Arm woes continue for Jays closer Ryan

Toronto Blue Jays closer B.J. Ryan complained of soreness in his throwing arm and will be held out of games for at least a few days.

Ryan, who pitched in only five games last year before having Tommy John elbow surgery in May, threw his second scoreless inning of the spring Monday. He later reported minor soreness in his biceps and forearm.

"I'm always the type of guy who would get a second-day soreness," Ryan said yesterday in Dunedin, Fla. "Hopefully, it's just a little tightness in there, and we can get it calmed down."

Manager John Gibbons said he was optimistic Ryan would be OK.

"It might be in a couple of days," said Gibbons.

"When he is ready to go, we will get him in a game."

General manager J.P. Ricciardi was also optimistic.

"He is throwing every day and we are monitoring him," he said. "I don't think this is a setback; he is ahead of schedule.

"We need to have B.J. for the whole year, not half a year. So we are treating it with kid gloves."

Chamberlain solid

Joba Chamberlain was told Wednesday he would start the season in the bullpen. One day later the Yankee righthander showed why he was dominant as a rookie setup man last season.

Chamberlain struck out all three batters he faced in the seventh inning of the New York Yankees' 7-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Dunedin.

"It felt great," said Chamberlain, who threw nine of 11 pitches for strikes. "Just getting going, it's like riding a bike. It didn't take me very long to get going. My arm actually warmed up quicker than I thought it would. My arm reacted really well."

Upton dinged

Rays slugger B.J. Upton left the game after he was hit on the left elbow by a pitch from Cleveland righthander Paul Byrd in the first inning at Winter Haven, Fla. The preliminary diagnosis was a triceps contusion . . . At Clearwater, Fla., Phillies closer Brad Lidge retired four of the Pirates he faced, striking out three and walking one in his first action since having arthroscopic knee surgery and is hopeful he'll be ready for Opening Day . . . Outfielder Jay Bruce, one of the Reds' top prospects, was reassigned to minor league camp. Bruce, 20, was a candidate for the starting center field job.

Patterson axed

John Patterson surprisingly was cut by the Washington Nationals, a little more than a week before the season begins. Patterson was Washington's Opening Day starter in 2007. But he missed much of the last two seasons because of right forearm problems, limiting him to 15 starts in 2006 and 2007 combined . . . Dodgers third baseman Nomar Garciaparra will likely miss the season opener because of a broken bone in his right hand. Although Garciaparra would not put a timetable on his return, manager Joe Torre said, "I think we have to wait until the middle of next week to figure out how long Nomar will be out," Torre said.