Lieber to Have Elbow Surgery

Chicago Cub right-hander Jon Lieber, a 20-game winner last season, will undergo reconstructive elbow surgery that will sideline him for a year, the team said Wednesday.

Lieber, 32, is 6-8 with three complete games and a 3.70 earned-run average. He was 20-6 with a 3.80 ERA last season.

The ligaments in Lieber’s elbow are worn and thin, Cub General Manager Jim Hendry said. Lieber was put on the 15-day disabled list Friday because of right elbow tendinitis that has bothered him all season.

“He’s optimistic that this will prolong his career,” Hendry said. “He obviously wants to pitch three or four more years, and the only way he thinks he can do that is to have the surgery.”

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New York Met co-owner Fred Wilpon asked a federal court to dismiss claims by his longtime partner that the team’s appraisal was unfair.

Wilpon sued Nelson Doubleday last month in an effort to force him to sell him his 50% share based on a $391-million appraisal of the team by Robert Starkey.

In an answer to the lawsuit, Doubleday said Tuesday the commissioner’s office was “in cahoots” with Wilpon to put an artificially low value on the team.

Doubleday also accused Commissioner Bud Selig of conspiring with Starkey, a former Arthur Andersen accountant, to “manufacture phantom operating losses” in the sport’s books, allegations Wilpon and Major League Baseball denied.

Doubleday contended he did not know the extent of the work Starkey did for the commissioner’s office and said the appraisal should be thrown out because of conflicts.

Wilpon’s lawyers said Doubleday adviser Dick Cummins attended an owners’ meeting Nov. 27 during which the extent of Starkey’s work for baseball was discussed. The lawyers also said Doubleday had access to the minutes from a meeting Jan. 16 that detailed Starkey’s work for the commissioner’s office.

Doubleday, using this year’s $660-million sale of the Boston Red Sox as an example, says the Mets have a much higher value than Starkey’s appraisal.

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Texas put right-hander Chan Ho Park on the 15-day disabled list because of a blister on a finger....Minnesota left-hander Eric Milton was put on the 15-day disabled list because of a knee injury that will sideline him for at least a month....Boston put right-hander Rolando Arrojo on the 15-day disabled because of a bulging disk in his back....Dave Burba, released last week by Texas, signed with Cleveland.

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Colorado Manager Clint Hurdle agreed to a two-year contract extension with club options for the following two seasons.

Hurdle, the Rockies’ hitting coach since 1997, was promoted to manager when Buddy Bell was fired April 26.

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Hall of Famer Enos “Country” Slaughter, 86, remained in critical condition at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., after emergency colon and stomach ulcer surgeries in the last two weeks.

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Former National League most valuable player Kevin Mitchell, manager of the Sonoma Cruisers, was suspended three games by the independent Western League for bumping an umpire during an argument in the team’s 12-5 loss to the Chico Heat on Saturday.