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March 27, 2008

Under The Knife

Wipeout

by Will Carroll

J.D. Drew (0)
It's almost a real injury from a real game. The oft-injured Drew may never overcome his injury-prone tag; since coming to Boston, he keeps refreshing his credentials. His latest issue is a "serious" back spasm. It's muscular in nature, but the spasm was "very tight, very painful." With a long plane flight ahead of him, Drew's back isn't going to have an easy go of it. It will be interesting to see if he's sent back to Boston for more treatment, if he'll stick with the team and their staff, or if being in LA will give them a chance to send him over to Kerlan-Jobe. Gary Thorne noted on the telecast that the Red Sox said they were worried more about Game 162 than they were about Game Two, and it's a smart play. The Sox understand that Drew is likely to be available for 120-130 games, and that it really doesn't matter which 120. Due to the schedule, it looks like Drew will avoid the DL for now, though I expect the Sox to keep a retro move an open possibility.

Kelvim Escobar (180)
I have no idea where the phrase "it's all over but the shouting" came from, but this one's all over but the official announcement. Escobar has gone from a bit sore to done for the season in short order, having been diagnosed with a tear in his shoulder. The LA Times article about this is solid, but misses one detail: where the tear is, but that's tipped off in the Mark Mulder/Bartolo Colon comparison. Sources confirm that Escobar has a torn rotator cuff, with potentially more damage inside. The official word is that they're going to shut him down for a while and see if they can build his strength up around the tear, but surgery is almost always the end result here. It would stun me if Escobar is able to come back this season, and many are questioning if his arm can come back at all. It's interesting to note that Colon did have the same injury, but there again, since their World Series win the Angels have experienced a ton of shoulder injuries. They've had a couple of pitching coaches over that period, so I don't think we can point to any teaching point or mechanical philosophy, but it bears noting. Of course, it was noted.

Scott Kazmir (15)
The Rays put Scott Kazmir on the DL Tuesday, a move that had been in the offing for weeks. The retro move was actually a bit of a moot point, although it served to confuse some. While the move would allow Kazmir to come back in the first week of the season, the Rays have consistently stated that the plan they have has Kazmir continuing to build arm strength and moving towards a mid-month return to the rotation. Kazmir's progress has been slow, as the Rays medical staff continues to be very cautious with his throwing elbow. Scheduled to get on a mound early next week, Kazmir is likely to need at least one minor league or extended spring training start, which should give us both a solid timeline once that's scheduled and allow us to see just where he is. Missing two starts isn't good, but the conservative plan focused on arm strength is the smart one for the slightly-built Kazmir.

Richie Sexson (0)
Like most fans, I hate hearing about a player blaming injuries for his problems if they're not disclosed. I don't mean so much to me—I'll find out about them, most of the time—but if a player is hiding something from the team, that's entirely another thing. Sexson only hinted at injury problems last season, until his hamstring finally ended his especially awful campaign, but then he did some stronger hinting this spring. One thing he neglected to mention, then or now, was any sort of continuing problem with his shoulder. Sexson missed virtually all of 2004 with a dislocated shoulder and associated internal damage. Looking at his 2005 and 2006 numbers make it difficult to believe that the problem has suddenly recurred, unless the shoulder has once again gone lax, which according to two orthopedists I consulted would be a very unusual outcome. The cortisone shot he had this week in that shoulder was intended to help with what's described as 'mild bursitis.' That's a relatively minor issue, and one that's in line with what he's shown this spring. Sexson is a risky fantasy pick given his up-and-down performance over the past five years, but I don't see that his injury risk is any greater after this latest minor issue.

Duaner Sanchez (10)
The Mets are expected to place Sanchez on the DL to start the season. Coming back after missing 18 months because of multiple shoulder surgeries, Sanchez has actually had a great spring, showing solid velocity and decent command. However, he's still lacking some stamina, and is still taking more time to recover after appearances than the Mets are comfortable with. Sanchez's final test will be to be used in back-to-back games, something he wasn't able to do during the spring. He'll stay in extended spring training, and at some point in the next two weeks he'll try to get past the final hurdle. He'll be back with the Mets shortly after that, though where he now slots into the Mets bullpen is an open question.