Kansas City Royals outfielder Jose Guillen will miss the rest of the season because of a right knee injury. He sat out 37 games with a ligament tear in his knee, but was activated from the disabled list Tuesday. He struck out as a pinch-hitter that day and was the starting designated hitter Wednesday, but left after only two at-bats with pain in his right hamstring.

"After reviewing Jose's situation, we are just going to shut him down for the rest of the year and give him an opportunity to get his body as healthy and strong as possible going into spring training next year," Kansas City manager Trey Hillman said yesterday. "He will not be playing any more ballgames this season."

Guillen, 33, is in the second season of a $36 million, three-year contract, making him the highest-paid position player in Royals history. Guillen, who also was on the disabled list in April with a partial tear of his right hip flexor tendon, appeared in 81 games this year, hitting .242 with nine home runs and 40 RBIs.

Closer Mariano Rivera threw "almost 20 pitches" in a bullpen session and reported no pain in his sore left groin, meaning he might be able to return to the mound today.

"I wasn't expecting to feel anything," Rivera said before the Yankees played the Blue Jays. "I just have to make sure that it's ready."

Rivera, 1-2 with a 1.78 ERA and a major league-leading 38 saves, first began to feel sore Aug. 15.

Outfielder Eric Byrnes was activated from the disabled list. Byrnes was available off the bench last night against Colorado. He missed 64 games with a broken left hand after he was hit by a pitch from Texas starter Scott Feldman June 25.

The remainder of Roger Clemens' defamation suit against Brian McNamee in Texas was dismissed, leaving the two to fight their legal battle in New York. A U.S. District judge, who threw out most of Clemens' case in February, dismissed the remainder of the suit Aug. 28. Clemens initially had sued his former personal trainer in Texas state court in January 2008, a month after McNamee's accusations against the seven-time Cy Young Award winner were published in the Mitchell Report. The dismissal first was reported yesterday by the Daily News in New York.