At Home Plate - Between the Foul Poles: Injuries Abound

Written by Robert Democh (Contact & Archive) on June 04, 2009

AL Appetizers:

Pity Tampa Bay, whose locker room has all the trappings of an infirmary this season. The beleaguered Rays have placed nine players on the disabled list, six in the last two weeks. The casualties include reliever Troy Percival, second baseman Akinori Iwamura (lost for the year with a torn knee ligament), shortstop Jason Bartlett (who had been leading the club in batting), DH Pat Burrell and rotation mainstay Scott Kazmir. The ravaged defending AL Champs

Akinori Iwamura is out for the year.

Photo by Keith Allison, used under creative commons license.

are currently two games under .500 and trailing the division leading Yankees by 6 games. Although the offense has proven serviceable (first baseman Carlos Pena leads the AL with 17 homers), the pitching has been a major disappointment. The starting rotation -- ostensibly one of the AL’s best at the season’s outset -- currently ranks 11th in the league with a 5.00 ERA. Perhaps phenom David Price (filling in for the injured Kazmir) can inject some youthful enthusiasm and improved performance. James Shields, expected by many to be a viable Cy Young candidate in 2009 has struggled with his control and reduced velocity.

The surprising Texas Rangers remain perched atop the AL West. For a team that perennially relies on power, their pitching has paved the way for much of their early success. The staff fashioned a collective 3.57 ERA in May, among the best monthly totals in franchise history. They welcomed Vicente Padilla, their most consistent starter the past two seasons, back from the DL on Tuesday. Texas has also adopted a more aggressive running philosophy this season. After stealing 81 bases last year, the team is one pace to easily surpass that total, having been successful on 40-of-48 theft attempts thus far. Slugger Josh Hamilton just can’t seem to stay healthy. To date, he has missed time with a strained rib cage, a groin injury, and now a strained abdominal muscle. The latest is the most troubling, as an MRI was performed Tuesday and he was placed on the DL for maybe two months. Hamilton is finding an encore to his breakout 2008 campaign (when he racked up 32 homers and 130 RBI) extremely difficult.

The injuries are also stacking up for the Cleveland Indians. Any faint hope they may have had for resurrecting their 2009 season were dashed Sunday with the announcement All-Start outfielder Grady Sizemore would be placed on the 15-day DL with an inflamed elbow. Sizemore’s pitiful May (.211 BA, just three homers) is now being attributed his elbow woes. There’s a distinct possibility Sizemore will require surgery if the elbow doesn’t return to normal following his DL stint. In that case, he would be shelved until the end of July. This development only intensifies Cleveland’s hold on the AL Central basement and comes on top of the continued absence of Travis Hafner (out since April 29 with a bum shoulder). Victor Martinez -- who has performed admirably this season -- missed several games with a bruised knee but DH’d Monday. Cleveland’s ills aren’t confined to position players. Through the first two months of the season, the Indians have utilized an astounding 22 different pitchers. When they last captured the division in 2007, the Tribe used 21 all season. Carl Pavano has left me with egg all over my face. Given up for dead after being cut loose by the Yankees, Pavano has been a worthy addition to the Cleveland rotation. In seven May starts, he went 5-1 with 35 strikeouts in 40 innings. It’s unlikely he’ll continue at that high a level of effectiveness, but Pavano has amply demonstrated he can still succeed at the big league level.

In a most welcome development for the New York Yankees, Chien-Ming Yang tossed three shutout innings of relief Sunday and by all indications is done being road kill for AL batters (34.50 ERA in three April starts before being demoted). It would be an enormous boon to the Yankees if he recaptured some of the command that enabled him to twice win 19 games in pinstripes. While slow starting Mark Teixeira couldn’t wait to exit April, he’s probably sorry to see May end, finishing the month with 13 homers, 34 RBI and a booming .330 average. His display served as a chilling reminder to AL East opponents that Teixeira is more than capable of hoisting an offense on his back when he heats up. Alex Rodriguez is showing no residual discomfort from hip surgery although he has yet to attempt a stolen base. After smacking seven homers in his first 15 games, A-Rod has gone eight contests and counting in search of his eighth. His plate discipline has been exemplary, as he has coaxed 20 walks versus 14 strikeouts.

NL Nuggets:

Time is no ally of the Pittsburgh Pirates. In an all-out attempt to avoid baseball infamy by becoming the all-time record holders for most consecutive sub-.500 finishes, the Bucs are slowing losing ground. They sit four games under .500 Wednesday after dropping seven of their final 10 games in May. The preoccupation with ending “the streak” has deflected attention away from some positive developments in the Steel City. Zack Duke has developed into a competent ML starter. A classic soft tosser, Duke weaves a tapestry, beguiling hitters with superior off speed pitches and pinpoint control while keeping the ball in the park (just four HRA in 79 innings). It’s been a recipe for success after he improved to 6-4 Tuesday while lowering his ERA to 2.62. Duke now boasts quality starts in eight of 11 assignments this season. Catcher Ryan Doumit, expected to provide some much needed clout this season, is rehabbing his broken right wrist. Although he has set his return for late June, team officials suggest he won’t be ready until after the All-Star break in July. Doumit has been on the disabled list since April 20 with the injury.

Roy Oswalt is not in the best mood in Houston.

Photo by Scott Ableman, used under creative commons license.

As if the team’s abysmal on-field performance wasn’t enough (last in the NL Central, seven games out), now comes word that Houston Astros ace Roy Oswalt is feuding with manager Cecil Cooper. It hasn’t helped that Oswalt is frustrated on the mound (he earned just his second victory of the season Monday) and has seen his name surface in trade rumors. Various scenarios have had him destined for the White Sox, Brewers and Phillies. Oswalt’s contract contains a no-trade clause and he has stated no desire to leave the NL (or the Astros). Still, it’s disconcerting to have these distractions swirling around while the team is struggling. There are no immediate plans to replace Cooper and a string of wins would do wonders for Oswalt’s perspective. Miguel Tejada has paced the offense of late, entering Wednesday’s play riding a 16-game hitting streak including a game-winning homer Tuesday.

Playing .500 ball has become a moral victory of sorts for the San Francisco Giants. Following Tuesday’s action, their record stood dead even at 25-25. While that left them a hefty eight games behind the division-leading Dodgers, they are currently just four behind in the early NL wild card chase. The Giants have capitalized on winning at home, playing at a .667 clip (18-9) at AT&T Park. All eyes will be on starter Randy Johnson Wednesday as he takes the hill against Washington in search of historic win number 300. Johnson would become the 24th pitcher in big league history to reach that plateau and the first player in a Giants uniform to do it since the legendary Christy Mathewson in 1912 for the New York Giants. Tim Lincecum notched his 500th career strikeout Monday against the Nationals in his 69th career start. That enabled him to become the fastest Giants starter to reach 500 since 1900. Randy Winn is batting .366 (30-for-82) in his past 21 games with 15 runs scored and 11 RBI. With eight steals already, he is on pace to match last year’s total of 25.

The Weekender: Here are some intriguing pairings this coming weekend (June 5-7).
Rays at Yankees:    The Rays need to reassert themselves in the division.
Rangers at Red Sox: Inter-divisional match up a potential playoff preview?
Phils at Dodgers:    Duking it out for NL supremacy.
Reds at Cubs:         The loss of Aramis Ramirez has devastated Chicago’s offense.

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites