Doctors Roll Dice with Twins Pitcher Brad Radke

The point of giving Brad Radke yet another cortisone shot in his ailing shoulder is not so much to keep him in the rotation for the next 30 days as it is to help him limp into the post-season, when his availability will be more critical than ever. Doctors are gambling the shots will not weaken his tendons excessively, which would cause a rupture that not only would immediately end his career, but impact his quality of life in his long awaited retirement at the close of the season. Radke, 33, who plans to maintain his home in the northern Mississippi Valley, where he is native, is building a palatial, 5,000-square foot home in Bel Air Beach, Fla., which will become his main base after he hangs up his spikes.