FREE MLB NEWS PICKS & MLB NEWS PICKS  FREE MLB PICKS & MLB PICKS MLB FREE MLB PICKS, MLB PICKS, FREE MAJOR BASEBALL PICKS, MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PICKS.
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PICKS- (associated press): oakland outfielder set to have surgery. Oakland Athletics center fielder Mark Kotsay will have arthroscopic surgery on his back Wednesday and could be sidelined up to three months. The procedure, to be performed in Los Angeles, will repair a herniated disk that has bothered the 31-year-old Kotsay for the past two seasons. He said there is no exact timetable for his return to the defending AL West champions, but it likely will take 8-to-12 weeks of recovery time. I'm being given the opportunity to have a procedure the doctor feels good about, to get me to a healthy state as opposed to battling to stay on the field like I did the last two seasons, Kotsay said in a telephone interview Tuesday night from Southern California. I've always had the problem. It was a matter of determining whether the herniation was causing my symptoms. Kotsay left the A's Phoenix training complex for Southern California late last week to seek other medical opinions and undergo further tests. He has not practiced since Feb. 26, when he first complained of stiffness in his back. Kotsay underwent an MRI test two days later. It's always been there and that's been an option, he said of the surgery. I haven't pursued it because I really thought I could function by doing rehabilitation and taking the steps to get through the season. The last two years have been very frustrating both mentally and physically. I've had one whole season with Oakland in 2004. In his absence, Milton Bradley has been moved from right field to center. The A's have options in the corner spots with Shannon Stewart, Nick Swisher and Bobby Kielty. Kotsay, who batted .275 with seven home runs and 59 RBIs in 129 games for Oakland in 2006, said he will spend three weeks doing little other than resting after the operation. He said during FanFest on Jan. 27 that he was feeling really good and thought he had taken enough time off in the winter to let his back finally calm down. Once it flared up again early in spring training, the arthroscopic procedure seemed to make the best sense. I wasn't into an aggressive baseball activity at that point, he said. I did all I could fundamentally to prepare myself. I go into every offseason preparing to strengthen my core and give me more flexibility to play with that condition. Kotsay, who made the playoffs last October for the first time in his 10-year major league career, started 96 of the A's first 111 games through Aug. 6 but the back problem limited him to 25 starts over the final 51 games. Aside from his first big league season in 1997 when he played in just 14 games for Florida, Kotsay matched his career-lows in home runs, runs (57) and extra-base hits (39). He also grounded into a career-high 18 double plays. He hopes to soon be feeling like himself again, healthy and ready to help the A's in the second half. You're discouraged because you prepare yourself for a season that you're anxious to start, and it didn't start off the way I would have liked it to, he said. But to have an answer to the problem I've dealt with the last 2 1/2 years, it's going to be encouraging to get back on the field this season healthy. I have a definitive plan for how I'm going forth from this point forward. I'll start my rehab and look forward to a speedy recovery. FREE MLB PICKS: (associated press): pirates release outfielder.  Outfielder Jody Gerut was released Thursday by the Pittsburgh Pirates after nearly two years of inactivity due to a knee injury. Sportsbook.com lists the Pirates at +7500 to win the NL Pennant this season. The 29-year-old had only 18 at-bats with the Pirates since being acquired from the Chicago Cubs on July 31, 2005, for outfielder Matt Lawton and $1,290,984. Gerut's right knee slowed him from the beginning, and he played less than two weeks. He had reconstructive surgery in May, but still was not running three weeks into spring training. This was always a possibility, Gerut said. And it makes a lot of sense if they weren't confident that I'd be able to play at the beginning of the season. So, it's not a huge surprise. Gerut had signed an $850,000, one-year contract that was not guaranteed and will receive 30 days termination pay - $139,344. We just made the decision that he wasn't going to be part of that 25-man roster, Pirates' general manager Dave Littlefield said. Gerut, who hit 22 home runs as a rookie with the Cleveland Indians in 2003, said he was optimistic he will return to the majors this season. I have a pretty clear plan, and I have a strong feeling it's going to happen that way, he said. Also Thursday, Littlefield said the Pirates will take a look at first baseman Brad Eldred in the outfield in an attempt to see how he might fit with their roster. Eldred, a 26-year-old prospect who had been to projected to start the season at Triple-A Indianapolis, began the day with four homers in 15 plate appearances, a .462 average. Eldred played some outfield while at Florida International University, but has played only one game there professionally, in 2002.
