Friday, April 17, 2009 |
UTK Quickies
Vladimir Guerrero (3 DXL)
In most situations, "going to see Dr. Yocum" is the West Coast version of "going to see Dr. Andrews," but people forget that Lewis Yocum is also the team doctor for the Angels, and he has been for some time. That's important when it comes to the reasons that Guerrero made the trip, because this isn't a specialist visit, but merely a problem that Guerrero is having being bumped up to the team physician for further study. His pectoral problem is on the shoulder side of the muscle, and it's preventing him from making any throws without pain. The roster flexibility for the Angels goes to near-zero with Guerrero locked in at the DH slot. The questions now are how chronic is this problem, and how or when can the Angels expect him back in the field? We'll have to see what changes post-visit, but in the short term, everyone is locked into the status quo. There is some chance that they'll DL him to try and work on this, but it doesn't sound as if they're ready to go that far.Ervin Santana (30 DXL)
John Lackey (40 DXL)
The Angels are finally beginning to see some progress with their injured pitching staff. Held together with duct tape for the first two weeks of the season, it looks as if Lackey is closer than previously thought, though that may not be a good thing. Convinced that he's not going to be an Angel long-term, Lackey is pushing his rehab and saying that, while he still has some pain in his elbow, he's willing to pitch through it. [Thus this could become a self-fulfilling prophesy. We'll see. — Rob] He made it through a batting practice session, and wants to go on a rehab start sometime next week. The Angels want to see how his elbow reacts before committing to that, but if he does head out, they'll likely keep him close, and on a very low pitch count. Best guess now is that he'll return around May 1, though that's very fluid. Santana also threw at that batting practice session, also going about 45 pitches. Things went better for Santana, who said that he felt no pain. He'll throw a few more times in the pen before the Angels send him on a rehab assignment. He could be in the rotation before the calendar flips, but it won't be by much. The Angels are concerned about his stamina, and they're debating whether or not to keep Shane Loux around as a "shadow" for his first couple of starts.
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