Randy Johnson, the 45-year-old starting pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, is headed to the 15-day disabled list. The left-hander has a strained left shoulder.

On the season, Johnson is 8-6 with a 4.81 ERA. He has 80 strikeouts in 91.2 innings. The highlight of his season so far was when he won the 300th game of his big league career. For his career, he has a 303-166 record to go along with a 3.29 ERA, 4869 strikeouts and 4131 innings pitched.

The good news is that the Giants don’t think Johnson’s shoulder strain is a long-term injury.

Said Giants manager Bruce Bochy: “As of now we hope he can pitch when his 15 days are up. We’ll continue to evaluate him but also give him time to get his arm back.”

Thanks in part to Randy Johnson, the Giants sport a 44-37 record and are in the race for the NL Wild Card. To make a legit push for the playoffs, however, San Francisco will need a healthy Big Unit.

Randy Johnson of the Giants headed to the DL (Image: Zuma Press)

Mark DeRosa hasn’t gotten off to the greatest start since being traded from the Cleveland Indians to the St. Louis Cardinals. He’s 0-9 at the plate in three games. And now he’s injured.

DeRosa got hurt on Tuesday and has been diagnosed with a strained left wrist. He underwent X-rays and was relieved to learn that there wasn’t a broken bone or any other series injury.

Said DeRosa: “It’s the best case scenario. I was back at the hotel last night kind of panicking a little bit.”

The Cardinals are not expected to put him on the disabled list. Instead, DeRosa will probably miss between two and fives games. Returning early next week is the most likely outcome.

Prior to coming to the Cardinals, DeRosa was hitting .270 with 13 homers, 50 RBIs and 47 runs while with the Indians.

Once healthy, DeRosa is expected to return to his role as the everyday third baseman for the Cardinals.

Mark DeRosa - St. Louis Cardinals (Image: Zuma Press)

A few rumors out of Boston point to star Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka possibly missing the rest of the 2009 baseball season. While sources near the Red Sox deny those rumors, there is certainly smoke even if there is no fire.

In a recent interview, Matsuzaka didn’t exactly stomp out the rumors of him being done for the season.

“If I keep going like this I’m just going to be a burden to this team,” said Matsuzaka to the Boston Herald, “and there’s no way I can keep going like that.”

Currently, Matsuzaka is on the disabled list with weakness in his pitching shoulder. Hisstruggles this season can be traced back to the World Baseball Classic, according to manager Terry Francona.

Matsuzaka’s struggles are apparent in his stats. He has a 8.23 ERA with a 1-5 record. Last season, the native of Tokyo pitched great for the Red Sox — finishing with a record of 18-3 with a 2.90 ERA.

Keep a close eye on Matsuzaka’s injury status. He’ll be shut down for at least a while, however if he struggles when he tries to come back, don’t be surprised if his season is over.

Daisuke Matsuzaka - Out for the Season (Image: Zuma Press)

Brad Lidge, the closer for the Philadelphia Phillies, is set to return this week. He’s currently on the disabled list due to an injury to his right knee.

Prior to his return, Lidge will make one final minor league appearance. Reports have him being activated on either Wednesday or Friday.

Last season, Lidge was amazing. He had 48 save opportunities and converted on all 48. This season, Lidge hasn’t been nearly as dominant.

In 28 games, the 6-foot-5 reliever has a 7.27 ERA and has allowed 33 hits and 14 walks in 26 innings of work. He’s also allowed seven homers and has blow six of his 19 save opportunities. His record on the season stands at 0-3.

Even though the Phillies are in first place in the NL East, they need Lidge to return to form if they have any hope of winning back-to-back World Series championships.

Ryan Howard has played in 342 straight games. That number represents the current best consecutive games streak in baseball. But on Saturday, that streak appears to be coming to an end.

Howard went to the hospital on Friday night after complaining of flu-like symptoms. He reportedly was suffering from a fever of 104 degrees. In the early morning hours, he was released from the hospital.

On Saturday night, the Philadelphia Phillies go up against the Baltimore Orioles. Unless there is a miracle, Howard is set to miss the game.

Last year, Howard played all 162 games as the Phillies went on to win the 2008 World Series championship. He hasn’t missed a game since May of 2007.

On the season, Howard is hitting .254 with 19 homers, 51 RBIs and 42 runs. He also has 16 doubles and an on-base percentage of .330.

If Howard can’t play, Greg Dobbs will get the start at first base in place of Howard.

