ANDERSON'S CAREER OVER (9:33 p.m. ET)
Brian Anderson's bid to resume his major league career is over.
An MRI performed Thursday revealed the Tampa Bay Rays left-hander suffered a career-ending elbow injury during the sixth inning of Wednesday's spring training game against the New York Yankees.
The 35-year-old pitcher, who missed the past two seasons following Tommy John surgery, tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow for the third time in his career. He also tore the flexor mass muscle, which is on the inside of the elbow, for the second time.
Anderson, 82-83 with a 4.74 ERA in parts of 11 seasons with California, Arizona, Cleveland and Kansas City, last pitched in the majors in 2005 when he made six starts for the Royals, going 1-2 with 6.75 ERA before undergoing elbow surgery.
-- The Associated Press
OLSEN GIVES MARLINS HOPE (9:15 p.m. ET)
Florida Marlins left-hander Scott Olsen had another pain-free bullpen session Thursday, giving the team hope he'll be able to start the season in the rotation.
Olsen has not pitched since March 2 because of tendinitis in his throwing shoulder. He has thrown two bullpen sessions and will have two more before returning to the mound for the final 10 days of the exhibition season.
"We'll slot him in there," manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "He'll be one of the first four. It'll be pushing it to get him in the first series."
The Marlins open the season March 31, with a three-game series against the Mets before facing the Pirates in a series starting April 4.
Olsen was originally in line to be the opening-day starter. Sergio Mitre would have stepped into that spot had he not been ruled out until at least May 1 because of a right forearm strain. Now, left-hander Mark Hendrickson appears the front-runner to start Opening Day.
-- The Associated Press
GRUDZIELANEK HEADS BACK TO K.C. (7 p.m. ET)
Royals second baseman Mark Grudzielanek, who has been out with a bad back, returned Thursday to Kansas City to have it examined.
Grudzielanek, 37, had two surgeries on his left knee last year and has played in only three spring training games. He has not played since Monday because of tightness in his lower back.
The Royals opted to send him to Kansas City to be examined by Dr. Steve Joyce, the team physician.
"I'm not really concerned," manager Trey Hillman said. "He's had this before. If this was the regular season, it wouldn't be a [disabled-list] situation."
Grudzielanek, who hit .302 in 116 games last year, is scheduled to return to camp Saturday.
-- The Associated Press
ICHIRO GETS A HIT (7 p.m. ET)
It took two weeks but the long international drought is over. Ichiro Suzuki finally got a hit.
After beginning the Cactus League 0-for-21 (0-for-23 if you count a charity game), Ichiro beat out an infield single to second base in the first inning Thursday. The ball was hit toward the hole between first and second, and when first baseman Justin Leone strayed too far off the bag after the grounder, Ichiro was able to beat out the throw to the pitcher.
Ichiro, who holds the record for most hits in a season, wasn't concerned about the hitless streak.
"I'm not sure what my next challenge is but for today, my feeling is sad, sad to say goodbye," he said. "Part of me is sad that it couldn't have gone on a little longer. But part of me realizes I have to show some results."
Ichiro said that as far as he knew, no one with the team was commemorating the hit. "I was planning to keep the ball and send it to Cooperstown but I couldn't get the ball back and make it a reality."
--Jim Caple, ESPN.com
COLON MAKES MOUND DEBUT (6:25 p.m. ET)
Bartolo Colon was back on the mound Thursday throwing 94 mph fastballs and exciting the Red Sox general manager who signed him.
"He had more arm strength than we expected," Theo Epstein said. "For his first time out, we were really impressed."
So was the 2005 AL Cy Young Award winner, who has pitched in just 29 games the past two years because of elbow and shoulder injuries.
"The past few years have been tough," Colon said through an interpreter after his first spring training outing. "It's that much more gratifying to see the results finally start panning out.
"More than anything, it's great to be able to go out on the mound, even if it's for a brief stint, have some success. So that's very rewarding. It shows that the hard work is paying off."
The Red Sox signed Colon, 34, to a minor league contract Feb. 25. He became a free agent after last season when his four-year deal with the Los Angeles Angels ended. He pitched in just three games after July 23, but in his last game, he struck out two batters in a perfect inning of relief on Sept. 29.
-- The Associated Press
MR. PERFECT (5:22 p.m. ET)
Mike Mussina threw five perfect innings in the Yankees' 5-3 loss to the Pirates. Mussina struck out two during a 64-pitch outing.
"The results were easy," Mussina said. "I didn't feel like I had unbelievable stuff. I got the ball where I wanted to most of the time. Before I knew it, it was the sixth inning."
-- The Associated PressBELTRAN FINALLY PLAYS THE FIELD (5:00 p.m. ET)
Carlos Beltran played center field for the first time since offseason arthroscopic surgery on both knees, and felt like he was relearning the position.
"The first fly ball, I felt like I didn't know what to do," the Mets' cleanup hitter said after a 6-5, 10-inning loss to the Cardinals on Thursday. "It's been a lot of work for me."
Beltran played his first spring game at DH on Monday. The Cardinals game didn't offer that option, so he told manager Willie Randolph he'd give the outfield a try.
He was lifted after batting in the fifth. Beltran said that was a good time to call it a day; he's not ready to play a full game yet.
"I'm not going to try to be a hero here," Beltran said. "I'm just going to try to be healthy for the season and be in the lineup as much as I can."
