Will we ever see the Brad Lidge of old again?

It has been a long winter baseball fantasy owners, and the thousands of letters piling up at the international headquarters of SportsGrumblings have not gone unnoticed. It is finally time for what you have been clamoring for all through the cold, global-warming inspired snow: the most anticipated debut of the 2008 season – the weekly Pen Names column!

Bouncing across the country, I will update you on what injuries you should be paying attention to and point you to some columns around the net with news updates of the various bullpens around the league.

Pen Injury Updates

• 2/18 – A sore left shoulder has been limiting Reds’ reliever Bill Bray in the early stages of training camp

• 2/21 – Back spasms have been bothering Royals’ reliever Neal Musser, who posted a 4.38 ERA over 17 appearances as a rookie last season. He has improved enough to play catch but is not yet throwing off a mound.

• 2/22 – The Tigers are taking precaution in their handling of Fernando Rodney, who complained of shoulder soreness recently.

• 2/24 – Phillies closer Brad Lidge will have arthroscopic surgery Monday to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee, a result of throwing a pitch during Saturday's batting practice. The surgery -- a partial medial meniscectomy -- is a procedure that removes all or part of the damaged cartilage. The recovery time is three to six weeks, and Lidge could begin a rehabilitation program one week following the surgery.

• 2/26 – A's reliever Keith Foulke has missed drills this past week due to a right calf injury.

• 2/27 – Astros right-hander Nieve Fernando aggravated a hamstring injury while attempting to field a batted ball during the Astros' intrasquad game on Tuesday.

• 2/28 – Joel Zumaya threw a baseball Wednesday for the first time since undergoing shoulder surgery last October.

• 2/28 – The Padres scratched reliever Justin Hampson from Thursday's charity game against the Mariners because of a tight left shoulder.

• 2/28 - Milwaukee reliever Salomon Torres, who has been slowed by a sore right arm, played catch Wednesday and is expected to throw a bullpen session on March 1.

Injury Analysis

The biggest news is the prize acquisition of the Philadelphia Phillies off-season, Brad Lidge, going down again with a knee injury. This is devastating for a team that hopes to make another run back to the postseason. From a fantasy perspective, if you have not had your draft yet, be wary of Lidge. It is questionable if he will ever return to the dominant form he displayed in Houston a few years back, and recurring injuries certainly do not make it any more likely. If you already have Lidge on your team, sit tight. You will not get anything back for him in a trade at this point, so your best bet is to hope against hope he will come back stronger than ever.

The Tigers bullpen is looking better as Joel Zumaya has started throwing again. He is not back to full strength yet, but, given the progress, he is a decent bet to be back around mid-season as expected. One should not worry about Fernando Rodney's injury too seriously, although it is certainly something to keep an eye on as time goes by.

Politicking in Texas

The Rangers’ probable closer, C.J. Wilson, is making news for his off-field behavior, but it does not have to do with a DUI, drugs, or women.

Wilson recently made comments about his teammates' lack of political education in an ESPN.com article and then made subsequent posts on a Rangers-related blog that referred to the average major leaguer with an obscene remark. On Tuesday, teammates confronted him about the comments.

“I had a very direct talk with him,“ said shortstop Michael Young. Young declined to elaborate further on the conversation. Kevin Millwood and Frank Catalanotto were also among those who questioned him, after several players whispered about the comments during Tuesday's workout.

O-Notes

In an article about the Orioles mess of a bullpen, veteran Chad Bradford is surprisingly optimistic.

“From his perspective, Bradford thinks relievers can do well, right off the bat, if they're used properly. The submarine right-hander opined that you can tell as early as Spring Training who is ready to contribute, and after that, it's a matter of survival.

“Any good reliever comes in and does well off the bat, and then they go through a little period of making adjustments,“ Bradford said. “The hitters adjust to them, and once they get past that, they can become established. Some of these guys don't have a whole lot of experience, but maybe they can come in and make that transition in a short period of time.“

Ryan Rising?

Toronto closer B.J. Ryan seems to be making good progress as he works to return from an injury that sidelined him for much of the 2007 campaign. In an article about Ryan, Winnipeg Sun reporter Ken Fidlin notes that he has already begun throwing live batting practice.

“B.J. passed another test today,“ said general manager J.P. Ricciardi, who stayed in Dunedin long enough to see Ryan throw to a handful of minor-leaguers before driving to Lakeland where the Jays were facing the Tigers. “He threw well. His location was good, he kept the ball down and the ball was coming out of his hand real well. Most encouraging thing was he had a really good breaking ball.”

Ryan was to consult yesterday afternoon in Sarasota with Dr. Timothy Kremchek, the surgeon who did the reconstruction of Ryan's left elbow last May. Ryan is slated to pitch a couple more batting practice sessions before he appears in a minor-league game, possibly next weekend. If he remains on the same track, Ryan should make an appearance in a Grapefruit League game by about March 15 and that will allow him to remain on pace to start the season.

Brew Crew Bullpen Blues

Eric Gagne's debut with the Brewers was not exactly what they were hoping when they agreed to pay him $10 million over the winter, as he allowed three runs and four hits in an exhibition loss to the A's.

“I usually only work six or seven innings in spring and have some things I like to work on,“ Gagne said. “I try to throw strikes, basically. I think I'm just going to throw fastballs today and see where my fastball is at.”

He did throw a number of changeups as well, but was at the 22-pitch mark with two outs and a runner at first when Ned Yost visited the mound and told Gagne he would get one more hitter. Yost could tell that Gagne, who suffered a bad bout of the flu earlier in the week, was running out of steam.

Re-Upping On the South Side

Bobby Jenks signed a new contract with the White Sox. Not much of an increase however, as he will earn only $100,000 more than he did in 2007. The White Sox hold all the chips for now with Jenks, but arbitration will be an issue for them next year, making a long-term contract something both sides will likely be discussing this season.

“That is between the front office and my agent,” Jenks said. “I have to worry about what I do on the field and let them take care of the rest”

Jenks struggled in Spring Training last year with tightness in his shoulder, but he has no such issues this year. “I feel great, really good,” Jenks told reporters. “This is the best I felt in the three years that I have been here.”

Diamond Notes

Even after losing the major league leader in saves, the Diamondbacks feel good about their bullpen. The Diamondbacks traded Jose Valverde to the Astros during the offseason, and the Diamondbacks have slotted Brandon Lyon into the role as his replacement. Currently in line to be his setup men are Tony Pena, who was originally believed to be the closer in waiting, and Chad Qualls, who came over in the Valverde trade.

“Those three guys at the end of games are pretty good a pretty good unit,” general manager Josh Byrnes said on Monday. “They have a lot of weapons to get out of jams and a lot of track record thus far in their careers.”

The subdued Lyon will be a stark contrast to the emotional Valverde, whose fist-pumping antics after saves sometimes irritated opponents. Lyon has closed before, having picked up nine saves in 12 chances for the Red Sox in 2003. After missing a full season because of surgery for transposition of the ulnar nerve on his pitching arm, Lyon had 14 saves in 15 opportunities for Arizona in 2005, and he would have had more had a sore elbow not put him on the shelf.