Injured Stars Returning?
April 30th, 2009 | by Ray Flowers |
Kris Benson is scheduled to make an appearance on Sunday at Double-A Frisco after throwing on Thursday without incident. If all goes well, he could return on May 9th to the rotation for the Rangers. Wait a second, wasn’t this article supposed to be about returning “stars?” Oops, my bad. The only star in the Benson family is Anna, the smoking hot significant other of Kris (her picture, and it doesn’t really do her justice, graces this article above).
I certainly don’t want to jinx things, and being just a wee bit superstitious I’ve almost been afraid to comment on the status of Ryan Franklin who has jumped out of the gates like a sprinter in a distance race. While allowing only four hits and issuing just two walks in 10.1 innings leading to a 0.58 WHIP. Franklin hasn’t permitted a single run on the young season and is 7-for-7 in save chances. That’s all I’m going to say other than keep it up an hopefully you have enough of a finishing kick to finish strong Mr. Franklin.
Cole Hamels should return to the mound on Friday for the first time since spraining his ankle in his last start to throw a bullpen session. If things go well he will make his scheduled start on Monday. In his four starts this year he has a 7.27 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP, though his K/9 mark is virtually identical to last season (7.79 to 7.76) as is his BB/9 mark (2.08 to 2.10). What is to blame? Would you believe a rather healthy does of luck? After all, his BABIP mark has ballooned from .288 in his career to .394 in his four appearances this season.
Joe Mauer (back) should be back in the Twins lineup on Saturday night. He went 6-for-15 with four RBI during his rehab assignment. Get ready to plug him right back into your lineup starting next Monday. Let’s just hope that his mysterious injury is behind him and that he can instantly return to his .300+ hitting ways. On a side note, the return of Mauer is coming at a great time for a Twins club that hasn’t gotten much out of Mike Redmond who first dealt with a groin issue and now a bum shoulder. After hitting at least .287 in each of the past four years, Redmond is hitting just .226 on the year – a terribly disappointing effort from a guy who was asked to merely do his normal thing for the month of April. If the club decides to DL Redmond it would appear that Jose Morales would continue to function as the backup to Mauer, and Morales has certainly shown that he is ready to contribute at the dish as he has gone 15-for-43 in the early going (.349).
A-Rod may have used performance enhancing drugs while on the Yankees. I’m shocked.
Pablo Sandoval has been on fire of late with an amazing total of 14 hits in 30 ABs (.467) to raise his overall average up to .307. So let the good time role? Not exactly. Pablo strained his groin on Wednesday night, though the Giants are off Thursday, so perhaps Pablo will be back in the lineup on Friday (fingers crossed). Though he moves pretty well for a big fella, it’s hardly a surprise that the big fella pulled a muscle as he is carrying nearly 250 lbs on his 5’11″ frame. This injury is likely minor, but it wouldn’t hurt at all if the 22 year old learned that his body is his living. So start hitting the Stairmaster Mr. Sandoval, and lay off the third helpings at the open buffet.
Joakim Soria is nearing a return to the hill for the Royals after throwing a bullpen session without incident. As a result, he will likely be back closing by the end of the weekend, thereby sparing us the scene of having to watch Kyle Farnsworth try to close out games.
Tags: Cole Hamels, Joe Mauer, Jose Morales, Mike Redmond, Pablo Sandoval, Ryan Franklin
