Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Gagne Hurts His Elbow Again
The DL is now 10 players, in all likelihood.
Eric Gagne had an MRI done on his elbow today, and was diagnosed with a "second-degree sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament." I'm no doctor, but this sounds more serious than the earlier problem with the elbow in April, when Gagne went on the DL with a "mild sprain of the medial collateral ligament in his right elbow." The ulnar and medial collateral ligaments are the same ligament, the one that required Tommy John surgery in 1997.
According to my friend who is a doctor, (He just passed his his boards in radiology and is moving on to a Fellowship in interventional radiology at Stanford. Congrats!) a second-degree sprain is a partial tear of anywhere from 1% to 99% with a chance to heal. My friend had a grimaced look when I told him the person was Gagne. That's not good. He looks at MRIs all day.
Gagne missed 35 games with a mild sprain in April. He could be out much longer with a second-degree sprain. Let's hope that the tear is closer to 1% than 99%.
Brazoban did a fantastic job earlier filling in as the closer, so I don't think the 9th inning is a major concern. More worrysome are the 7th and 8th innings, as Carrara and Sanchez must fill in for Brazoban. It's time for the bullpen to step up.
My earlier wish for a starting pitcher via trade is no longer. The team might need a starting pitcher AND a reliever.
Edit: I just got back from some celebratory drinks at a local bar with my radiology friend and saw Antonio Perez AND Izturis waste 2 outs in the 9th with attempted bunts. I know that Choi hit another one out, and Tracy probably wanted Choi to bat with the game on the line, but waste two outs with TWO ATTEMPTED BUNTS? I heard no sound as I was at a loud bar, so I don't know whether Izturis was ordered to bunt or not. Still, those bunts gave away two precious outs, and that's not right.
