Under The Knife

Coming and Going

by Will Carroll

Tim Lincecum (0 DXL)
From the sheer volume of emails, it seems that everyone not in the path of Hurricane Ike was watching Lincecum's pitch count. There was an interesting internal discussion about the value of a shutout, his long-term health, and his general Freakness. Let's look at the facts: Lincecum threw 138 pitches, an average of just over 15 per inning, and his single-inning high for the game was 22 in the first. He had thrown a 132-pitch game three starts ago, had followed that high-count outing with a 92-pitch game where his effectiveness was down, but he came right back with an effective 127-pitch game before his most recent outing. His fastball sat at 92/93 all game long, and he did not appear to be reaching back in the later innings. In fact, it seems that he was pitching to contact and trying to go for quick outs rather than strikeouts in the later innings. While I'm not big on the value of a shutout, I'm not sure that Lincecum was taxed by this. Just after the game, I wondered if the Giants might be thinking of shutting him down, and that's still not the worst idea, especially given that Brandon Webb's 20^th win likely takes Lincecum out of the Cy Young running. All that said, I completely agree with Gary Huckabay—there was no reason to do this. There's a giant difference between "could" and "should," and apparently Bruce Bochy doesn't understand that.

Carlos Zambrano (0 DXL)
I told you that Zambrano would be helped by the extra day's rest, but I had no idea that a no-hitter would be coming. He dominated the Astros in Milwaukee—now there's an odd statement—completing the game in 110 pitches. He was clearly refreshed from the time off, and perhaps helped by the cortisone in his shoulder, throwing 95 mph in the first inning, and reaching as high as 97 (via Gameday). The key was that his elbow was higher, and on most pitches, it was right at the level of his shoulder and didn't dip as low as previously. At the very least, he was very consistent to the naked eye, so I'll be interested to see if Pitch-f/x agrees. The worry is that, as before, he'll come off of the DL rested and relatively pain-free, and then the inflammation will slowly come back. If the Cubs medical staff can't get him through the playoffs before that happens, they'll deal with the consequences. The 110 pitches in this context is tough to figure; he was cruising, and 110 isn't that high for Zambrano in normal circumstances, but then these aren't normal circumstances, so I'd have liked to have seen more caution here. His next start will be the tell. I'm also relatively sure that he threw the first no-hitter ever thrown in the first game after coming off of the DL. Even Baseball Reference doesn't have an instance of that!

Chone Figgins (3 DXL)
Juan Rivera (5 DXL)
The Angels' record has allowed them to be very conservative with the injuries they've had all season. Figgins missed a week after being hit on his elbow by a pitch, but under normal circumstances, he could have been back in a day or two; he should have no problems returning. Rivera has been used to buy some rest for various outfielders over the past few weeks, but now has a groin injury of his own and could miss a week, though again, the conservatism afforded by clinching will affect the length of his absence. His numbers on the season look pretty anemic, but he's played well lately. Even as locked-in as the Angels have been all season, they have a lot of decisions to make over the next two weeks about who will be on their playoff roster.

Paul Konerko (7 DXL)
It's taking a bit longer than any of us expected to get Konerko back on the field. The Sox have taken the long view and been very conservative with him. He's expected to return on Monday weather permitting, but even then, sources tell me that the Sox are planning on giving him more offdays, especially if they're able to clinch a playoff spot. Konerko shouldn't have any problems playing with the knee in terms of risking further damage. The concern is how the knee will respond to playing—the possible onset of any swelling or pain—and whether the bracing he'll need will limit his mobility. The knee will likely not need off-season surgery; MCLs are not normally repaired since there are adequate secondary stabilizers in most cases.

Conor Jackson (5 DXL)
The Diamondbacks continue to slide, and Jackson could be facing an early shutdown because of it. He had a cortisone shot in his shoulder after an MRI last week, but there's been no word on what the actual condition is, though there is informed speculation about it being a rotator cuff problem that will require an off-season 'scoping. It's his throwing shoulder, so any serious injury could limit his positional flexibility, something that's been a big asset for the D'backs this season, shifting Jackson around to cover for injuries and roster construction. The Snakes have a lot of talent, but they also have some tough decisions to make, and Jackson's shoulder injury could complicate many of those.

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re: Conor Jackson

I wonder if his rotator cuff issues can be traced to his move to left field? He didn't have to make those kind of throws from first.

re: Lincecum

Does the pitcher have any say in this? Couldn't Lincecum have come to Bochy after the 7th or 8th and said "I'm pooped ..."?

I'm not absolving Bochy of any guilt or reckless managing, but we have to understand that the pitcher knows best how he feels.

Sep 15, 2008 09:53 AM