news-record.com

Atlanta Braves right-hander Jair Jurrjens managed to make his spring debut, anyway.

Jurrjens threw two scoreless innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday before the game was called after three due to showers that washed away the exhibition slate in Kissimmee, Fla.

Jurrjens had been struggling with inflammation around his right shoulder and manager Bobby Cox decided to be cautious. Jurrjens, who turned 24 in January, went 14-10 with a 2.60 ERA for the Braves last season.

Jurrjens was supposed to start Wednesday against the New York Yankees, but the game was called due to rain. He made the 90-mile bus ride to Tampa and said it was tough to get back into his rhythm for a second straight day, but he said his arm felt fine. He was more concerned with how he would feel today.

"I'll know when I see how it bounces back," he said.

Meanwhile, former Braves pitcher Tom Glavine, who won 305 games, will arrive in camp on Tuesday. He was hired last month as a special assistant to Braves president John Schuerholz

CUBS: The Chicago Cubs will listen to manager Lou Piniella if he wants to return when his contract runs out after this season.

Team president Crane Kenney said "we'll have an interesting conversation" if Piniella wants to keep managing the Cubs.

Piniella is in the fourth and final year of his contract. He led the Cubs to a pair of division titles before they slumped to 83-78 last season.

Piniella has said he doesn't want his job status to be a daily topic of conversation or a distraction. He'll turn 67 in August.

Kenney also said the Cubs hoped to have a site for their new spring training complex picked out within two weeks. The team has big plans for their "Wrigleyville West" setup under new owner Tom Ricketts and his family.

WHITE SOX: Chicago White Sox outfield prospect Jared Mitchell sprained his right ankle while making a spectacular, against-the-wall catch on a drive off the bat of Juan Rivera in a 10-7 split-squad win over the Los Angeles Angels in Mesa, Ariz.

Mitchell was carted off the field and taken to the hospital for X-rays.

"They say for now it's a sprained ankle," bench coach and acting White Sox manager Joey Cora said. "They don't think it's a break but they're checking the ligaments."

Skipper Ozzie Guillen traveled with the other half of the team to Las Vegas for two games against the Cubs.

RAYS: Tampa Bay right-hander James Shields joked he's already told his wife that nothing is going to change his plans to be the Rays' opening-day starting pitcher.

Not even the expected birth of the couple's second daughter next month.

The Rays open the season at home against Baltimore on April 6 -- four days before the baby's due date.

"We're going to play it by ear and kind of go with the flow, but I'm planning on making my start," Shields said after manager Joe Maddon slated him for the assignment for a franchise-record third straight season.

The 28-year-old went 11-12 with a 4.14 ERA in 2009, pitching much better than his record suggests. Maddon said the right-hander deserves the honor because of the example he sets for the rest of the pitching staff -- on and off the field.

ASTROS: Houston All-Star first baseman Lance Berkman will have minor surgery on his left knee today and miss two-to-four weeks, a recovery period that could sideline him for opening day.

The 34-year-old injured knee during a base-running drill at spring training on March 1. Tests showed that Berkman bruised his knee, and he played five games after skipping the Astros' spring training opener.

Berkman's knee continued to swell, and team doctor Dr. David Lintner decided that the five-time All-Star slugger should have arthroscopic surgery.

METS: The injuries are starting to stack up again for the New York Mets, who are insisting they're better equipped than last year to withstand a crowded disabled list.

Shortstop Jose Reyes has an overactive thyroid and likely will be sidelined for New York's opener against Florida on April 5. The Mets already are without All-Star center fielder Carlos Beltran, expected to miss the first month of the season after right knee surgery in January.

It's beginning to look a lot like last year, when New York began its first season at Citi Field favored by some to win the World Series but was overwhelmed by injuries. The Mets finished 70-92 for their worst record since going 66-95 in 2003.