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October 1, 2004

Under The Knife

Down to the Wire

by Will Carroll

There's no debate today: baseball is the winner. The Cubs and Angels lost important games while the A's and Giants won big ones. Fans around the country are winning because of great baseball, great baseball players and a great end to the season. There are just three days left in these races, assuming the NL wild-card showdown doesn't end in a tie. The A's and Angels essentially start the playoffs today. I've paced holes in the carpet and typed the letters off my Sidekick. At the risk of sounding like a shill, it's October and I live for this.

Powered by Magic Numbers, on to the injuries …

• The Dodgers wore the label of flip-floppers on Thursday when it came to Eric Gagne. First, he had an MRI which showed no structural damage. The diagnosis of tendonitis and bursitis may be accurate, though it has the same ring as "sore shoulder." While the medical staff was declaring him out, however, Gagne was saying he was in. "Dead arm," he called it. His name was on the roster card, a meaningless symbolic move at this stage of the season. Then, in a close game, on came the guy with the goggles. He certainly didn't look like the Gagne we're used to seeing, as his velocity was down. He did get the job done, though, and the Dodgers got the big win.

  As for Gagne, I imagine the standings will have more to do with his usage than his shoulder. His problem might be helped by the extra off-days built into the playoff schedule. Without Gagne and Brad Penny, the Dodgers pitching is ordinary.

• The Yankees continue to test their rotation more than set it. Orlando Hernandez will step to the mound on Friday in Toronto. He's expected to be in the rotation behind Mike Mussina and perhaps Jon Lieber if he makes it through the start bearing any resemblance to the El Duque who reappeared this season in the Bronx. At his age, whatever it is, tired shoulders need more rest. Hernandez and his brother, Livan, remain anomalies in pitching analysis, so nothing from those two would surprise me.

• All eyes--well, most eyes--will be focused on Oakland this weekend. Injuries will play their part in deciding the best-of-three series for the division title. Mark Mulder's struggles are well-documented here. Now, Octavio Dotel has new limitations and Erubiel Durazo has wrist pain. Dotel is limited to one-inning appearances. It's not the pitching that hurts his elbow, but the cooling down between innings. I'd say he could just throw in the bullpen while his teammates are batting, but this is no time for experimentation.

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