-- The Associated Press
MERRILL BACK AT BALLPARK (1:38 p.m. ET)
Former Yankees manager Stump Merrill was back at the ballpark Thursday, one day after being hit just above the lip by a thrown ball during batting practice before a game against Tampa Bay.
Merrill, a special assistant to the general manager, was released from a hospital late Wednesday after undergoing a CT scan, which was negative. He had a root canal Thursday.
"I feel pretty good, all things considered," Merrill said Thursday.
Merrill said his biggest concern after getting hit was the fact he is on a blood thinner.
-- The Associated Press
JUAN GONE HAS ABDOMINAL STRAIN (1:36 p.m. ET)
Juan Gonzalez has a minor abdominal strain, slowing his attempt to return to the major leagues with the Cardinals.
Manager Tony La Russa said Thursday he scratched the 38-year-old Gonzalez from the lineup card a day earlier. Gonzalez, a two-time AL MVP who missed the last two years and had only one at-bat in 2005, said he was day-to-day.
Gonzalez felt a pull on his left side more than a week ago and has difficulty running. He has been able to take batting and fielding practice.
Gonzalez is hitting .308 in 26 at-bats with one home run and five RBIs. He signed a minor league contract with the Cardinals and is battling for an extra outfield job along with Brian Barton and Joe Mather.
-- The Associated Press
LIDGE READY BY OPENING DAY? (1:16 p.m. ET)
Phillies closer Brad Lidge threw a bullpen session Wednesday and thinks returning from arthroscopic knee surgery by Opening Day is more than realistic.
"I'm around 90 percent right now and I usually don't get that final 5 percent until the final week of spring training," Lidge said, according to the Cameron Courier Post. "As far as my arm strength goes, I feel I can get enough innings in."
BAKER SHUT DOWN FOR WEEK (1:10 p.m. ET)
Twins right-hander Scott Baker will not pitch for at least the rest of the week because of a sore muscle in his back.
"It's not about what he says anymore," manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We're listening to what the trainers are saying. We're just going to back off. We're going to give him the time he needs."
-- The Associated Press
EL DUQUE TESTS NEW DELIVERY (1:06 p.m. ET)
Orlando Hernandez tested his new delivery in a simulated game Wednesday, throwing 60 pitches in three 20-pitch sessions against hitters.
Afterward, the New York Mets right-hander, whose pitches seemed to lack their usual zip, declared himself ready for Grapefruit League action and said he expects to be ready for Opening Day.
"I don't see why he can't be," Mets manager Willie Randolph said. "If he says he can be ready then I believe him."
When pressed about whether the new windup might affect Hernandez's ability to deceive hitters, Randolph said people don't give El Duque enough credit for his stuff.
The new delivery is designed to keep Hernandez's right foot flat on the mound to relieve pressure on a bothersome bunion.
-- The Associated Press
LOEWEN TO BE SCRATCHED? (1:03 p.m. ET)
Starting pitcher Adam Loewen likely will be scratched from his start Friday because of discomfort in his left shoulder.
Nine months removed from surgery on his elbow, Loewen took part in fielding drills Wednesday but was able only to toss underhand or with his right hand to first base. Still, Loewen didn't rule out starting on Friday.
"I feel fine to make my next start," he told The Baltimore Sun. "That's the way I look at it. Every start I've had, I've felt no pain. If I had a little soreness in between starts, that's normal."
MOUNDS OF TROUBLE FOR RANGERS (8:16 a.m. ET)
Add Eddie Guardado to the list of hurt or sore Rangers pitchers.
Guardado limped off the mound with soreness in his left knee after facing four hitters in a spring training game against the Cubs. He said the knee has been bothering him for about a week. He will likely take the weekend off.
He joins a long list of Rangers pitchers with injuries or soreness: Vicente Padilla (pulled gluteus maximus), Brandon McCarthy (forearm inflammation), Kevin Millwood (sore hamstring), Joaquin Benoit (weak arm) and C.J. Wilson (biceps tendinitis).
"As I was walking up the tunnel, I'm thinking, 'We are dropping like flies,'" Guardado said, according to The Dallas Morning News. "I've never seen anything like it. I'm wondering, 'What's going on here?'"
"We can say that everybody is hurt, but the truth is we've just got to be smart," Guardado said, according to the report. "The last two pitches, I was just guiding the ball and you don't want to do that. You start overcompensating and one thing leads to another, and then you end up with [elbow problems]."
Part of the problem might be the pitcher's mound at Surprise Stadium, the Rangers' spring training home. Guardado and Wes Littleton said the mound had some soft landing spots, and the team met with the grounds crew after Wednesday's game to address that.
PITCHING COMPETITION BREWING
(7:37 a.m. ET)
Milwaukee has eight pitchers trying to lock down five rotation spots, and the competition isn't much clearer now than it was when training camp opened.
The top of the rotation seems set with ace Ben Sheets followed by Jeff Suppan, who signed a four-year contract worth $42 million before the start of last season, and Yovani Gallardo, who went 9-5 with a 3.67 ERA with 17 starts and three relief appearances as a rookie.
But after those three, five pitchers are vying to be the fourth and fifth starters in what's been an extremely tight competition. Carlos Villanueva, Dave Bush, Chris Capuano, Claudio Vargas and prospect Manny Parra are all in the running.
"It makes [us have] really, really tough decisions, but that's what you want," manager Ned Yost said. "You want to have a bunch of tough decisions at the end of spring training, all of which are good."
-- The Associated Press
