2009 INJURIES: TB's Pena done for the season (broken fingers)

[TooLiveBrew]

I remember in the replays it looked like his arm just got pulled down & away from his shoulder. Looked really painful once you could see that... must've felt a little like being on 'the rack'

 

http://www.visualstatistics.net/East-West/Witch%20Trials/Rack.jpg

[TooLiveBrew]

Nate McLouth had to leave [Friday's] game after legging out a single in the 8th inning. He came up lame, and immediately reached for his hamstring in the process. He walked off the field on his own, but was stepping gingerly. The way it looked, I wouldn't be surprised if he was out of the lineup tomorrow.

...

On a side note, NESN played an interview with Mike Lowell , where he described the hip discomfort he has been feeling this past week, and he said that he may get a joint-lubricating injection to help reduce the symptoms. This sounds like he is talking about a Synvisc injection, which basically acts like a cushion-like fluid, and is often used in the treatment of advanced Osteoarthritis. Lowell will certainly need more frequent rests in the second half, much like he is receiving tonight. Don't be surprised if he misses one or two games a week going forward so they can keep the ultra-valuable Lowell fresh for a playoff run.

[TooLiveBrew]

Seattle third baseman Adrian Beltre will undergo surgery to remove a large bone spur that has developed in his left shoulder. While removal of the bone spur is a relatively minor surgical procedure, the unknown factor here is how much (if any) tendon damage there is. If an acromioplasty (spur removal) and minor cuff debridement is all he needs, I would expect him to be out around 6 weeks, with a ceiling of about 8 weeks. Nothing I have read thus far leads me to believe this is anything more than this. A 4-week recovery seems like a huge reach, so don't base your plans around a 4-week turnaround - it won't happen.

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Ryan Doumit is set to go on a rehab assignment this week and has a tentative return date of July 5. This would put him just past the original 10-week recovery period for his broken right Scaphoid (wrist) bone. The fact that he is even able to return this soon is pretty impressive, as Scaphoid fractures tend to be one of most hit-or-miss fractures as far as good healing is concerned. The surgeon who performed the procedure to stabilize the fracture must have done an exceptional job stabilizing it. Those of you who held onto this catcher who can rake will be rewarded handsomely. He was dropped in many leagues, so take a quick look to see if he's out there - he is easily a top-ten catcher.

[jjfanec]

Ryan Dempster heads to the DL He was injured when he fell climbing over the dugout fence Sunday. That is a bad way to get knocked out.

[TooLiveBrew]

Thanks for that update, jjfan. I slacked on this thread a bit over the weekend.

[TooLiveBrew]

I mentioned in a Transactions Rumors thread that Eric Bedard will be making his first start back from injury tonight. He will face BAL at home, and (per Bedard) will have a pitch count around 75.

 

 

Randy Johnson may end up on the DL after straining his left shoulder in today's game against the Astros. He injured the shoulder on an awkward swing and was only able to throw one more pitch before summoning the training staff. RJ has been having a pretty effective season, both in real life terms and in fantasy, so this really is too bad for the big guy. Hopefully he won't need more than a couple weeks off to allow the shoulder to right itself.
...
Chien-Ming Wang was sent to the DL with a strained right shoulder, and probably won't return until early August. Look for the Yankees to replace him with Sergio Mitre for the time being, and if he doesn't pan out, Phil Hughes could get another look - though with the way Hughes has pitched in the bullpen, they may not want to mess with his success.
...
Well, I am certainly surprised by the news that Brandon Webbis not going to have shoulder surgery. He met with three Doctors for different opinions, and ended up coming back deciding that surgery is not the way to go at this time. Let's hope that he can return in the second half sometime, but I am still very skeptical, especially given the fact that he had such a prolonged period of time on the shelf already and still couldn't get through bullpens without pain.

 

Neault also noted Aramis Ramirez's return to the Cubs lineup yesterday (he went 0-4)

[TooLiveBrew]

Kevin Slowey had to leave his last start due to right wrist pain, and lasted only three innings in each of the last two. Given that this is the same wrist that he took a line drive off last year (late in the season off the bat of Juan Uribe), there is some concern that this injury is related, at least in part. Slowey said, "It's the same area as last year, obviously from blunt force trauma. I think they'll look into where it's related."

Usually with a blunt force trauma, you think immediately about bone involvement, but a fracture would have shown up last year if that was the case, so this seems unlikely. Another thing to consider in the wrist is that the bones are very small and held together by tiny ligaments that sometimes can get overstretched (sprained) with blunt force trauma. Once loosened, the bones do not have the same stability and the surrounding joints can become painful with time. This would be a bad scenario, but also seems unlikely. Blunt force trauma can cause tears in just about any tissue, and even small tears that heal with scar tissue can worsen over time.

