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August 7, 2006

Under The Knife

Recharged

by Will Carroll

Floyd Landis. Juan Gonzalez. Mark McGwire. Patrick Arnold. Justin Gatlin. Forgive me if I ignore these names for a while. I understand the significance that each holds to the sports fan; each has some consequence to baseball as well. I don’t really have a way to integrate all this, to explain how this is both a problem and not a problem, to convince you that this is both insignificant and one of the most important issues facing sports and society. So much is happening now that just a year after publishing "The Juice." Some of it is hopelessly dated. I’m watching all of it, and yet turning a blind eye to it now hoping that the facts--not the hype and speculation--can be the real story. I'm also hoping that at the next moment of real opportunity, we can all be part of the solution. There is hope. MLB and the Taylor Hooton Foundation have started an educational program that’s taking place at various locations. I’ll challenge you to find another reference to it, a schedule, or any explanation of what "Hoot’s Chalk Talk" is going to be. It’s hope, it’s progress, but there’s so much more to do.

Powered by a recharging long weekend in Chicago, on to the injuries:

• The Dodgers aren’t playing like they’re missing a key offensive cog in their machine. Their streak belies the injuries they’ve had and shows that, at least in the short term, the deadline deals helped the team. Getting Jeff Kent back can in no way be considered a negative, though it will force some interesting choices. Kent is still coming back from a Grade 2 oblique strain and memories of his last comeback is causing the team to sound conservative, at least publicly. Kent is pushing to get back in the lineup while the team is saying that it’d rather keep him out a few extra days if that’s what it takes to be sure there won’t be a recurrence. Grady Little faces a challenge with this, though the streak should give him a little bit more leeway with all sides.

• The Cardinals are in freefall, saved by the rest of the division's failure to capitalize. The team lost no ground despite their recent losing streak. They head into a key road series in Cincinnati hoping that their starters will all be ready. Jeff Weaver gets what may be his final chance to establish himself, with Mark Mulder tossing a solid five innings in Single-A. Mulder will go again on Friday, this time for Triple-A Memphis. Chris Carpenter is due to go on Wednesday, though he’s still having some swelling in the thumb of his pitching hand. Carpenter took a sharp grounder off his hand. A bullpen session over the weekend showed that he was ready to get back out there.

• Johan Santana and Francisco Liriano might just be human. Santana has pitched well below his normal level over his last several starts, in large part due to interrelated back and hamstring problems. The back spasms are causing cramping in his upper hamstrings, throwing his mechanics off, robbing him of some velocity and control. The team is working hard to make sure that he’s improved while still making his next start. The team is also ready to send Liriano back to the mound on Monday. His skipped last start gave him a bit more rest and the elbow soreness has disappeared with rest and treatment. I probably don’t need to say that without these two pitchers on the mound and healthy, the Twins have no shot at the Wild Card.

• Is it coincidence that Justin Verlander crossed the 130-inning hurdle in his last start and is now on the shelf with fatigue? Absolutely not. I’ve been warning you about this for months. We’re looking at the pivotal moment for the Tigers now. Fatigue is nothing, but we know that Verlander is pitching while tired, something that leads to injury unless he’s allowed to rest and recover. With their lead and the impending return of Mike Maroth, the Tigers have to--have to--let Verlander take some time off, whether that’s one start or the rest of the month. The Tigers are smart enough to know this without me, but I’ll say it so that everyone can hear it: protecting young, talented pitchers is the most important part of pitcher development and winning baseball. As we come up with better, more accurate heuristics to assist the intrinsic knowledge in the game, we’ll only make the game better.

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