Shoulder

BOSTON — Luke Scott got positive news on the state of his right shoulder, as an MRA — an MRI with dye injected into the shoulder — showed no additional damage to his partially-torn labrum. "It's obviously great news," said Scott who was placed on the disabled list on Tuesday. "Now, the question is, 'Will I be able to perform like I want to?' That becomes the question. 'What do I have to do to get there?' I want to do something to help this team. " Scott, who has been battling shoulder issues all year, will see team orthopedist Dr. John Wilckens on Monday and likely get another cortisone shot in his shoulder.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Left-hander Sid Fernandez walked off the mound in pain after facing just four batters in the Orioles' 7-6 exhibition victory over the St. Louis Cardinals yesterday, and appears likely to miss the early weeks of the regular season with a sore shoulder.It is the second physical setback of the spring for a pitcher who was considered a possible health risk when the Orioles handed him a three-year, $9 million contract in November. Shoulder soreness delayed his entry into the spring rotation for several days and may keep him out of action for much of the remaining three weeks of spring training.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Orioles pitcher Ben McDonald, who came off the disabled list last week, returned to Baltimore yesterday to have his shoulder examined again after suffering more stiffness in the same spot.McDonald will be examined at 4 p.m. today by team doctor Michael Jacobs, and at the least, the Orioles are expected to skip him in the rotation last week.McDonald said he wasn't nervous about the recurring injury. "I'm aggravated, more than anything," he said, "because I thought this was over.

Orioles pitcher Zach Britton went into his second throwing session today feeling optimistic about the left-shoulder inflammation that's been bothering him since August. Britton, 24, threw for this first time this spring Thursday in a long-toss session. He's planning to throw again today. If all goes well, he will throw on back-to-back days for the first time Monday and Tuesday, take Wednesday off, then throw Thursday and Friday. It seems like this is just the beginning of Britton's "throwing progression," as the club called it. He threw from a mound just once this offseason and doesn't figure to do so here in camp for about two weeks.  Britton couldn't seem to shake the pain in the shoulder, despite having gone on and off anti-inflammatory medication since returning from the disabled list in last August and shutting himself down for two weeks after his first offseason throwing session.

Orioles lefty Zach Britton, who has not pitched in a major league game this spring, has been scratched from his scheduled minor league start Monday due to soreness in his left shoulder - an injury that has been bothering him for months. Manager Buck Showalter said Britton felt good after throwing two innings and 31 pitches in a Triple-A game Thursday, but soreness developed Saturday. He was examined by team orthopedist Dr. John Wilckens and it's believed he has inflammation, Showalter said.

After missing the final 1 1/2 months of last season with a tear in his right labrum, an injury that he chose to rehabilitate rather than have surgery on, Jason Berken figured the questions about his health wouldn't quickly go away. But as the Orioles reliever tries to work through a difficult stretch in which he had allowed runs in five of his past seven outings entering Thursday, he says he hasn't felt this good physically in a long time. "I don't pay a ton of attention to velocity because I think it's an overused tool at times, but at the beginning of the year, my velocity was in that 88 to 92 [mph]

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Orioles right-hander Alan Mills, coming back from shoulder surgery, promised himself hewouldn't get caught in the trap of pushing himself too hard and setting back his rehab. But, as he said yesterday, he did just that, and now Mills has a sore shoulder."I did exactly what I said I wasn't going to do," Mills said. "What's frustrating is that I was feeling so good."Mills threw well early in camp. But on March 5, Mills felt lousy pitching in a B game. He assumed it was just a dead arm, and he came back and pitched again Wednesday, and felt pain in the back of his shoulder.

When Leo Gomez sat out his first winter-league season in five years, he had no trouble occupying the time he suddenly found on his hands.There was the new home in Canovanas, Puerto Rico, that had to be decorated.There was quality time with his wife, Lee, and son, Leo Jr., 3.There were daily runs to keep his weight down.And there were the arm exercises designed to rehabilitate his right shoulder, the one he partially dislocated diving back into second base in September.The injury prematurely ended Gomez's first full season as the Orioles' third baseman.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- His swing is so picture-perfect, it forces others to take notice. At the Orioles' first workout, catcher Mark Parent stood at the batting cage and asked assistant general manager Doug Melvin, "Who is this guy?"Why, he's none other than T. R. Lewis, the Orioles' fourth-round pick in 1989, and as pure a hitter as you'll ever see. He'd surely be considered one of the club's top prospects by now, if only he could throw.Indeed, when the Orioles protected him on their 40-man roster this off-season, it was a stunning vote of confidence in a player who has started only one game defensively since undergoing surgery to repair his right shoulder in June 1991.

An MRI taken Monday on Luke Scott 's ailing right shoulder revealed a partially torn labrum, an injury that won't prevent the Orioles outfielder from playing this season but could force him to have offseason surgery. "I'm going to play through the pain, pray and believe in my miracle healing," Scott said. "That's it. " Scott has started 25 of the Orioles' 33 games this season, all but one in left field. He's batting .253 with six homers and 14 RBIs. He said the shoulder has been bothering him since the start of the season, and while he feels it while he's hitting, it mostly affects his throwing.