 
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL FREE PICKS- (associated press): kotsy to have surgery.
 
 Oakland Athletics center fielder Mark Kotsay will have arthroscopic surgery on his back Wednesday and could be sidelined up to three months. The procedure, to be performed in Los Angeles, will repair a herniated disk that has bothered the 31-year-old Kotsay for the past two seasons. He said there is no exact timetable for his return to the defending AL West champions, but it likely will take 8-to-12 weeks of recovery time. I'm being given the opportunity to have a procedure the doctor feels good about, to get me to a healthy state as opposed to battling to stay on the field like I did the last two seasons, Kotsay said in a telephone interview Tuesday night from Southern California. I've always had the problem. It was a matter of determining whether the herniation was causing my symptoms. Kotsay left the A's Phoenix training complex for Southern California late last week to seek other medical opinions and undergo further tests. He has not practiced since Feb. 26, when he first complained of stiffness in his back. Kotsay underwent an MRI test two days later. It's always been there and that's been an option, he said of the surgery. I haven't pursued it because I really thought I could function by doing rehabilitation and taking the steps to get through the season. The last two years have been very frustrating both mentally and physically. I've had one whole season with Oakland in 2004. In his absence, Milton Bradley has been moved from right field to center. The A's have options in the corner spots with Shannon Stewart, Nick Swisher and Bobby Kielty. Kotsay, who batted .275 with seven home runs and 59 RBIs in 129 games for Oakland in 2006, said he will spend three weeks doing little other than resting after the operation. He said during FanFest on Jan. 27 that he was feeling really good and thought he had taken enough time off in the winter to let his back finally calm down. Once it flared up again early in spring training, the arthroscopic procedure seemed to make the best sense. I wasn't into an aggressive baseball activity at that point, he said. I did all I could fundamentally to prepare myself. I go into every offseason preparing to strengthen my core and give me more flexibility to play with that condition. Kotsay, who made the playoffs last October for the first time in his 10-year major league career, started 96 of the A's first 111 games through Aug. 6 but the back problem limited him to 25 starts over the final 51 games. Aside from his first big league season in 1997 when he played in just 14 games for Florida, Kotsay matched his career-lows in home runs, runs (57) and extra-base hits (39). He also grounded into a career-high 18 double plays. He hopes to soon be feeling like himself again, healthy and ready to help the A's in the second half. You're discouraged because you prepare yourself for a season that you're anxious to start, and it didn't start off the way I would have liked it to, he said. But to have an answer to the problem I've dealt with the last 2 1/2 years, it's going to be encouraging to get back on the field this season healthy. I have a definitive plan for how I'm going forth from this point forward. I'll start my rehab and look forward to a speedy recovery. FREE MLB PICKS- (associated press): pizza remains sidelined.   Mike Piazza had a bag of ice wrapped around his left arm and was held out of the Oakland Athletics' exhibition game against the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday, a day after being hit by a pitch. Sportsbook.com lists the A's at +1100 to win the AL Pennant this season. It's spring, so it's better to err on the side of caution, Piazza said. It's still sore, but I think it's improved. It feels better. Piazza was hit by a pitch from Kansas City's Brian Bannister in the third inning of Oakland's 3-2 loss to the Royals. After a restless night, Piazza reported to work Wednesday with stiffness in his left arm. Anytime a guy gets hit, when it's just day to day, that's good news, A's manager Bob Geren said. Infielder Lou Merloni sustained a concussion after being hit in the head by a pitch from Matt Wright in the 10th inning Tuesday. When you get hit in the head, it's scary, Geren said. I got hit in the exact same spot. It wasn't nice. Oakland isn't sure when outfielder Mark Kotsay will return to Arizona. Kotsay, who has been in California for the past week seeking medical advice for his troublesome back, underwent tests Tuesday. Kotsay, who also had back problems in 2006, is expected to be the A's starting center fielder once the regular season begins. If he was ready to play, it'd be no problem to catch up, Geren said. But I can't speculate on that. MLB FREE PICKS- (associated press): pedro throws for first time since surgery.    Pedro Martinez threw a baseball Wednesday for the first time since rotator cuff surgery last October. The New York Mets ace lightly tossed a ball for about 10 minutes from a distance of about 45 feet at the Mets' minor league complex. BetCRIS.com lists the Mets at +375 to win the NL Pennant this season. He looked good, said Randy Niemann, the Mets' rehabilitation pitching coordinator. It's just the beginning. It's the start of a long process, but he looked really good. Mets' manager Willie Randolph and pitching coach Rick Peterson were not present - they accompanied the team to Fort Myers for Wednesday's game against the Boston Red Sox. The 35-year-old Martinez went 9-8 last season with a 4.48 ERA. He had been doing the majority of his rehabilitation in the Dominican Republic during the past five months, making an occasional appearance at the Mets' minor league complex in Port St. Lucie. Martinez is not expected to rejoin the Mets' rotation until the second half of the season.
