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June 12, 2006

Under The Knife

Heads Will Roll

by Will Carroll

The Jason Grimsley case continues to percolate. Behind the scenes, the owners and Players Association are prepping for a fight over the retiring Grimsley’s pay and the likely 80-game penalty that will be levied against him. The names in the document are starting to leak--Mike Sweeney is said to be just one of the players who “have been made aware” of the names--and the whispers may end up more damning than the truth. As we look at the document, some errors are starting to show up. Grimsley is alleged to have stated that his steroid use began after shoulder surgery in 2000. That would make sense, if he’d had shoulder surgery. Grimsley had elbow surgery to remove bone chips after the season and multiple checks confirm that this is the case. Bone chip removal is one of the simpler operations for a pitcher and would not be affected by steroid use in the recovery. HGH after shoulder surgery? Sure. Tommy John? Again, sure, since studies show HGH has the benefit of affecting cartilage while steroids do not. It’s a small error for a pitcher that many describe as “not intelligent” but perhaps it's not his error. It’s just one thing in a long document; enough to cause some to question the accuracy of Jeff Novitzky’s leaked affadavit.

It’s interesting to see the reactions around sports to this, including comparisons of baseball’s policy to those of other sports (short version: baseball’s is stronger) and for the reaction to Congressional calls for blood testing (short version: baseball may end up being the only union that may not fight it). This week’s BP Radio heartened me. After spending the first hour focused on the draft, our local call-in hour centered on the Grimsley case. Not one call came in, an unusual occurrence. I’d normally be bothered by that, but I think we’ve gone past the point of most people caring. Absent big names or more solid evidence, I doubt my statement that "This is the big one."

Finally, the intriguing part of ESPN’s HGH story is buried at the bottom. According to the story, MLB has allowed therapeutic use waivers for testosterone. While there are valid medical uses for testosterone, none of those seem to meet MLB’s stringent standards for waivers. Cases like pituitary tumors make sense, though that isn’t the most common condition, especially in baseball. While I respect the right to privacy, I’d be very interested in hearing why baseball approved any waiver for testosterone or other anabolic agents. A great article in the NY Times helps explain why this fight will be so tough.

Powered by respect for Jim Leyritz, on to the injuries:

• It’s not looking good for Rich Harden. The oft-injured pitcher is reportedly headed for Tommy John surgery, ending his season and damaging the hopes of the Athletics, though there is no official confirmation. The team is celebrating its sweep of the Yankees, but behind the scenes, the team is trying to plan out how it will deal with the loss of their co-ace. Harden left just four innings into his return from the DL, injuring his elbow in a return from what is now being reported as an avulsion of his oblique rather than the previously indicated lower back injury. (I wonder what the A’s put on the Standard Form when Harden was placed on the DL.) I’m not ready to compare Harden to someone like Steve Karsay or even Mark Prior, but it’s interesting to note the rapid increase in pitching injuries for the A’s over the past two seasons. No matter what the prognosis on Harden, it won’t make the A’s any more (or less) likely to deal Barry Zito.

• The Cubs took the series this weekend against the Reds, but didn’t get much healthier. Some are whispering that Kerry Wood has seen the end of his Cubs career as a starter, with Dusty Baker and the Cubs frustrated over Wood’s inability to recover within the normal five-day period. A creative solution would be to test him in the bullpen, or to reconfigure the rotation to allow him extra rest. The Cubs are hoping to have Mark Prior in the rotation in the next ten days, though he still has to get through rehab starts and hasn’t shown more than the occasional low-90s fastball during his rehab. The good news for the Cubs this weekend is the return of Derrek Lee--he’ll begin swinging on Tuesday and should come fast--and a nice Sunday start from rookie Carlos Marmol, who used a 94 mph fastball and 82 mph breaking ball against the Reds in his first major league win.

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