SanFrancisco.Giants.MLB.com

By Rich Draper / MLB.com

San Francisco's J.T. Snow has a .997 fielding percentage this season. (Brian Bahr/Getty Images)

But his left knee, originally hyperextended during a dangerous slip down a set of stairs at Scottsdale Stadium in Spring Training, has gotten worse, and the veteran will have an MRI on Monday in San Francisco to determine the extent of the injury.

Snow twisted the knee during a spectacular catch on a foul ball in Chicago on Thursday but still played on Friday in San Juan against the Expos. By then, he knew there were serious problems.

"It pretty much bothered me all day Friday -- on the catch (Thursday), it reaggravated it," said Snow. "I've been dealing with it all year, but we'll check it out and see what's happening."

An original MRI disclosed two bruised bones in the knee, but continual treatment allowed Snow to play.

"After twisting it and falling down on Thursday, I woke up Friday pretty sore and tried to play through it. On Saturday it felt the same," said Snow, who recalled the moment he fell in Arizona.

J.T. Snow  /   1B
		Born: 02/26/68 Height: 6'2" Weight: 210 lbs Bats: L / Throws: L More info: Player page Stats | Splits Gallery Team Site | Shop

"I was coming out of the game and going down the stairs toward the trainer's room and I slipped on the steps and hyperextended it. I didn't think anything at the time, although it was swollen. It had been getting better, but now it isn't."

The 36-year-old Snow had a slow offensive start to the season, but was hitting at a .306 clip with six runs, a homer and three RBIs over the past 10 games.

Snow said doctors are concerned there may be tearing in the knee, which would require arthroscopic surgery.

"It's a lot sorer and stiffer the last couple of days," said Snow. "It's part of the game. There's nothing you can do about that. At this point of the season there's too much to go, to try to play -- might as well take care of it and go from there."

Snow had his right knee scoped after the 1999 season.

So sad farewells: Although Giants manager Felipe Alou skippered the Expos for a decade, he said he is past worrying about what city the squad will play in next season.

"It is finished," said Alou. "I did feel sorry for the fans before, when nobody knew what was going on, but the last several years, no."

When there was a possibility of a new stadium in the late 1990s, there were jokes the venue would be dubbed "Labatt Field," after the local brewery.

Quipped Alou, "We called it 'Ca Va Field,' as in 'it's going.'"

Alou, who dearly loves the Caribbean, dismissed Puerto Rico or similar venues as a provisional place for a Major League franchise.

"I don't believe that anything temporary will work. You have to have a team with the fans pulling for you."

Rich Draper is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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