MLB Update - 3/10/2009

• Yankees 3B Alex Rodriguez had arthroscopic surgery to repair his torn labrum and will be out of action for six to nine weeks. He will require more extensive surgery during the offseason.
• Angels pitcher Ervin Santana felt some pain in his elbow last week and, as a precaution, has been shut down. The pain came from a sprained ligament in his right elbow. He'll miss at least a week and then will go through a regimen in which he may not be ready to pitch the first week of the season. Santana won 16 games last season.
• Atlanta 3B Chipper Jones is already having injury issues. The much maligned lifelong Brave has a mild strain on his right side an will miss the next few days of spring training. It is not believed to be serious and Chipper should be back in action sometime next week.
• Mets pitcher Johan Santana has been feeling much better after a scare with some soreness and pain in his pitching elbow. After tests came back negative, Santana began throwing and has reported no problems. He may pitch in the teams grapefruit league game on Thursday or Saturday. He is expected to make the opening day start too, which had been in question. In other Mets news, RP Duaner Sanchez has been released by the team.
  
• According to a report in the New York Times, former pitcher Roger Clemens has been irrefutably linked to Brian McNamee and steroids. Syringes and gauze pads used to inject Clemens contained performance-enhancing residue.
• The Red Sox and SP Jon Lester have agreed on a 1-year deal while Lester's agent and the club work on a long term agreement.
• In the 2009 World Baseball Classic, Team USA beat Canada on March 7th, 6-5, and destroyed Venezuela, 15-6, the following day. The squad has a rematch versus Venezuela tomorrow to decide the winner of Pool C.
• Kevin McGuire has an update on who will be the Phillies 5th starter, if the spot in the rotation was decided today. It is not who the Phillies coaches all thought it would be. [Nittanydelphia]

Slow times in MLB action for the most part. Things will start to pick up in the next 10 days though.