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April 10, 2008

Under The Knife

Injured Rays

by Will Carroll

Cliff Floyd (40 DXL)

If the Trop didn't have a dome, I think Joe Maddon might be looking to the heavens, waiting for frogs to fall from the sky. The latest victim of the injury streak is Cliff Floyd. Now, it's no stunner that Floyd is injured, but the injury stacking that the team has had makes even an expected injury tougher to deal with. Floyd has a small tear in his meniscus that will be fixed with a quick scope. He'll miss roughly a month, maybe a bit more. I'm setting this at 40 DXL because with turf and Floyd's history, I think the Rays will be conservative here and keep him towards the far end of the range. Floyd, for his part, thinks he'll be back in three weeks, which is possible. Once back, Floyd should be a bit more comfortable, but remains injury-prone. In the meantime, Maddon will use Justin Ruggiano to keep Jonny Gomes from getting exposed defensively as the team really tests its outfield depth.

Matt Garza (15 DXL)

Tommy Rancel of "Rays Anatomy" was able to find a couple other pitchers who had radial nerve problems, like Shawn Hill and John Patterson. Matching up their experiences with the positive news coming from Tampa on Matt Garza is tough to do. Garza says that he's come back from this quickly in the past, but that leaves open the question of how to keep it from recurring next time. Essentially, Garza isn't in significant pain, but has carpal tunnel-like tingling and numbness, a condition that might make hitting his spots difficult. The DL is the smart move, giving him two weeks to recover while the Rays medical staff works to see if it can prevent this from happening again. Garza has been shut down for a week, making that 15-day mark a bit shaky.

Derek Jeter (5 DXL)

The Yanks found an MRI machine in Kansas City and got Derek Jeter inside it. It was simply a precaution, and the results were about what everyone expected. Jeter has a mild quad strain. The location is high and medial, near where many might call it a groin injury, but the images did show that it's a small, Grade I+ tear in his quad. Jeter's first step has never been his strength, but this is the type of thing where his "baseball IQ" should help. I won't get wrapped up in the holy war on Jeter's defense, but I will note that Jeter has never been able to do what Cal Ripken Jr. did--adjust for diminishing range with better positioning. The question now isn't whether Jeter could come back by the weekend, but whether the Yankees will be conservative with a five-to-seven day injury by putting him on the 15-day DL.