Fielder Fractures Thumb in Slide

New York Yankee designated hitter Cecil Fielder will miss six to eight weeks after fracturing his right thumb during a head-first slide in Tuesday’s victory over the Cleveland Indians.

Fielder was placed on the disabled list Wednesday for the first time in his career, and will undergo surgery today in New York.

Fielder is batting .254 with 10 homers and 51 runs batted in. He is one home run shy of 300 for his career.

To replace Fielder on the 25-man roster, the Yankees purchased the contract of first baseman Ivan Cruz from triple-A Columbus.

Even before the injury, New York had been talking to Colorado about acquiring Dante Bichette for Kenny Rogers.

*

Cal Ripken has been receiving treatment for back spasms this week, although the pain wasn’t enough to stop him from starting in his major-league record 2,407th consecutive game Wednesday night.

Ripken skipped batting practice Tuesday and Wednesday while being tended to in the Baltimore Orioles’ training room.

Although he was moving gingerly in the clubhouse before Wednesday’s game against the Boston Red Sox, Ripken emphatically insisted that his record streak is not in jeopardy.

“It’s pretty normal. . . . You get treatment and try to relieve the spasms. It’s been my experience that they go away and everything is fine. If you don’t get treatment on it and you continue to go out and do things, then you’re asking for something more major to happen.”