runs and is second on the club with 62 runs batted in, said of his game-winning RBI total: "it's not a stat I concern myself with. It's a funny stat. It's something you can get in the first inning.

Dave Stewart, in a career that began with the Dodgers almost a decade ago, has been known as a pitcher who didn't live up to his potential and as a person who couldn't avoid problems. Until this season, the 30-year-old right-hander might be best remembered for an off-the-field incident involving a transvestite prostitute and for punching former Cleveland Indians Manager Pat Corrales.

Although Frank Viola walked six batters in seven innings Thursday night, his less-than-masterful performance made him believe he's becoming a pitcher who can win despite some adversity. "I'm starting to become a complete pitcher. Now I'm not just a thrower," Viola said after pitching Minnesota to a 9-4 victory over Oakland that moved the Twins back into first place in the American League West, one game ahead of the A's.

It isn't necessary to sell the Milwaukee Brewers as a rising power to the rest of the American League East. The Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays know too well how tough Milwaukee is and how strong it figures to be next season. "It's no secret," Detroit manager Sparky Anderson said. "They got good players." Milwaukee, which almost won the World Series in 1982 then fell to the bottom just two seasons later, figures to be one of the teams to beat in 1988.

When Oakland A's rookie Mike Warren pitched a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox in 1983, Kevin Jacobson's reaction was a mixture of fantasy and reality. Knocking in the winning run or preserving the no-hitter with a dazzling play at third base was Jacobson's wish. He had played third in back of Warren in Class-A ball at Modesto three years before, so the fantasy wasn't far-fetched. In reality, Jacobson backed Warren with his brain instead of his bat or glove.

They kept telling him it was only tendinitis, but Mark Kiefer, a pitcher in the Milwaukee Brewers' organization, wasn't convinced. He heard six different doctors deliver the same diagnosis, but he was listening to his body. Literally . "I'd throw certain pitches and my elbow would pop so loud you could hear it out on the mound," he said. "Then sometimes it would like lock in a bent position in between innings.

Quietly and almost unnoticed, Jose Canseco is putting together some pretty good numbers. After a slow start, last season's American League Rookie of the Year has become a force in the Oakland Athletics' drive to the top of the West. The slugging of rookie Mark McGwire and his own wretched start combined to make Canseco a forgotten man. After 50 games, Canseco, who hit 33 home runs last season and drove in 117 runs, had only 6 home runs and 23 runs batted in.