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Friday, August 05, 2005 |
UTK Quick Hits
As always, a midday snack from today's UTK:
- If you missed it, there was a great Alan Schwartz article on how Roger Clemens' whole career was almost undone early on by a shoulder injury. I read it yesterday and forgot to pass it along. The miracle of the arthroscope saved him...
- Adam Eaton made his first appearance from the pen and while he threw a scoreless inning, he was in pain afterwards and there was visible swelling. The rest of Eaton's season is now in doubt. The Padres will wait until the weekend to make a determination about his status.
- Eleven runs on 12 hits. That's not good on any level. For a rehab start made by the Diamondbacks' multi-million dollar ace, Russ Ortiz, it's Backstreet Boys-reunion bad. Ortiz was crushed at High-A Lancaster even worse than he was at Triple-A Tucson. There was the predictable "just getting his work in" mealymouthing from the front office. It's the velocity--or lack thereof--that has everyone worried. Ortiz isn't someone who had much margin for error. The team will make a decision tomorrow about Ortiz's immediate future.
- Not that it especially matters with the Giants so far back, but expect aging slugger Moises Alou to take a few extra days off as he rests his balky hamstring.
- Darin Erstad left Thursday's game an inning after stepping awkwardly while chasing a pop-up over the mound. On the other hand, he hit a triple after the incident, showing no signs of a slowdown. It's unclear how serious any injury might be, though the broadcast crew said he had inflammation in his right hip. This is something to keep an eye on given Erstad's injury history. His back, knee and hamstrings could all be affected if the hip problem changes his gait.
I should also use this opportunity to pass along this Register article about Erstad. The Angels are being a bit more evasive about Erstad's injury than they were yesterday, and it seems like DL time for Ersty is possible. As always, stay tuned.
- Update: There was broken HTML on today's UTK, so I missed Will's scouting report on King Felix:
Felix Hernandez made his debut for the Mariners Thursday, sporting a near-unhittable slider and a fastball that touched 95. His mechanics are a bit less than optimal, but with results like this, any pitching coach would be loathe to tinker. Hernandez seems not to use his legs, has a very soft core, a head that never quite finds its correct positions through the delivery, and a follow-through that leaves him falling towards first. All that said, he's still a special talent with a gifted arm. I just hope it holds together long enough to let him live up to his nickname.
How odd that this is a 180 from the description from Bryan Smith earlier in the day, who says he falls off toward third.
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