cubfan33
04-23-2002, 01:34 AM
It's late Sunday night and I'm ready for my weekly long in depth
report. Remember that you can always check the archives of these
reports at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UnderTheKnife and soon
you'll be able to check reports and discuss them at NetShrine. Enjoy
baseball banter? Whether you prefer to sound off or to just listen
in, you owe it to yourself to sample the NetShrine Baseball
Discussion Forum @ http://www.netshrine.com/vbulletin2. You can also
look for me online with Yahoo! Messenger. Username: CUBFAN333.
Darin Erstad is suffering from post-concussive syndrome. I Tivo'd
back and forth on the highlight and it didn't look like he hit that
hard, but it wasn't my bean bouncing off the turf either. The Angels
can ill afford losing Erstad, even if he is playing poorly now.
He'll miss several games this week and be re-evaluated.
Erubiel Durazo may escape the DL by early May and go back to being
baseball's equivalent of a prisoner of conscience. The best hitter
without a starting job will begin hitting off a tee tomorrow after
doctors signed off on his healing wrist.
Jason Marquis had a well-watched session in the pen before Sunday's
game and he reported improvement. As we noted earlier, Marquis'
delivery appears to have altered some in the off-season. A reader
wrote in to tell me that Marquis continued to step across his body
in the pen. We're trying to find some tape of Marquis last year to
compare. We're hoping for a "Guru Report" (TM) by the middle of this
week.
Dustin Hermanson's groin is still tight. Ummm, ok, probably too much
information there. Whatever. He won't be pitching off a mound this
week as expected and May 1 is probably a more reasonable target for
his return.
Not an injury but Melvin Mora will be out for a couple days due to a
family death. Condolences.
A source at the Frozen Tundra of Wrigley Field talked to Jon Lieber
before the game and after he played long toss in 40 degree weather.
He says his elbow is sore, but "normal sore." He'll start late this
week, probably Thursday since the Cubs are off Monday. Welcome back.
Oh, Barry Bonds is playing against you. Kyle Farnsworth was reported
to be throwing from his knees to keep his arm in shape. I don't have
a lot of reports on how the Benito Santiago workout went, but it
shows that the guy is trying. I bet he looked like an Oompa Loompa.
Same source (that's three beers we owe him!) said Griffey trotted
around the outfield and looked "normal." Jim Bowden was quoted as
saying he wished he could activate him today. Austin Kearns has
looked pretty good so it will be interesting to see what roster
moves are made when Junior does come back.
Larry Walker could have played today, but it was the Unit on the
mound so like any sane left hander, he sat. He'll be back in the
lineup on Tuesday.
Our best medical source had a look at Terry Adams the other day and
what he reported is very worrying. The injury, a sternoclavicular
joint sprain, is evidently quite tender and he predicted that he
would miss more than one start. We can't find any similar injuries
in a similar player so we have to take the man's word on this one.
We're taking some heat for our report on Wade Miller. Good, we like
heat. We stand by the former report. Miller's out until mid-May
according to the Astros, but we're putting money on June 1.
Joe Mays is on the DL with elbow soreness. No definitive reports
yet, but it looks non-structural. May 1 may be a bit quick, but its
not considered a long-term problem.
Speaking of May 1, that's when John Franco will begin throwing. If
he gets some time in Norfolk, he should be back in Flushing by mid-
May.
If Pokey hurts his hammy, does that make him "Slowy?" We'd have more
time to debate this, but he won't miss any more time. Too bad.
Watch Kevin Jarvis. A strained forearm tendon may mean that the
Padres will call up one of their touted minor league arms. Oh but
looking at the Portland Beavers stats at Baseball America Online
(www.baseballamerica.com) none of those vaunted arms is in AAA.
Nope, they're all in AA Mobile. Someone explain to me why all the
good prospects stay in AA. Anyway, just on raw stats, Jake Peavy is
looking good with a small sample size.
Ryan Jensen told the Giants that he's ready to return after
spraining his ankle early in his last start. No reason to believe
he's not ready. Damon Minor will also return this week for the
Giants and may steal some playing time from J.T. Snow.
Always dinged J.D. Drew's knee had some swelling and he was held out
of the lineup. He's a quick healer according to our sources and
shouldn't miss any time. Larussa is likely to spot him some days off
against good lefties anyway, but there aren't any in the NL Central
that don't play for the Cardinals. Similarly ding prone Jim Edmonds
should be ready this week as well after experiencing a sore groin.
Ouch, I hate talking about groin injuries or actually just groins in
general. Did you know the G in "G string" stands for groin? I don't
know anything about Garrett Stephenson's groin and don't want to but
his back is progressing well and he should be ready when he is
eligible to come off the DL on the 30th.
Reports on Chan Ho Park are poor. He was supposed to have thrown
Friday, but if he did, no one saw it. ESPN stated tonight he'll work
out off the mound tomorrow. At best, he'll join his buddy John
Rocker in lovely downtown Oklahoma City for some rehab work. If
Rocker's there, I mean. If you're looking for saves and want to
REALLY reach, Jay Powell is making good progress and may be able to
play by late April. Unless the pitcher formerly known as Fat Toad
decides that all AL West teams must have a Japanese closer and locks
down the job, Powell will be getting those save opportunities as
soon as he's able.