The injury has initially been called a right wrist strain, indicating a possible muscle or tendon involvement. He is due to have it examined tomorrow, so we will have more news then. The initial worry here is that he described his pain as being "sharp", and that the ball felt heavy to him while pitching. Pitching coach Rick Anderson was not aware that he had been dealing with some symptoms there - possibly indicating that Slowey was keeping it to himself, though once the pain got bad enough he did tell the training staff.

Manager Ron Gardenhire said of the injury, "After he finished, he said it's flared up again, the thing he had last year, I guess, same spot. He said it felt like a weighted ball, he couldn't get anything through it." The heavy feeling of the ball leads me to believe it could be an issue with the contractile components (force-producing) of the wrist, i.e. muscle/tendon.

The only good news here is that the injury happened just before the break, so we'll see if he can make it back shortly after, or if this is something that will require more lengthy attention.

[TooLiveBrew]

Raul Ibanez and Aramis Ramirez are both tentatively aiming to return to their respective lineups on Monday, and Alex Gordon is also likely to rejoin the Royals in the near future, perhaps as early as next week, but more likely it will be after the All-Star break. It seems almost set in stone that A-Ram will be able to return to the lineup after getting in some cuts down in the minors at Peoria. Meanwhile, Ibanez keeps having his rehab pushed back a little due to lingering groin issues that have led some to speculate that this is a labrum tear mimicking a groin strain. Sure, it is possible, but I really get the feeling that this is more of a nagging groin strain, based on what I have read and seen on broadcasts. Ibanez is actually eligible to return from the DL today, but it won't happen.
...
As for Ramirez, there is certainly nothing to guarantee that his shoulder won't dislocate or sublux again. Once it happens, it is always more likely to happen again due to the stretching of the joint capsule and the spraining of ligaments around the shoulder. Plus, it still sounds like he will need off season surgery to tighten up the joint and to inspect for other damage such as cartilage tears.
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Gordon is going to spend some time this weekend at AAA and should be back relatively soon, probably after the All-Star break, though the recent move to AAA may indicate that he is going to come back sooner. If the recent flare-up of symptoms of Mike Lowell and Alex Rodriguez are an indicator, Gordon may also have some recurrence of symptoms if the Royals are not careful with his playing time. It sounds like, at least initially, it would be a great idea to rest these guys who are coming off hip labrum surgeries more often.

[jjfanec]

Reports from a Cubs board have Dempster out 4-6 weeks and with a couple rehab starts he could be out until mid August. The Cubs lack of pitching depth is going to cost them. Harden is struggling and Zambrano has worn down in recent years. Kevin Hart will be starting some now but you would have to think the Cubs will move to get another starter.

[TooLiveBrew]

DeRosa has a torn tendon sheath in his wrist. If I am not mistaken, same things Weeks is out for. Right now the Cards are not saying how long he will be out.

 

DeRosa Suffering Torn Tendon Sheath

 

 

[Note: in the process of going in to make the link clickable, I noticed that it was one of those that would disappear quickly; I replace it with the link to the whole story --1992]

Took this from the 'DeRosa to STL' thread.

[pebadger]

The only thing I could wonder about when reading the Dempster story was the potential for a devastating untuckem injury. THe way things are going lately the chance of this happening seems to be decreasing rapidly.

[brewmann04]

Anderson just said there talk of the injury being the same as Weeks but the Cards have not said he will need season ending Surgery yet.

[Gobias Industries]

Anderson just said there talk of the injury being the same as Weeks but the Cards have not said he will need season ending Surgery yet.

Man, good luck with that.

[craigharmann]

---

the Cards have not said he will need season ending Surgery yet.

So how many games did that trade give the Cards? 3? 4? It wasn't too many.

[MillerParkSouth]

man, this year feels like 2006 all over again. with all the injuries the division could be up for grabs and not that hard to get if we can get hot. hopefully it turns out better for us than 2006 did.

[pretendastronaut]

That sounds so much like Weeks it's not even funny.

[pebadger]

Nice picture at Deadspin of a young Cubs fan mocking a fallen Dempster, not that I condone that sort of thing.

[jjfanec]

Geovany Soto is heading to the 15 day DL with a strained left oblique.

 

This blog from the Daily Herald says that Lou said Soto could be out up to a month. People were talking about how the Cubs could be prone to a lot of injuries this coming season and those predictions and coming true.

 

edit - Sportscenter reported the thought Soto could be out a month as well.

[razzzorsharp]

http://cache-foo.deadspin.com/gawker/assets/images/11/2009/07/504x_dempster.jpg

[Teatoe993]

I love the kid pointing and laughing at Dempster. Meanwhile, the kids father next to him has the "Oh Christ, No." look on his face.

[TooLiveBrew]

Wow, unreal injury 'luck' for the Cubs so far this season. Sheesh, adding just one top-flight pitcher might just make the Brewers clear NL Central favorites after all.

