Mailbag: Where do Mets go from here?  —  Beat reporter Marty Noble answers Mets fans' questions  —  What's your take on all that has happened?  I've been reading your reports forever, and I saw you weren't available on the last weekend of the season.  I just want to know what you thought …

RIVERA HAS SHOULDER SURGERY  —  CAN THROW IN THREE MONTHS  —  Yankees closer Mariano Rivera had surgery Tuesday on his right shoulder and is expected to resume throwing in three months, a month ahead of spring training.  —  Mets medical director Dr. David Altchek operated at the Hospital for Special Surgery.

Don't blame Mike Scioscia for calling bunt that squeezes Angels out of playoffs  —  BOSTON - You have to think it's a decision that will haunt Mike Scioscia all winter, and maybe longer.  A manager can't be more wrong than when a call for a suicide squeeze likely costs him a game, and in this case, a playoff series.

Hughes dominates in AFL season debut  —  Pair of Yankees prospects help Javelinas open with win  —  Coming off a second straight season marred by injuries, New York Yankees right-hander Phil Hughes is spending the early portion of his offseason working to regain the form that had him touted …

Scherzer taking steps toward '09 in AFL  —  Right-hander strengthening shoulder in effort to make rotation  —  PHOENIX — While the rest of his teammates got started on their offseason vacations, Max Scherzer took the mound Tuesday afternoon in an Arizona Fall League game at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.

Mets reliever Burgos surrenders in hit-and-run … SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — New York Mets pitcher Ambiorix Burgos turned himself in on Tuesday, a week after police say he was involved in a hit-and-run accident that killed two women.  —  Authorities were interviewing him …

Cubs' Carlos Marmol injured in car accident  —  SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic - Cubs reliever Carlos Marmol suffered minor injuries in a car accident early Tuesday in the Dominican Republic.  —  A truck hit a car carrying Marmol, a cousin and a friend in his hometown of Bonao near 2 a.m …

Bring on Boston  —  In a now familiar sight — but not old — the Tampa Bay Rays celebrate a big win, this one Monday over the White Sox.  The Rays next face Boston after the Red Sox beat the Angels 3-2.  —  Times]  —  CHICAGO  —  The idea of it probably struck you somewhere along the flight of B.J. Upton's first home run.

Padres file grievance against Greene  —  Team tries recoup part of salary after self-inflicted injury  —  SAN DIEGO — Pitcher Heath Bell, the Padres' player union representative, said Tuesday he hopes the grievance filed against Khalil Greene won't affect the relationship between the shortstop and the organization.

Royals skipper answers fans' questions during Web chat  —  Trey Hillman: Thanks for joining me today.  Let's get started.  —  jarret223: Trey, what are your expectations for this upcoming season?  —  Hillman: Same as every year.  As a manager, we want to show marked improvement on what we showed in 2008.

Girardi is the subject on WFAN  —  Go to WFAN.com to listen to an interesting interview Mike Francesa had with Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated.  —  Heyman said that Joe Girardi has problems in the clubhouse with the veteran players and it's something he needs to address.

Rockies let go 3 coaches  —  DENVER—The Colorado Rockies let go three coaches after a disappointing 74-88 season.  —  Hitting coach Alan Cockrell, third base coach Mike Gallego and bench coach Jamie Quirk were not offered contracts by the Rockies on Tuesday.

Japan baseball execs to introduce ban to curb drift to major leagues  —  An executive committee representing Japan's 12 professional baseball teams have agreed to introduce a ban on players returning to Japanese baseball after turning down rookie draft nominations in Japan and signing with overseas pro teams.