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Wrist & Relaxation: Big Papi Out At Least A MonthJune 7th, 2008
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He let loose his typical mighty swing—the type of violent hack meant to launch a baseball into an orbital rotation around the sun, or perhaps even beyond. A tick late on the incoming heater, he instead thundered a seemingly harmless foul ball off to the third base side.
But before the soon-to-be souvenir even found its way into the crowd, David Ortiz heard it: a disconcerting pop in his left hand followed by excruciating pain upon each subsequent movement of his wrist, which sounded off with a noticeable click.
An X-ray after the Monday night game against the Orioles in Baltimore revealed no damage, but an MRI the next day back in Boston would prove to be far more revealing. The extensor carpi ulnaris tendon in Ortiz’ left wrist had slipped from its sheath, which had suffered a partial tear, causing the connective tissue to grind and snap over the bone, hence the pesky clicking sound emanating from the area.
Although the integrity of his ECU tendon, itself, remains uncompromised, Ortiz’ status remains blurry and highly open-ended. For now, Ortiz will spend the coming weeks in an immobilizing cast with the hope that scar tissue will mend the partially torn sheath—one of the many anatomical protective grooves within the body—and allow him to return to the Red Sox lineup at the end of the month.
However, if the current plan of rest and relaxation fails to do the trick, Ortiz will have no other choice but to undergo season-ending surgery—a last resort solution for the designated hitter and his team.
Here’s Baseball Prospectus’ resident injury expert, Will Carroll, and his take on Ortiz’ troublesome wrist (subscription required):
The early story is actually somewhat positive. Ortiz says that the pain is the problem, a “clicking” every time he moves his wrist in any plane. That pain will be removed or at least reduced by two to three weeks of enforced rest … In the meantime, we’ll have to just wait and see how this works out. As with Nick Johnson, it wouldn’t surprise me to see this extend out past the expressed deadlines but still find a positive outcome.
But until these murky waters clear, the Sox will be minus the services of their vaunted slugger for the foreseeable future as they battle for first place in a tight division race with the upstart Tampa Bay Rays and the rest of the American League East.
While acquiring an impact bat from outside the organization remains a strong possibility—particularly if Ortiz requires surgery down the road—Boston general manager Theo Epstein will likely take a status quo approach as far as the roster goes for now, relying on internal options—the first of which being the promotion of outfielder Chris Carter from Triple-A Pawtucket—over external expenditures.
And no, the federally indicted Barry Bonds won’t be heading to the Hub any time soon.
Instead, look for Red Sox manager Terry Francona to continue to mix and match in the outfield, rotating Manny Ramirez to DH and Jacoby Ellsbury to left field with Coco Crisp manning center on most occasions.
If there happens to be a side benefit to the loss of Ortiz, even just a minimal one, it can be found in the new outfield alignment that now comprises three well above average defenders in Ellsbury, Crisp, and right fielder J.D. Drew. With a drop-off in run production expected, run prevention becomes all the more vital for the Red Sox.
Speaking of Drew, his recent surge at the plate allows Francona to slot him into the vacancy left by Ortiz in the batting order. Since returning from a two-day bout with vertigo (yes, vertigo), Drew has collected eight hits, two of them for home runs, in 16 at-bats, and has batted .344 with a .442 on-base percentage overall in his last 21 games since May 9.
Despite the potentially nefarious outlook for Ortiz in the offing, the Red Sox possess the type of roster that can absorb such a heavy blow—at least in the short-term. As for the worst-case scenario … well, let’s reassess the situation if/when it comes. Hell, this just could be the year of the Rays.
Bartolo Coming Up Big … and Really Round
Already stepping up prior to the mid-rotator cuff strain that sidelined Daisuke Matsuzaka last week, Bartolo Colon—the Red Sox off-season insurance policy for the rotation—has paid huge dividends thus far this season.
Picking up a win in all three of his starts for the Sox since making his big league return on May 21, the ever-circular one has allowed seven runs in 18 innings pitched, exhibiting low-90s velocity with his fastball, which has registered as high as 96 mph.
