The Major League Infirmary

There continue to be a bevy of news stories each day pertaining to a host of injured players on the diamond. Today, I’ll deal with a few of the more intriguing issues that were in the news on Monday.

Carlos Beltran is visiting the same clinic that A-Rod used for his hip surgery. The problem for Beltran is his knee, obviously nothing to do with his hip, but the doctor that he is seeing is a micro-fracture surgery specialist. Still, the Mets are downplaying the visit saying that Dr. Richard Steadman is merely going to review Beltran’s test to make sure everything is progressing as it should. I don’t know about you, but this injury has me mighty nervous. First it was nothing. Then something minor. Then something he could play through. Then it was something that sent him to the DL. And now he is visiting specialists? I get the sneaking feeling that someone isn’t being honest here, and that would make me ready to hit the bottle if I was a Beltran owner.

Raul Ibanez, currently on the DL with a groin injury, was said to be on track to return as soon as his 15 day stint on the sidelines was up. Oh well, that’s apparently out the window now. Ibanez will most likely not be ready to go on Friday despite the fact that the groin has improved. “One day he can be doing great, and another day not as great,” GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said. “We have to keep our minds open there. We’ll reevaluate him and see whether he’s physically able to start some type of rehab.” Given his time on the shelf he will likely need at least a couple of games in the minors to get his timing back, so don’t plan on seeing him in a Phillies uni until at least next week (that last part was Ray Flowers talking, not anyone with the Phillies organization). To read just how effective Ibanez has been this year when compared to every other major league player, make sure you give the MLB Player Rater a read.

Mike Lowell is another case of a mysterious injury situation. We know that it’s his surgically repaired hip that was giving him problems, but as in the case of Beltran, the condition has seemingly grown worse as the days have passed. First Lowell just needed some time off after playing virtually every game in the early going. Then it was noted that he has some pain, so the club was going to give him some time off in interleague play with Kevin Youkilis sliding over to third with David Ortiz playing first. Now we get word that Lowell might end on up on the DL if he doesn’t respond to some Dr. Frankenstein type of injection he just received in his hip. OK, that might not quite be were we are at, but the injection of Synvisc sure seems pretty out there to me. Apparently the material is meant to lube up the joint, kind of like oil for your car, though even Lowell seems a bit mystified at the procedure. “They took the bad stuff out and put the good stuff in. I’m a little bruised from the injection itself but I do feel I have a lot more mobility. I think I’ll be able to tell more tomorrow when I get stretched out and stuff.” The best case scenario at this point appears to be a mid-week return, though as I mentioned a DL stint is still a possibility. Too bad to since Lowell was humming along pretty well with 41 RBI and 10 home runs in just 68 games to make him one of just seven third baseman to reach both of those levels in the early going.

Jake Peavy says that he will be ready to return to the hill in three weeks as he continues to recover from an ankle injury. You can read more about Peavy, and what the rest of the Padres are up to in my most recent National League Review.

By Ray Flowers

Tags: Alex Rodriguez, Carlos Beltran, David Ortiz, Jake Peavy, Kevin Youkilis, MIke Lowell, Raul Ibanez