Next update: Monday night.
report. Remember that you can always check the archives of these
reports at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UnderTheKnife and soon
you'll be able to check reports and discuss them at NetShrine. Enjoy
baseball banter? Whether you prefer to sound off or to just listen
in, you owe it to yourself to sample the NetShrine Baseball
Discussion Forum @ http://www.netshrine.com/vbulletin2. You can also
look for me online with Yahoo! Messenger. Username: CUBFAN333.
Darin Erstad is suffering from post-concussive syndrome. I Tivo'd
back and forth on the highlight and it didn't look like he hit that
hard, but it wasn't my bean bouncing off the turf either. The Angels
can ill afford losing Erstad, even if he is playing poorly now.
He'll miss several games this week and be re-evaluated.
Erubiel Durazo may escape the DL by early May and go back to being
baseball's equivalent of a prisoner of conscience. The best hitter
without a starting job will begin hitting off a tee tomorrow after
doctors signed off on his healing wrist.
Jason Marquis had a well-watched session in the pen before Sunday's
game and he reported improvement. As we noted earlier, Marquis'
delivery appears to have altered some in the off-season. A reader
wrote in to tell me that Marquis continued to step across his body
in the pen. We're trying to find some tape of Marquis last year to
compare. We're hoping for a "Guru Report" (TM) by the middle of this
week.
Dustin Hermanson's groin is still tight. Ummm, ok, probably too much
information there. Whatever. He won't be pitching off a mound this
week as expected and May 1 is probably a more reasonable target for
his return.
Not an injury but Melvin Mora will be out for a couple days due to a
family death. Condolences.
A source at the Frozen Tundra of Wrigley Field talked to Jon Lieber
before the game and after he played long toss in 40 degree weather.
He says his elbow is sore, but "normal sore." He'll start late this
week, probably Thursday since the Cubs are off Monday. Welcome back.
Oh, Barry Bonds is playing against you. Kyle Farnsworth was reported
to be throwing from his knees to keep his arm in shape. I don't have
a lot of reports on how the Benito Santiago workout went, but it
shows that the guy is trying. I bet he looked like an Oompa Loompa.
Same source (that's three beers we owe him!) said Griffey trotted
around the outfield and looked "normal." Jim Bowden was quoted as
saying he wished he could activate him today. Austin Kearns has
looked pretty good so it will be interesting to see what roster
moves are made when Junior does come back.
Larry Walker could have played today, but it was the Unit on the
mound so like any sane left hander, he sat. He'll be back in the
lineup on Tuesday.
Our best medical source had a look at Terry Adams the other day and
what he reported is very worrying. The injury, a sternoclavicular
joint sprain, is evidently quite tender and he predicted that he
would miss more than one start. We can't find any similar injuries
in a similar player so we have to take the man's word on this one.
We're taking some heat for our report on Wade Miller. Good, we like
heat. We stand by the former report. Miller's out until mid-May
according to the Astros, but we're putting money on June 1.
Joe Mays is on the DL with elbow soreness. No definitive reports
yet, but it looks non-structural. May 1 may be a bit quick, but its
not considered a long-term problem.
Speaking of May 1, that's when John Franco will begin throwing. If
he gets some time in Norfolk, he should be back in Flushing by mid-
May.
If Pokey hurts his hammy, does that make him "Slowy?" We'd have more
time to debate this, but he won't miss any more time. Too bad.
Watch Kevin Jarvis. A strained forearm tendon may mean that the
Padres will call up one of their touted minor league arms. Oh but
looking at the Portland Beavers stats at Baseball America Online
(www.baseballamerica.com) none of those vaunted arms is in AAA.
Nope, they're all in AA Mobile. Someone explain to me why all the
good prospects stay in AA. Anyway, just on raw stats, Jake Peavy is
looking good with a small sample size.
Ryan Jensen told the Giants that he's ready to return after
spraining his ankle early in his last start. No reason to believe
he's not ready. Damon Minor will also return this week for the
Giants and may steal some playing time from J.T. Snow.
Always dinged J.D. Drew's knee had some swelling and he was held out
of the lineup. He's a quick healer according to our sources and
shouldn't miss any time. Larussa is likely to spot him some days off
against good lefties anyway, but there aren't any in the NL Central
that don't play for the Cardinals. Similarly ding prone Jim Edmonds
should be ready this week as well after experiencing a sore groin.
Ouch, I hate talking about groin injuries or actually just groins in
general. Did you know the G in "G string" stands for groin? I don't
know anything about Garrett Stephenson's groin and don't want to but
his back is progressing well and he should be ready when he is
eligible to come off the DL on the 30th.
Reports on Chan Ho Park are poor. He was supposed to have thrown
Friday, but if he did, no one saw it. ESPN stated tonight he'll work
out off the mound tomorrow. At best, he'll join his buddy John
Rocker in lovely downtown Oklahoma City for some rehab work. If
Rocker's there, I mean. If you're looking for saves and want to
REALLY reach, Jay Powell is making good progress and may be able to
play by late April. Unless the pitcher formerly known as Fat Toad
decides that all AL West teams must have a Japanese closer and locks
down the job, Powell will be getting those save opportunities as
soon as he's able.
Next update: Monday night.