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Colorado's Francis has surgery Denver, CO (Sports Network) - Colorado Rockies ace left-hander Jeff Francis underwent arthroscopic surgery on his pitching shoulder Wednesday for a labral repair and debridement of the left rotator cuff. The Rockies announced he was being shut down for the upcoming 2009 season last week with continued discomfort in the shoulder. The surgery was then deemed to be of an exploratory nature to determine exactly what was causing the discomfort. Team medical director Dr. Thomas Noonan performed the procedure at the Steadman Hawkins Clinic in Greenwood Village, Colorado. Francis was shut down in September of last season because of the shoulder and missed over a month earlier in the season with the same injury. The 28-year-old indicated last week the pain was in his biceps tendon and a subsequent bullpen session, when Francis attempted to throw the full arsenal of his pitches, was the last straw. He is in the third year of a four-year $13.25 million contract. Francis posted career highs in wins (17), strikeouts (165) and innings pitched (215 1/3) in 2007 over 34 starts. He finished the season 17-9 with a 4.22 earned-run average and logged a 2-1 mark with a 4.86 ERA in the postseason as Colorado was swept by the Red Sox in the World Series. His 17 regular-season wins also saw him tie the Rockies' single season record. However, Francis was derailed by his shoulder woes in 2008, when he was 4-10 with a 5.01 ERA in 24 starts. Over five big league seasons, all with Colorado, Francis has a 51-44 record and a 4.74 ERA in 130 starts. |