Injuries, The Astros Have Injuries...

From the AP wire:

Astros RHP Lyon recovering from shoulder surgery

HOUSTON (AP) — Astros reliever Brandon Lyon had surgery to drain a small cyst in his pitching shoulder but is expected to be ready for spring training.

The team said in a statement Tuesday that Lyon had the cyst drained two weeks ago and has been throwing without discomfort since. The right-hander is expected to begin workouts with his new club Feb. 20, when pitchers and catchers report for spring training in Kissimmee, Fla.

He might be about 10 days behind in his throwing program, the Astros said. Houston signed Lyon as a free agent in December to a $15 million, three-year contract.

"Brandon was experiencing some weakness and discomfort in his shoulder, and we brought him in a couple of weeks ago to be seen," general manager Ed Wade said. "At the time of his pre-signing physical, his right shoulder MRI showed a very small cyst, and when the MRI was repeated recently, it showed that the cyst had enlarged and was pressing on some nerves.

"Since having it drained, Brandon reports no problems, but he will be making up for a little bit of lost time when he gets to Kissimmee."

Lyon was 6-5 with a 2.86 ERA and three saves in 65 relief appearances for Detroit last year.

In other news, minor league second baseman Jose Vallejo will undergo right hand surgery Wednesday and miss most of the 2010 season.

The 23-year-old Vallejo cut tendons in two fingers while preparing a meal at his home in the Dominican Republic during the Christmas holidays. His hand slid over the blade of a knife that he was using to cut meat, the team said.

Houston acquired Vallejo last August from Texas as part of the Ivan Rodriguez trade.

I'm going to try and be positive about this. My dad always told me I was too negative about the team. That I should be more positive, especially at the start of the season. I'm sure this is really a small procedure and not foretelling something worse for Lyon. Why the team waited two weeks to break the news shouldn't be disturbing to me. Surely, they weren't waiting to see if the injury was more severe than the initial surgery indicated. No, I'm going to let this story roll off my back and forget about it. Lyon will be healthy for spring training and ready to earn that closer's role.

Of course, the story about Vallejo is worse. I had hopes for him solidifying the top tier of minor league second basemen this season and providing a little depth in case there were injuries in Houston. Now, he'll probably come back in July or August and the team will need to find someone to fill his spot until then. I wouldn't be surprised if they went and got a veteran to play there, maybe even someone like Drew Meyer, who they are already familiar with.

In case you missed Farmstros post yesterday, another Astros minor leaguer will be missing the 2010 season. Right-hander Juri Perez hurt his arm this winter and is having surgery on it. Perez was an up-and-coming prospect who did well in limited time at short-season Tri-City in 2009. John Sickels had him as a Grade C guy with a chance to improve with a good showing at Lexington.

That's really all I have. I mean, I could make this post sadder by putting a picture of a puppy getting kicked or something, but I'm all out of bad news (besides the Taveras thing).

[Update: We have a great pitching mechanics correspondant in baggs, but we also have one of the best breaking news correspondants around in EveryHoustonTeamRox!. I can't believe how many times he scoops me with stuff that I post on a couple hours later. And, of course, I see the story and write the post before checking the FanPosts first. Touche, Rox, touche. You've won another round and are duly credited.]