It's Official. Nathan will miss 2010 season, needs Tommy John surgery

Twins closer Joe Nathan will miss the 2010 season because of an elbow injury that will require Tommy John surgery.

Nathan, who leads the major leagues with 246 saves since 2004, made the decision after playing catch with Twins pitching coach Rick Anderson for 10 minutes on Sunday.

Nathan hopes to have surgery to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow within two weeks. He was injured on March 6 during a 20-pitch outing in a spring training game against the Red Sox.

Nathan said his goal would be to return at the start of the 2011 season.

The 35-year-old right-hander went 2-2 with a 2.10 ERA and a career-best 47 saves last season.

McGwire admits steroid use

In a statement released to the Associated Press today, Mark McGwire admitted steroid use during his career. Here is what the statement said:

"Now that I have become the hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals, I have the chance to do something that I wish I was able to do five years ago.

I never knew when, but I always knew this day would come. It's time for me to talk about the past and to confirm what people have suspected. I used steroids during my playing career and I apologize. I remember trying steroids very briefly in the 1989/1990 off season and then after I was injured in 1993, I used steroids again. I used them on occasion throughout the '90s, including during the 1998 season.

I wish I had never touched steroids. It was foolish and it was a mistake. I truly apologize. Looking back, I wish I had never played during the steroid era.

During the mid-'90s, I went on the DL seven times and missed 228 games over five years. I experienced a lot of injuries, including a ribcage strain, a torn left heel muscle, a stress fracture of the left heel, and a torn right heel muscle. It was definitely a miserable bunch of years and I told myself that steroids could help me recover faster. I thought they would help me heal and prevent injuries, too.

I'm sure people will wonder if I could have hit all those home runs had I never taken steroids. I had good years when I didn't take any and I had bad years when I didn't take any. I had good years when I took steroids and I had bad years when I took steroids. But no matter what, I shouldn't have done it and for that I'm truly sorry.

Baseball is really different now - it's been cleaned up. The commissioner and the players' association implemented testing and they cracked down, and I'm glad they did.

I'm grateful to the Cardinals for bringing me back to baseball. I want to say thank you to Cardinals owner Mr. DeWitt, to my GM, John Mozeliak, and to my manager, Tony La Russa. I can't wait to put the uniform on again and to be back on the field in front of the great fans in Saint Louis. I've always appreciated their support and I intend to earn it again, this time as hitting coach. I'm going to pour myself into this job and do everything I can to help the Cardinals hitters become the best players for years to come.

After all this time, I want to come clean. I was not in a position to do that five years ago in my congressional testimony, but now I feel an obligation to discuss this and to answer questions about it. I'll do that, and then I just want to help my team."

Red Sox sign Adrian Beltre, Mike Lowell trade inevitable

Peter Gammons is reporting that the Red Sox have agreed to terms with 3B Adrian Beltre on a 1 year contract worth $9 million with a player option for $5 million. The deal is contingent on a physical.

Though he is coming off a down year offensively with the Seattle Mariners, Beltre, 30, is considered an elite defender at third base, having won the American League Gold Glove Award for his position in 2007 and '08.

And what about Mike Lowell, who has been Boston's primary third baseman since 2006? Last month, the Red Sox had a deal in place to send Lowell to the Texas Rangers, but the trade fell through for medical reasons.

Lowell underwent surgery last week to repair the radial collateral ligament in his right thumb. His recovery is expected to be six to eight weeks, putting the veteran in position to be ready near the start of Spring Training. It is unclear if the Red Sox will be able to trade Lowell until he proves his health in Grapefruit League games.

Then again, there's a chance Lowell could be dealt before Spring Training. Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com posted on Twitter on Monday night that the Red Sox have spoken to the Mets about a potential Lowell-Luis Castillo trade.

With the addition of Beltre, the question is not if Mike Lowell is going to be traded, but when.

Sammy Sosa reportedly tested positive for steroids in '03

Now you can add Sammy Sosa's name to the growing list of players who have tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. Sosa's name was leaked yesterday as being one of the names on the list of the 104 anonymous players who tested positive in 2003.

This really doesn't come as any surprise to anyone who has been following baseball for the last 15 years. Sosa has long been suspected of being a steroid user. Now the proof is apparently there.

Sosa, who is now 6th on the all time home run list, recently told ESPN Deportes that he would "calmly wait" for his induction into Baseball's Hall of Fame. He will be eligible in 2013, however this news will seriously damage his chances if not kill them altogether.

Sosa joins a list of players who have tested positive, Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez, Rafael Palmeiro, Roger Clemens, and Andy Pettite among them.

The positive test could also cause legal trouble for Sosa, who testified under oath before Congress in 2005 that he had never used illegal performance enhancing drugs.

'Big Unit' wins 300th

Randy Johnson became the 24th pitcher in major league history to win 300 games today when he beat the Washington Nationals.

The Nationals were a fitting opponent for Johnson, who started his professional career with that franchise when it was known as the Montreal Expos.

Johnson is the second-oldest pitcher to reach the 300 mark -- behind only Phil Niekro, who achieved the feat when he was 46 years and 188 days old on Oct. 6, 1985. Johnson is 45 years and 267 days old.

Johnson pitched 6 innings, giving up just 2 hits, 2 walks, no runs, and struck out 2. The Giants won the game 5-1.

Johnson also became only the 5th pitcher in history to do it on his first attempt.

J.J. Hardy to Boston??

Rumors are circulating that the Milwaukee Brewers and Boston Red Sox are talking trade. The Brewers are reportedly offering shortstop J.J. Hardy in exchange for some pitching. Most likely either Clay Buchholz or Brad Penny.

The Red Sox are also reportedly interested in Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson.