1.   Offiah is returning to England for a shoulder reconstruction operation.

2.   David Cone has a serious shoulder operation.

3.   Iacenda underwent two shoulder operations in January.

4.   Last January, just over a month after the biceps surgery, he underwent his second shoulder operation.

5.   Leaf has not played since a shoulder operation in late July.

6.   Middle men Arthur Rhodes and Alan Mills are coming back from shoulder operations, and Armando Benitez is young and prone to inconsistency.

7.   That comes on top of the torn right biceps that ended his season and would be the second shoulder operation of his career.

8.   The benchmark for difficult shoulder operations used to be Los Angeles Dodgers righthander Orel Hershiser, the first pitcher to come back from major reconstructive surgery.

9.   The benchmark for difficult shoulder operations used to be San Francisco Giants righthander Orel Hershiser, the first pitcher to come back from major reconstructive surgery.

10.   The old shoulder operation, like everything else, was conspiring to make me feel sorry for myself.