And the hits…err…injuries keep on coming…
As I mentioned on Monday, the Red Sox placed struggling starting pitcher, John Lackey, on the disabled list with a strained right elbow. On Tuesday, they put another right handed starting pitcher on the shelf with a similar injury. Here’s Fire Brand’s very own dark overlord (kidding) Evan Brunell of CBS Sports Eye on Baseball with the details.
“Dice-K underwent an MRI earlier Tuesday and the results must not have been pleasing. Matsuzaka has been particularly disastrous since leaving his start on April 29 with a tight elbow.
To replace Matsuzaka on the roster, reliever Michael Bowden is joining the team. Bowden is likely not long for the club, as Dan Wheeler is nearing the end of his rehab stint. Still, the club needs someone to fill the breach now and Bowden will make his 2011 debut. The 24-year-old made his debut in 2008 and has pitched parts of each of the last three seasons. Overall, he’s tossed 36 1/3 innings and posted a 6.69 ERA, although much of that comes from his 2009 stint. In 2010, he tossed 15 1/3 innings, posting a 4.70 ERA.”
Anyone who watched Monday night’s atrocities unfold can tell you that something was clearly amiss with Daisuke Matsuzaka.* Right from the get-go, he struggled to ramp up his velocity with his fastball consistently registering in the 87-88 MPH range during the first couple of innings. Although his velocity did steadily improve over the course of the game, it only cracked 90 MPH twice; both of which occurred during the fifth inning.
* I use the word “atrocity” for one simple reason. Coming into Monday night’s game, the Orioles had produced a .312 team OBP. Despite this, Dice-K allowed seven walks (including three to Luke Scott) in 4-1/3 innings.
Understandably, Twitter was abuzz with tweets expressing concerns over Dice-K’s diminished velocity. At one point early in the game, Troy tried to combat those concerns (including mine) by pointing out the strong correlation between a pitcher’s velocity and (game time) temperature. While this seemed like a very reasonable explanation at the time, I wasn’t entirely convinced the inclement weather was the sole cause for his lack of velocity. (At the time, that suspecion was not based on any kind of empirical evidence; only intuition.) He’s made a few starts this season in less than optimal weather, yet he’d never experienced such a profound decline in his velocity as he did Monday night. For example, during his first start of the season on April 6th in Cleveland, he to consistently hit 90-92 MPH on the radar gun despite the 39 degree game time temperature. Considering what we know now about the state of his elbow, temperature likely only played a small role in his reduced velocity.
Just to get an idea of the type of velocity he had on Monday, here’s his velocity chart, courtesy of Brooks Baseball. For a pitcher who’s fastball we’ve become accustomed to seeing in the 91-95 range, it’s not a pretty chart.
Moving on…
After undergoing an MRI yesterday, the Red Sox medical staff determined he’d suffered from a sprained Ulner Collateral Ligament (UCL) in his right elbow. For those of you who aren’t medically inclined, a ligament sprain typically involves either an abnormal stretching, or a degree of tearing in said ligament. Given how important it is for a pitcher to have a healthy UCL, it will probably be quite a while before Dice-K pitches again. (Insert inappropriate joke here.) As a result of these recent medical findings, a couple of questions immediately come to mind. How long will he be out? Will he need surgery? Unfortunately, it’s too early to make those kinds of determinations. Judging by Terry Francona’s statement about the situation, it sounds like they might be a little unclear regarding the extent/severity of the injury.
“If you put a time period out there, that’s not fair to Daisuke. The doctors don’t even know.”
Regardless of whether Dice-K comes back in a month, in September, or in 2012; the Red Sox have two holes in their starting rotation that need to be filled. As was reported yesterday morning, the Red Sox will fill John Lackey’s vacated spot in the rotation with the knuckle balling Tim Wakefield. Replacing Matsuzaka will be the quirky, semi-eccentric Alfredo Aceves. At this point, we don’t know whether or not either pitcher will become a long-term solution in the rotation should it get to that point–much of that will likely hinge on performance. With 23 year old lefty Felix Doubront working as a starter in AAA Pawtucket, the front office may decide to promote and install him in the rotation provided his performance warrants it. As most of us are aware, they are pretty high on his potential, and will likely want to give him a shot to stick in the majors.
Replacing Matsuzaka on the active 25-man roster will be former top pitching prospect Michael Bowden. With both Aceves and Wakefield moving to the rotation, the Red Sox will likely use Bowden to fill the long-relief role. Since moving from the rotation to the bullpen full-time this year, Bowden has been very successful. In 22 appearances, he’s posted a 1.59 ERA with a 28/4 K/BB ratio in 22-2/3 innings. His time in the majors will most likely be short as Dan Wheeler will be called up once his rehab stint has been completed.