DETROIT -- Detroit reliever Al Alburquerque is likely to be sidelined for the first half of next season after surgery on his pitching elbow. The right-hander had a screw inserted during an operation by Dr. James Andrews. Alburquerque is expected to start a throwing progression toward the end of spring training and potentially return to game action by the All-Star break. The Tigers said Alburquerque had the procedure Thursday. Alburquerque was one of Detroits most pleasant surprises in 2011, going 6-1 as a rookie with a 1.87 ERA. He struck out 67 in 43 1-3 innings, holding hitters to a .142 average with his confounding slider. But he struggled to stay healthy, dealing with inflammation in his right arm and then an unrelated injury in August when he was hit in the head with a ball during batting practice Aug. 12 and had a concussion. Alburquerque returned down the stretch, but he pitched only two innings in the post-season after the Tigers won the AL Central. The Tigers bolstered their bullpen recently by adding right-hander Octavio Dotel. Although Alburquerque stands to miss a significant amount of time, general manager Dave Dombrowski is optimistic this procedure -- to stabilize a non-displaced stress fracture -- will fix whats been ailing the 25-year-old pitchers right arm. "They feel that this should solve the problem," Dombrowski said. Although Alburquerques durability was obviously a concern, Dombrowski said the team wasnt aware of the extent of his arm problem until the last week or so. He said Alburquerque was sore after pitching in a game in the Dominican Republic recently. Dotels presence becomes even more important now. He can help fill Alburquerques role in a bullpen anchored by Jose Valverde and Joaquin Benoit. cheap nfl jerseys china . Chicagos current 10-game road trip took it to the Rogers Centre last night, a place where the White Sox had lost 12 of their previous 14 trips. However, they were able to break through last night in a tight 3-1 victory thanks to a pair of errors by the Blue Jays in the ninth inning. wholesale jerseys . Dwight Howard had 29 points and 18 rebounds to lead Orlando to a 99-94 win over the Bulls on Thursday, snapping Chicagos eight-game winning streak. http://www.cheapjerseyschina.cc/ . Ty Lawson scored 23 points, reserve Nate Robinson added 15 and the Nuggets held off the Timberwolves 117-110. Kenneth Faried added 13 points and had three alley-oop dunks as Denver won for the seventh time in nine games after a horrible start to the season. cheap jerseys . Finally. After years of losing and players finding trouble, the Indiana Pacers finally gave their fans something to really cheer about. cheap jerseys from china . UK Anti-Doping says the Iraqi-born professional tested positive for stanozolol following his four-round loss to former Olympic champion Audley Harrison on May 26.SAN ANTONIO -- Right tackle Marc Colombo has been cut by the Dallas Cowboys, along with high-priced veterans Leonard Davis, Roy Williams, Marion Barber and Kris Brown. Also dropped by Dallas on Thursday were offensive linemen Robert Brewster and Travis Bright, linebacker Kelvin Smith and receiver Troy Bergeron. Davis, Williams, Barber and Brown were told on Tuesday not to bother coming to training camp because they would be released, moves that saved a combined US$16.dddddddddddd6 million under the salary cap. Colombos release became expected once the Cowboys agreed to re-sign left tackle Doug Free and signed top pick Tyron Smith. Dallas also put centre Andre Gurode on the physically unable to perform list (knee) and announced the signing of six draft picks -- all but second-rounder Bruce Carter and third-rounder DeMarco Murray. cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '