Injury News and Analysis September 3rd
Frank Thomas
Quad problems for very large DHs are not good. Especially one who has had several injuries in the past. Thomas has been transferred to the 60-Day DL, officially ending his season today. He still has the bat to be productive when healthy, but that’s the problem. He’s now (or maybe has been in for a while) in the group of Milton Bradley and Chipper Jones. Bat still there but body is betraying him at times.
Jesus Flores
Sometimes the injuries just look worse than what they are. Flores was carted off the field in response to a collision at home plate. It is absolutely necessary to take extra precaution in cases like this, and we can all be glad that the MRI only revealed a sprain. He will likely miss a week or two but should be back ready to play again this season.
Mike Lowell
In the year of the oblique strain, Mike is coming along well as he took batting practice for the second straight day without problems. He should be come off the DL on Friday without problems and will likely slot back into the 5th spot. Oblique strains might sap a little power but nothing that would be noticeable.
Billy Wagner
Wagner is finally coming close to returning on Tuesday. He has thrown bullpen sessions and will throw a simulated game on Sunday. Forearm/Elbow problems are always iffy and hopefully he’s not being rushed back before he is ready, ala Penny.
Evan Longoria
He initially thought that he would be back in the lineup on September 1st but his wrist/forearm is not cooperating. He has yet to take batting practice so he is still at least a week away as well. Wrist/Distal forearm fractures rarely heal as quickly as they initially expected in my experience, you can always tack on a week or two. This is still better than if he fractured the wrist itself but it still isn’t fast enough for Rays fans. Like I suggested before, he may end up having problems with his power but it’s not going to keep him out of the lineup once it feels good.
Jim Johnson
Taking over a different role can be problematic for any pitcher, even going from a starter to a closer. He has developed deep soreness in his pitching shoulder which could be many things at this point. He’ll likely go on the DL if it is anything other than minor soreness but given that he’s pitching once in the past week I would expect Baltimore to be cautious either way.
Joe Crede
Joe’s back flared up and take it for what it’s worth, Ozzie doesn’t expect him to play the rest of the season. This could just be Ozzie being fed up with the situation but low back problems can have this happen. Everything is feeling great and then one day all hell breaks loose and they’re not able to do anything. We’ll know as the results come back but this could well be it for him this season. Until then though we need to trust the day-to-day listing and see how he responds over the next couple of days.
Josh Beckett
He threw the 58 pitches in his latest bullpen session, which is close enough to my 60 Pitch rule when rehabbing. I feel that once a starting pitcher can throw 60 pitches without problem, he is ready to consider off coming off the DL. The Red Sox will only go as far as Beckett can go. Now that they have opened a little room in the wild card race I expect that when he does come back they will not stress him to go deep into games unless the playoffs are on the line. They will likely use him for no more than 6 innings or 80 pitches if he is efficient.
Ben Sheets
Sheets is optimistic that he will be ready for Saturday’s start after leaving Monday’s start with groin tightness. I’m not overly concerned with the groin itself, the concern needs to be will he alter his motion by pitching through the tight groin. Causing a cascade injury is not good for anyone involved obviously and this is why the Brewers are going to be cautious with him.
