6-4-2 — an Angels/Dodgers double play blog: Angels Lose Game, Escobar? Indians 9, Angels 3

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Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Angels Lose Game, Escobar? Indians 9, Angels 3

Aside from the horrible pitching generally on display, we now have to deal with the possibility that Escobar is done, and possibly for a long time. The "s" word -- surgery -- is now on the table:

Escobar relies on his fastball and spots his other pitches to keep hitters off-balance. Normally able to work in the low to mid-90s, Escobar said he could gun his fastball consistently only into the 88-89 mph range.
"I don't even know how I punched out nine guys," Escobar said, adding that he went to his changeup more often than normal.
Escobar doesn't believe there is any ligament damage and said it feels different than the pain that sent him to the disabled list to start the season. But he said it does feel like bone chips, a condition with which he's familiar.
After pitching half the 1996 season in the Toronto organization with bone chips in his right elbow, Escobar had surgery to remove them and ended up with the Blue Jays later in 1997. But as the closer for Toronto in 2002, Escobar said he began to suffer from bone chips again and believes he's been pitching with them ever since.
Escobar is hoping this setback does not mean another stint on the DL or more surgery, but he will accept whatever the club decides is the best route to take.
"The last thing I want to do is get surgery and miss six weeks," Escobar said. "But I'm willing to do what it takes to pitch like I am able."

Oakland begins to harbor dreams of winning the division. Regular Dodger Thoughts readers will recall his column "The Stooge Division" recounting the 1994 AL West, in which the "winner" of that division at the "end" of the strike-shortened season, the 52-62 Texas Rangers, had a losing record. It feels that way for the 2005 AL West now.

Recap

// posted by Rob @ 9:45 PM link // 0 comments