[TooLiveBrew]

Some Mets updates...

 

Jose Reyes received a Cortisone injection in his right hamstring tendon, which is undoubtedly a bad sign that the inflammation is still present, and is bad news especially given that he was appeared to be heading towards a progression in his rehab course this week. General manager Omar Minaya said the shot was given because Reyes felt some "tightness" in the hamstring, which could indicate that he had worked it too hard, too soon in his rehab. He is able to swing a bat right handed now, but running and sprinting keeps ailing the speedster. The All-Star break will provide some relief for the Mets, but if Reyes can't make it back soon, they could be heading down a slippery slope in the N.L. East - particularly if Reyes and/or Beltran require more invasive treatment.

...

Carlos Beltran is not expected back anytime soon as he is still dealing with lingering pain from what appears to be a nasty bone bruise in his right knee. His rehab is focusing on non-impact, unweighted exercise such as biking and aquatic exercise, which of course has almost no carryover to weight bearing activities on land. This is just a means to allow Beltran to maintain some level of physical fitness, to keep the knee joint moving, and to allow for strengthening while not irritating the weight bearing surface that is injured. At this rate, you can't expect Beltran to return until the first week of August. Said Beltran, "I haven't done a lot, so I can't tell exactly what I can do and can't do. The big test for me will be running, going in the outfield, taking fly balls, putting real impact on the knee."

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Carlos Delgado 's timetable for a return from right hip surgery that was performed on May 19 is still not clear, though we can only figure it will be mid-to-late August or sometime about there. One positive side note is that he was able to hit soft toss today without any issues.

[TooLiveBrew]

Updates on DeRosa & Slowey...

 

Mark DeRosa hit the DL with a tear to a tendon sheath in his left wrist. If this sounds familiar, that's because it is. David Ortiz had a torn tendon sheath in his wrist last season, and DeRosa also injured it while swinging at a pitch (this was on June 30 against Randy Johnson). I would love to be positive here, but it sounds like we may not see DeRosa until mid-August with this type of injury. The next step may be to place him in a wrist splint or soft cast, especially since light swings off the tee were painful. This injury may force the Cardinals to rethink bringing Troy Glaus along more swiftly, though there has been no mention of this to my knowledge.

...

Kevin Slowey 's MRI results came back with a confirmation of what was originally thought to be a right wrist strain, and was treated with a Cortisone injection to relieve inflammation. He was told that he could resume throwing within a few days, though the Twins would be smart to let this calm down - whatever the issue is with the wrist tendon. Since the Doctors seem to think it is alright to start throwing that soon, we can only figure that they didn't much of significance on the MRI. Given this, we can figure a return shortly after the break.

[TooLiveBrew]

Hanley Ramirez sat out tonight's game against the Giants with a strained right hip flexor. No, the injury itself is not called a 'hip flexor'. A hip flexor is a muscle that flexes the hip, i.e. brings the knee up towards the chest. He has played through a myriad of various injuries this season, so he should be back in the lineup fairly soon. He is receiving Physical Therapy currently in order to reduce the tightness and discomfort in the front of his right hip.

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Matt Lindstrom may have lost his closer's gig to Leo Nunez, who has looked very comfortable in the role in his absence. Even though Lindstrom is saying that his elbow feels better, he's not coming back before the All-Star break, and I don't see a reason why he should regain the role anyhow. He boasts a pathetic 6.52 ERA and a 1.90 WHIP, while allowing 35 hits in 29 innings. The walks are a killer as well (20 BB versus 26 K).

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Ryan Doumit is not completely ruled out for a return before the break, but it seems likely that he will be activated after the All-Star festivities after playing four or five games at AAA. He should be counting his lucky stars that his broken Scaphoid (wrist) bone actually healed well enough to return this soon. Fantasy owners probably feel the same.

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Scott Downs is still working bullpens as he attempts to make it back from a sprained big toe on his left foot. With Jason Frasor imploding, Downs might see action this week - even though it would be before the break.

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Another toe injury, this time to Ryan Dempster , of the Cubs. He is on the DL with a broken right toe after having his foot get stuck in a railing on Sunday. Said Dempster, "Sunday after the game, I was coming out of the dugout and I was stepping over the top of the railing and I caught my left foot on the rail as I was coming over. It spun me around and slammed me into the ground. When I did it, I thought I ripped my nail back on my foot. Unfortunately, the result wasn't funny." The x-rays showed a non-displaced fracture, which means no surgery, and probably a shorter overall recovery time - barring any unforeseen circumstances, this should only be a 4-week ordeal.

[hawing]

So DeRosa's tendon tear must have been way less serious than Rickie's, if he can contemplate a mid-August return vs. being declared out for the year within 24 hours of the injury.