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PICKS: (associated press): giants klesko out 1 week.  Giants first baseman Ryan Klesko will miss the next week of spring training with a strained muscle in his left side. Sportsbook.com lists the Giants at +1000 to win the NL Pennant this season. Klesko signed a one-year deal with San Francisco in December after eight seasons with Atlanta and seven more with San Diego. He has 272 homers, but is expected to be a backup and pinch-hitter for the Giants. Klesko was injured during workouts Monday while the rest of the club was at a game in Tucson, the Giants said.
FREE MLB PICKS- (associated press): benson has setback in rehab.
  
 Kris Benson is experiencing increased soreness in his right shoulder, a development that means the Baltimore Orioles pitcher may need surgery on his torn rotator cuff. BetCRIS.com lists the Orioles at +9000 to win the World Series this season. Working on the advice of two doctors, Benson is attempting to rehabilitate the injury at spring training camp. If his bid is unsuccessful, the operation would force the right-hander to miss the 2007 season. I had a rough couple days, Benson said Wednesday. I don't know if it's just a little bump that I'm going through or what, but the last couple days have been pretty sore. ... Whenever it gets flared up like it is, it's tough to get that range of motion. After experiencing pain while throwing in the offseason, Benson initially resigned himself to surgery. But further examination determined that he might be able to ease the pain with a rehabilitation program. He was working two hours daily with trainer Richie Bancells before taking a day off Sunday. Upon his return, Benson experienced far more pain than usual. When I came back the next day it was sore and I didn't really do anything at all, he said. It was kind of reminiscent of the time that I did it when I was throwing. I didn't really do anything different, it just kind of popped up out of nowhere. And then once again (Monday) it just popped up out of nowhere. It's just tough to tell what's going on with it. Benson knows this much: It's not good. It's a little frustrating, he said. It's just one of those things. It definitely isn't anything that we've been doing in the training room, because that's definitely done nothing but help. I can't really pinpoint it. It just aggravates itself whenever it wants to, I guess. Although Benson perceived the pain to be a setback, the Orioles haven't abandoned hope of seeing him pitch in 2007. I think he's sore. He's been working extremely hard on his exercises, and according to Richie it was a normal course of events, manager Sam Perlozzo said. He was getting close, strength-wise, where they might want to do an every-other-day program with him to get him closer to start to throw the ball. Perlozzo, however, said he did not talk to Benson. If he had, the manager might not have been so optimistic. Asked if he's experiencing pain in the front of his shoulder, Benson replied, It's always been there. ... We did make some pretty good progress until I took a day off. It's been a problem ever since that day. Benson is due $7.5 million this year, the final guaranteed season of a $22.5 million, three-year contract. The Orioles hold a $7.5 million option for 2008 with a $500,000 buyout.
  MLB PICKS- (associated press): bartolo colon making progress.
Los Angeles Angels right-hander Bartolo Colon threw off a mound Tuesday for the first time this spring training and said he's making progress in coming back from shoulder trouble. Colon did not speak with reporters, but issued a statement through a translator. I felt very good and comfortable with how everything went and I look forward to my next one, Colon said. Rehabilitating from a tear in his right rotator cuff, Colon threw for 8 minutes as pitching coach Mike Butcher watched in the bullpen. Los Angeles manager Mike Scioscia said recently that Colon, the 2005 AL Cy Young Award winner, could be ready to pitch for the Angels sometime in April. Colon was limited to 10 appearances last year, going 1-5 with a 5.11 ERA. His final start came on July 26 against Tampa Bay, when he left the game with a sore right elbow. His season ended on Aug. 4 when he was diagnosed with a partial tear in the rotator cuff. newbodog.com has the Angels listed at +600 to win the American League Pennant.