Yet, the key for Colon has been less about lighting up the radar gun and more about command. Pounding the strike zone with great regularity, Colon has displayed excellent horizontal movement with a two-seam fastball that tends to dart down and in to right-handed batters, inducing plenty of weak contact.
And while his slider remains a work in progress—Colon’s thrown about 80 percent fastballs according to Pitch FX data through three outings—going forward the most important thing for the burly righty centers on his health. The pitcher rotund enough for an entire legislature has missed large chunks of the past two seasons due to a partial and then full right rotator cuff tear.
But for now, the shrewd minor league deal on Epstein’s part that brought Colon to Boston on the cheap has served as a boost to a rotation that has dealt with injuries to Curt Schilling, Clay Buchholz, and Matsuzaka.
Masterson Fills In While Buchholz Fine-Tunes
For the third time this season, pitching prospect Justin Masterson made the trip up I-95 for a spot start in Boston—only this time his stay on the big club will last beyond an isolated appearance due to Matsuzaka’s stint on the 15-day disabled list.
In one way, the decision to go with Masterson in Matsuzaka’s stead is a surprising one. Not because Masterson has failed to impress—the sinkerball pitcher most certainly has with his 2-0 record and 2.95 earned run average—but rather because right-hander Clay Buchholz, recovering from a broken nail on his right middle finger, was activated from the DL and then optioned to Pawtucket, not re-inserted into the Boston rotation.
The reasoning behind the move, however, is sound. After a handful of solid starts to begin the year, Buchholz hit an early-season stumbling block and saw his ERA balloon up to 5.53. Results aside, the Sox had also become concerned about his inconsistent fastball command in combination with an issue in his pitching mechanics.
With time in a stress-free environment, the club looks at the trip back to the minors as an opportunity for Buchholz to refine and develop without fretting over wins and losses.
Meanwhile, the ailing Matsuzaka, currently in the process of rehabbing his sore right shoulder through a monitored strengthening program, stated that he expects to be activated from the disabled list on June 12, the first day he is eligible to return.
The Pen Mightier Than Before
It’s flawed. It’s erratic. And, at any moment, it’s capable of instantaneous combustion.
But it is getting better.
Of course, I’m talking about the state of the Boston bullpen, which, like the stock exchange, has a tendency to fluctuate at a precipitous rate outside of the unassailable Jonathan Papelbon. But right now, the Sox relief corps finds themselves in a bit of a bull market, thanks largely to the resurgence of two young right-handers in Craig Hansen and Manny Delcarmen.
After a brutal stretch in late April into early May for the Boston-born Delcarmen, the hard-tossing 26-year-old has rebounded over his last 12 appearances, yielding just two runs while holding opposing hitters to a .208 batting average. A significant piece to last year’s rendition of the bullpen, Delcarmen’s growth into a reliable setup man could make or break the team’s late-inning relief success.
But if Delcarmen falters, the Sox have another card to play in the form of the 24-year-old Hansen. While the sample size remains small, the former No. 1 pick in the 2005 amateur draft just may be placing the pieces together this season. Allowing zero hits in his last four appearances, Hansen has demonstrated improved command over his mid-90s fastball and devastating slider.
With Delcarmen and Hansen throwing well, Francona will be able to ease up on his use of Hideki Okajima in every high-leverage situation.
The Legend, The Myth, The Manny
Ever since connecting for career homer No. 500 last Saturday in Baltimore—better known as Fenway South due to the large contingency of Red Sox fans that typically fill the stands at Camden Yards—Manny Ramirez has been on a torrid streak, leaving no opposing pitcher unharmed.
But prior to his historic opposite field blast off right-hander Chad Bradford, the Hall of Fame bound Ramirez was in the midst of a 9 for 42 slump with a lone solo blast to his credit—perhaps proving that even someone as seemingly imperturbable as the dreadlocked hitting maestro can submit to the pressures of chasing a milestone.
In five games since reaching the much-celebrated mark, the Boston masher has hit .450 with three monstrous blasts. To say the least, Ramirez’ march towards No. 600 is well underway.
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