Printer-friendly

Contact Author

September 13, 2004

Under The Knife

Going Long

by Will Carroll

I've seen my stuff quoted on all kinds of Web sites, but one of the weirder moments was when a USA Today music critic cribbed a line I'd used to start a chat session. He gave me and BP full credit, and it was actually pretty darn cool. Now, Tyson chicken is basing a whole campaign on "Powered by"! Who said there aren't baseball fans everywhere you look?

So, medheads everywhere, powered by my favorite adult beverage, on to the injuries…

• There are just two things that can beat the Cardinals at this stage: the Cards themselves, and injury. Two of their key players are dealing with injuries and both seem to be worse than the team is letting on. Matt Morris, coming off a poor outing Wednesday against the Padres, will meet with team physician George Paletta on Tuesday. What brought on the visit is not so much the performance--Morris has been up and down all season--but the pain and mechanics he exhibited on the mound in that start. Morris has likely pitched with the problem all year, able to go for a string of decent-to-good starts with rest. The shoulder problem, whatever it may be, reduced Morris' velocity significantly last week. Although that usually indicates a rotator cuff problem, there are several other possibilities. With the rotation already one of few weak spots, the Cardinals can ill afford to lose Morris.

  Worse still would be the loss of Scott Rolen. His shoulder injury was a death blow to the Cardinals postseason hopes in 2002, so the negative signs surrounding his knee/shin injury have to have Cards fans a bit on edge. The information on Rolen's injury is a bit confusing. He fouled a ball off his shin, yet the injury is a strained calf (gastrocnemus, if you really want the technical stuff.) According to Cards trainer Barry Weinberg, Rolen injured the muscle because the nerve sensation was lessened, forcing him to have an awkward gait. Rolen certainly has time to rest and return from a simple strain, even if it is a Grade II--moderate--strain. At this stage, the symptoms aren't matching up directly with the injuries. It's impossible to tell if this is double-talk, smoke screens, or whether we simply don't have enough information to make a clear analysis. This is one I'll be following closely.

• Just a week after undergoing surgery on his broken hand, Kevin Brown is trying to keep his promise. Brown threw from a mound on Saturday, proving that he could pitch if allowed to do so. Sadly, none of my sources nor any published reports revealed whether Brown had a glove on or was receiving throws from his catcher. Brown is intent on pitching well before the three-week prognosis, so an early return should not surprise anyone. Some whispers that he could be ready for the upcoming Red Sox series seem optimistic, though not impossible.

• In a good news/bad news way, Jose Capellan's fine debut start was more than just the Braves' first look at this interesting young pitcher. It might just be their look at the replacement for Mike Hampton down the stretch. While Capellan likely will not be a playoff starter, someone will have to take the starts Hampton is going to miss after injuring his left knee on Saturday. Hampton will have an MRI on Monday, assuming the swelling has gone down enough for him to do so. Hampton reported a "pop," which may or may not be significant. While many hold this up as an extreme negative, a "pop" is seldom a good indicator of the severity of any injury. The MRI will be the bearer of good or bad tidings. If Hampton is done for the season, the Braves look weaker come October.

  The rest of this article is restricted to Baseball Prospectus Subscribers. Not a subscriber? Click here for more information on Baseball Prospectus subscriptions or use the buttons to the right to subscribe and get access to the best baseball content on the web.

  Cancel anytime. That's a 33% savings over the monthly price! That's a 33% savings over the monthly price! Already a subscriber? Click here and use the blue login bar to log in.