Ryan Howard - Philadelphia Phillies (Image: Zuma Press)

Alex Rodriguez, the future Hall of Fame third baseman for the New York Yankees, will not play in the next two games. The Yankees have decided to bench their slugger due to fatigue.

It’s already been a very tumultuous year for Rodriguez. Earlier in the year, he admitted to past steroid use. Rodriguez also underwent offseason hip surgery that forced him to miss the beginning of the 2009 baseball campaign.

So far this season, A-Rod isn’t hitting as well as usual. His batting average sits at .212 and he has nine homers, 26 RBIs and 18 runs. The 33-year-old hasn’t hit under .285 since 1995.

The Yankees insist that Rodriguez is simply tired and that this isn’t related to his offseason hip surgery. Whatever the case, his recent numbers have been extremely sub par. In June, he’s hitting just .145 — and he doesn’t have a hit in his last 15 at-bats.

Alex Rodriguez isn't happy about the benching (Image: Zuma Press)

To begin the 2009 baseball season, Dontrelle Willis was on the disabled list due to an anxiety disorder. The starting pitcher for the Detroit Tigers was able to return to the mound — and even had a few good outings — but now he’s back to where he started. The Tigers have once again placed him on the DL due to an anxiety disorder.

Dontrelle Willis Anxiety Disorder (Image: Newscom)

This is yet another setback for a 27-year-old pitcher who was once considered one of the best pitchers in the majors. In his second start this year, he threw 6.1 shutout innings in which he gave up only one hit. But that momentum was short lived.

On the season, Willis now has a 7.49 ERA and a record of 1-4. Considering that his ERA last year was 9.39, this poor pitching seems like it may be a pattern.

He’s making $10 million this season, so the Tigers would undoubtedly love to see him figure things out. But Willis’ apparent anxiety disorder is getting in the way.

The next step may be for the Tigers to release Willis. He has no trade value and previous comments indicate that he doesn’t think he has an anxiety disorder. Hopefully Willis can turn it around and fix whatever is ailing him.

Rumors surrounding the New York Mets indicate that superstar starting pitcher Johan Santana is dealing with an injured left knee. That knee has been blamed for Santana’s last outing, which was a disaster.

However, Santana is saying that he doesn’t have an injured knee. He says that the location of his pitches, not any injury, was the issue in his last outing.

That outing in question came over the weekend against the New York Yankees. In only three innings, he gave up a career-high nine earned runs on nine hits and two walks. His ERA jumped from 2.39 to 3.29 due to that single start.

At this point, there’s really no reason not to believe Santana. He says he’s healthy and is confident that he’ll be able to get right back on track. Keep an eye on him in his next start but chances are that he’ll be back to being one of the best pitchers in baseball.

Johan Santana Injury Update (Image: Zuma Press)

Jason Isringhausen of the Tampa Bay Rays won’t throw another pitch in the 2009 baseball season. He’s been diagnosed with a torn ligament in his pitching elbow and will require season-ending Tommy John surgery. He’ll likely be out for about one year.

Jason Isringhausen - Tampa Bay Rays (Image: Zuma Press)

Although he’s 36 years old and won’t be able to play again until next season, there are no talks of Isringhausen hanging up his glove. This season, he had a 2.25 ERA in nine appearances.

Isringhausen’s career began in 1995 with the New York Mets. In his three year and a half years with the New York Mets, the right-hander was used mostly as a starter. He wasn’t moved to the bullpen until his days with the Oakland A’s. He then moved on to the St. Louis Cardinals after two and a half seasons in Oakland. While with the Cardinals, he spent most of his eight seasons in st. Louis as the team’s closer.

This was his first season with the Rays. His current contract paid him $750,000 this season.

Fans of the Toronto Blue Jays aren’t loving life right now. Roy Halladay, the best pitcher on the Blue Jays and perhaps the best pitcher in all of baseball, hurt his groin in the fourth inning of his start against the Florida Marlins.

His first pitch of the fourth inning went as planned. However, his second pitch left Halladay grimacing. He was soon removed from the game.

Halladay is having a fantastic season. He has a 2.53 ERA with a record of 10-1. The 32-year-old pitcher was 7-0 in his last nine starts before getting hurt on Friday.

Once removed from the game, Halladay was diagnosed with a tweaked right groin. It’s not known at this point if he’ll be forced to miss any starts for the Blue Jays.

Expert to hear more news regarding Halladay’s health on Saturday.