Baseball stunned by Kile's death

The stunning death of St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Darryl Kile brought even baseball's toughest guys to tears Saturday.\n"I think we've all heard what he was like as a teammate, and it's all true," Colorado Rockies slugger Larry Walker said as he dabbed his eyes. "He was a great guy, was in a good mood all the time and was a professional at everything in life. It's going to be hard to deal with."\nKile was found dead at the team hotel Saturday, Chicago police said. He was 33. The pitcher apparently died from natural causes and was found in his bed.\nCraig Biggio, Jeff Bagwell and Brad Ausmus, among Kile's best friends when he pitched for the Houston Astros from 1991-97, did not take batting practice and were not in the starting lineup against the Seattle Mariners.\nKile's Astros jersey -- No. 57 -- hung in the Houston dugout.\n"It was so hard to play this game," Biggio said after Bagwell's pinch-hit single beat the Mariners 3-2 in 12 innings. "I lost a good friend today."\nThere were moments of silence at ballparks all around the majors. Two pictures of Kile, with 1968-2002 written across the bottom of the screen, appeared on the scoreboard in Montreal.\nThere was another scoreboard tribute to Kile in Philadelphia and the Cardinals flag flew at half-staff at Turner Field in Atlanta.\n"You don't expect a 35-, 34-year-old guy in his prime playing a professional sport to pass away," Braves pitcher Tom Glavine said. "We all take it for granted sometimes that whatever plans we had for tomorrow we're going to be able to fulfill them. Tomorrow may not come."\nThe Cincinnati Reds' clubhouse went totally silent, and stunned players sat in front of their lockers with stony faces as television sets brought the news. The team quickly called off batting practice and gave players an extra 45 minutes on their own.\n"Even though he's not on the team, you can relate to what they're going through," Ken Griffey Jr. said. "Today baseball lost a good guy"