Me and Pedro Journal of Medicine

Unbeknownst to me Me and Pedro's tagline has changed. Could have been hours ago, could have been days ago. Not sure, the front office around here operates much more like the Yawkey Trust than Henry/Lucchino/Werner. No, not the racist part, just tightlipped. From "Blogging the 2008 season" to "All teams, all the time" we go. I like it! But I suppose next they'll tell me the blog's title is actually a Pedro Guerrero reference. Which, by the way, I would be totally fine with. I mean, he's arguably the best hitter of the 80's. And then there's this. At any rate, if we are to proceed with this ambitious all the teams, all the time strategy I might as well get started. How about we take a look around the league at some players who are on the mend and others who are headed into the shop for repairs?

Best news: Mark DeRosa of the Cubs is eager to get back on the field after undergoing a radiofrequency catheter ablation to fix the irregular heartbeat he was diagnosed with as a teen. Sounds like the heart is fine and he's just waiting for the flesh wounds sustained in surgery to heal: "They go in through the groin and there's a bruise, and you just have to make sure it heals well."

Great news: Francisco Liriano was pain free in his first game action in 18 months. The Twins' 24-year-old ace to be walked Ortiz, struck out Manny, and reached 91 MPH on the radar gun in the Twins 7-2 Mayor's Cup victory. With all the recent Tommy John surgery success stories this great news hardly comes as a surprise. It's early yet but this looks promising. Great for baseball, very bad for the American League.

Good news: Bartolo Colon appears to be ahead of schedule. He threw 41 pitches in a bullpen session Wednesday and today he began mixing in the breaking stuff. Pitching coach John Farrell says his velocity is steadily improving. The fight for the fifth spot in the Sox' rotation heats up.

Bad news: Noah Lowry of the Giants needs surgery on his forearm. He'll miss about a month of action. "Dr. Gordon Brody will operate to snip open the fascia, which is tissue - somewhat similar to a sausage casing - that surrounds the muscle." Sounds like fun!

Worse new: Dodgers rookie Andy LaRoche will miss two months with a thumb injury sustained when a pick off attempt caught him on his throwing hand. Silver lining? Dodgers third base job goes to Nomaaaah by default!

Old news: Mike Hampton is hurt. Water is wet. It's the groin this time and he didn't even have a radiofrequency catheter ablation. My diagnosis: Relocate to the AL and become a DH.

Rhode Island news: The pride of Woonsocket, Rocco Baldelli, has chronic hamstring problems. When much of your game is speed, that ain't good. Here's hoping we get to see a lot of the dynamic Crawford/Upton/Baldelli outfield in '08. I have my doubts.

Alou news: Can't he just pee on it?