Baseball news and notes

Giants: At Scottsdale, Ariz., Omar Vizquel’s ailing knee could keep him out of the lineup on opening day. Vizquel will have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee today and is expected to miss four to six weeks. The 11-time Gold Glove shortstop, who turns 41 in April, tested his knee Tuesday but said the pain was too much to handle. “My knee was feeling good,” Vizquel said. “I wanted to give it a hard shot in order to make a decision. It didn’t work. I felt a little pop when I was running. That’s what I wanted to see — to see if I could sustain the pain, and I couldn’t.” As for Vizquel’s return, athletic trainer Dave Groeschner said: “The goal is the first week of the season but the knee will tell us.” Team orthopedist Ken Akizuki is scheduled to perform the operation back in the Bay Area to remove a torn medial meniscus. Vizquel was expected back in camp Thursday. Minus Vizquel, manager Bruce Bochy plans to use Kevin Frandsen at shortstop. Once Vizquel is back, Frandsen still could compete for the starting job at second base with Ray Durham.

Rays: At St. Petersburg, pitcher Scott Kazmir missed a scheduled intrasquad game appearance after feeling discomfort in his elbow on his final warmup pitch. McCarthy was scratched from today’s spring opener because of elbow soreness. Kazmir had warmed up in the bullpen without a problem, then watched the first half-inning from the bench. The AL strikeout champion threw three warmup pitches before leaving the mound and walking to the clubhouse for tests. “I was warming up, feeling great,” said Kazmir, who was 13-9 with a 3.48 ERA last season, when he led the AL with 239 strikeouts — one fewer than major league leader Jake Peavy. “On my last warmup pitch ... I just kind of felt a little discomfort.” The Rays said the 24-year-old, who agreed to a $3,785,000, one-year contract last month, would undergo an MRI exam later in the day. His status was to be updated today. “When you have a guy like that, who’s never really been hurt before, sometimes it’s hard for them to gauge. We’ll just wait,” manager Joe Maddon said, adding that Kazmir’s first spring training start, scheduled for Saturday, might be affected.

Rangers: At Surprise, Ariz., Brandon McCarthy has a minor elbow injury and was held out of Tuesday’s intrasquad game as a precaution. Left-hander A.J. Murray will start the Rangers’ spring opener today against Kansas City. McCarthy missed a month last year with a stress fracture in his right shoulder blade and finished 5-10 with a 4.87 ERA in 23 appearances, 22 of them starts. He also battled problems with blisters. McCarthy said the elbow has bothered him about a week, and he had hoped it would clear up in time to face the Royals. “We’re still in February,” McCarthy said in Surprise, Ariz. “There’s no need to rush anything. I’d be concerned if this were March 25.” Kevin Millwood, the Rangers’ No. 1 starter, will miss his first scheduled start Friday after injuring his right hamstring during conditioning drills Sunday. He played long toss Tuesday, making about 40 throws. “It feels good,” Millwood said. “If it keeps getting better the way it is, it shouldn’t be long.”

Associated Press