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Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Gonzalez on DL, Smoltz to start Saturday, and more….
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The perplexing saga of Mike Gonzalez continued today when the Braves put the left-hander on the 15-day DL after he experienced what he said were spasms in his pitching arm following Tuesday night’s game.
The Braves recalled Macay McBride from Richmond to take his roster spot, and now the question will be just how serious Gonzalez’s problem is. Whatever the MRI reveals on Thursday in Atlanta, this is not good, obviously.
But before we delve into that, let me give you the good news: Smoltz is starting Saturday at Boston. He threw a bullpen today and said there were no problems with any of his pitches, just two days after he grotesquely dislocated the pinky finger on his pitching hand while tagging out a Nationals runner.
The man’s a freak, is all I can say. If we all had his powers of recovery, doctors would be broke.
The other good news for the Braves: Chipper is back in the lineup, after a four-game absence. Had his swollen right palm and thumb X-rayed last night (nothing broke) and said he felt a lot better taking early batting practice early this afternoon. So Hoss told Bobby Cox, “I’m in.” And voila, he’s in.
That is, if we play the game, It’s raining pretty steady for the past hour here, and tarp’s on the field, regular outdoor BP cancelled. Too early to tell if we’ll play, but I’d say it’s a good bet we’ll start late if we do.
Now, back to the unusual case of the lefty reliever.
Gonzalez told everyone - manager, pitching coach, trainer, media - during and after Tuesday night’s game that there was no pain in his arm.
He said he was frustrated and “dumbfounded” and had no explanation for why his fastball was a relatively pedestrian 82-83 mph during the eighth inning before he was pulled with two outs after facing three batters and giving up a triple and a long sac fly.
According to Bobby Cox today, Gonzalez then went to “do something with his hair” - after he talked to us, the media - and that’s when he had spasms. At least that’s what Gonzalez told Cox when he went into the manager’s office.
Cox and head trainer Jeff Porter had been concerned by his lack of velocity and the fact he shook off the catcher’s sign for several breaking balls. They visited the mound once after he gave up a leadoff triple, then decided to pull the plug and take him out after the sac fly.
Cox said he was doing it out of concern for the pitcher’s health, and Gonzalez said afterward that, while he was frustrated, he understood and appreciated the gesture by his manager.
Anyway, a day later we learn that much more happened after we left the clubhouse. Now, why would he have no pain, then spasms? No idea. I can’t recall a case like this. But someone mentioned that Steve Avery had little if any pain in his elbow before things went south for him.
But I’m not speculating or comparing the cases, or saying this could be the start of a long struggle for Gonzalez. I have no idea, apparently like everyone else. The Braves are as confused and frustrated by this as Gonzalez is. Well, maybe not quite as frustrated as the pitcher himself, but you get my point.
This guy’s been pitching so well lately, having whittled his ERA to 1.10 before giving up the run last night. He had run off 14 consecutive scoreless appearances, including 10 in a row since his sore elbow three weeks ago that led him to ask for an MRI for “peace of mind.”
That MRI showed no damage other than inflammation, which subsided with a few days of rest and anti-inflammatories. Since returning April 23, he had allowed six hits and two walks with nine strikeouts in 10 scoreless innings before last night.
His velocity had been inching back up into the low 90s, with occasional 94 readings. Not quite the 95-96 mph stuff he had with Pittsburgh last year while converting 24 of 24 save opportunities, but close and getting closer.
Now this. It’s so strange to have a guy lose that much velocity when he’s not been overworked - he hadn’t pitched since Friday - and especially when he says there’s no pain whatsoever.
And Gonzalez was adament about how he wouldn’t like about his elbow or arm, that he wouldn’t pitch with pain and try to be Mr. Macho without telling anyone about a problem. He said he learned that lesson last year, when he missed the final five weeks of the season with elbow tendinitis.
There was concern at the time in Pittsburgh that he might have a ligament tear, but a sophisticated MRI (more advanced than the usual version, this one involved the injection of dye into the joint to reveal even the smallest tears, etc.) showed no damage.
He was examined twice before the offseason, and given a clean bill of health long before the Braves traded Adam Laroche to get Gonzalez in Janauary. Again, I’ll point out that it would have been extremely difficult for a pitch to compile a 1.10 ERA in 17 appearances (before last night) with a bum elbow.
So we’ll see. Won’t know anything more until he’s examined in Atlanta on Thursday and has yet another MRI.
McBride a starter? The Braves have McBride back, and I’m told he’s made significant strides and has been throwing strikes at Richmond. He’s been making starts down there - five of his seven games were starts — and the Braves have continually said it’s only because they wanted him to get more innings than he would as a reliever, more innings on a regular basis to work on his command.
However, he went five innings and about 90 pitches in his last outing at Richmond on Monday. I asked Bobby today about that conspicuously large workload, whether the Braves were still just starting him to get innings and not thinking about making him a starter.
“Not right now, I don’t think,” said Cox, the man who originally brought up the idea with us in spring training.
McBride’s numbers at Richmond: 1-2 with 3.13 ERA in seven games (five starts), eight earned runs in 23 innings, with 26 hits, seven walks and 24 strikeouts.
Alright, I gotta get writing on these stories and more for the paper, including player reaction to the sale if it goes through tonight, which it should, perhaps very soon.
First, some music: This song’s for an ex-wife. At least for me, it is.
“WAITING FOR A SUPERMAN” by Wayne Coyne
I asked you a question
But I didn’t need you to reply
Is it getting heavy?
But then I realize
Is it getting heavy?
Well I thought it was already as heavy as can be
Is it overwhelming
To use a crane to crush a fly?
It’s a good time for Superman
To lift the sun into the sky
Cause it’s getting heavy
Well, I thought it was already as heavy as can be
Tell everybody
Waiting for Superman
That they should try to
Hold on best they can
He hasn’t dropped them, forgot them or anything
It’s just too heavy for Superman to lift
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