After successive starts at AAA Iowa where he obviously lacked control and confidence, the Cubs’ Rich Hill was sent all the way to Mesa in the Rookie League to work on the fundamentals and maybe get his head together.

Please tell me if I’m saying the obvious here but I have to wonder if Hill is just done.  In his first start at Mesa yesterday, he didn’t even get past the first inning.  Pitching 1/3 of an inning, he gave up five runs, three earned including 3 walks. 

The Cubs organization is considering giving Hill a break altogether to see that might work.  I don’t see what other option they have. 

hehe… The Cubs Brickyard have heard some other “news” about his future plans.

Tags: Cubs, Injuries by The Baseball Zealot
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One word… Ouch.

Tags: Injuries by The Baseball Zealot
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Carlos Zambrano says he wants to be healthy so he can pitch in this year’s All-Star game.  The reason is simple:  He wants the National League to win so his Cubs will gain home field advantage. 

“I’m ready,” he said Thursday. “I want to pitch in the all-star game. I want to be there. I want to help the National League, so we can be in the World Series and get homefield advantage. With a little help from me, (Arizona’s Brandon) Webb and (Cincinnati’s Edinson) Volquez, and the rest of the hitters and pitchers, we can finally win one.”

I like his optimism… and his motivation.

Z is likely to come off the 15-day DL on July 4th, just in time for the midseason classic.  He’ll begin throwing from a bullpen mound Sunday.

Tags: Cubs, Injuries by The Baseball Zealot
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“I need a three-day vacation from Tampa-St. Petersburg.”

- Lou Piniella after getting swept by the Tampa Bay Rays

Man, I thought Lou was making the right decision by not bringing in Neal Cotts tonight.  I guess I was wrong…

I don’t know what else could have gone wrong with the Cubs in series against the Rays.  Ok, I’m not pushing the panic button just yet but this isn’t the kind of series we needed going into the Sox weekend.  

The Cubs became the last team in the majors to lose three in a row when the bullpen just couldn’t get the job done once again.  This time, we had a 3-1 lead going into the bottom of 7th.  Then the Rays exploded for 7 runs ensuring a Rays sweep.  Marmol and Eyre bore the brunt of the Rays’ attack giving up all seven runs. 

That’s bad enough.  Now we play the waiting game with Zambrano undergoing tests on Friday.  He’s already scheduled to rest on Tuesday.  A likely candidate to take Z’s spot in the rotation is Sean Marshall. 

Were that not enough, both Jim Edmonds (plantar fascitis) and Reed Johnson (back spasms) sat out Thursday’s game as well. 

Shall we add some more?  Kevin Hart, pitching his first game for the Iowa Cubs, was hit in the head with a line drive and suffered a Grade 1 concussion.  Welcome to Iowa, Kevin.

But I’m not I’m panicking yet.  We’re still 17 over .500 and we get to play the Sox at home this weekend.  Time to make up for those three games with a sweep!

Tags: Cubs, Injuries by The Baseball Zealot
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Every year, I bemoan the number of injuries in baseball, thinking they must be more than the year before.  Once again, I find myself thinking the same thing.  Atlanta alone has 12 players on the DL. 

Not to minimize the pain and stress that injuries cause the actual players.  They do.  But Right now, my APBA team is suffering with DL-itis. 

At this moment with a little creativity, I could make a full starting infield of starting players who are on my APBA team and are also on the MLB disabled list. 

• C: Jason Varitek is out with strep throat.  Fortunately, he’s day-to-day. 
• 1B:  Albert Pujols.  Yeah, Albert.  And people laughed at me when I drafted Mike Jacobs two years ago.  “You got Pujols.  Whaddya need him for?”
• SS:  Troy Tulowitski.  Tulo was my prized first round rookie pick this year.  He’ll miss almost 2 months already with busted quadriceps.  But no worry, he’s capably backed up by…
• SS: Julio Lugo, who is out with the flu.  Like Varitek, he’s day-to-day.
• 3B:  Ryan Zimmerman.  I got Zim from DonS in a trade for Huston Street.  I was pretty happy with the deal till June 3 when he hurt his shoulder.  A recent MRI says he’s 4-6 weeks away from returning if he comes back at all.  He may just be out for the season.

and finally,

• SP:  Tom Glavine:  Mr Thunderchicken, who’s been on my team since the early 90’s and never been hurt till this year.  Glavine has been hurt twice for the Braves and this last elbow injury may put him down till August. 

Here’s hoping I have plenty of draft picks next year.

Tags: APBA Baseball, Injuries by The Baseball Zealot
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I know it’s been about one month ago since Pirates hitting coach Don Long was injured when a piece of a shattered bat hit him in the face while he was sitting in the dugout, but the situation of exploding bats has gotten out of control. Check out the full story of Long getting hit, here.

Even though the White Sox are out of town and I will not go to the Unfriendly Confines on the Northside of Chicago, I’ve been watching alot of MLB on Direct-TV’s MLB package. It seems as though three or four times per game, at least, bats are shattering. They are exploding! The barrel end is flying onto the field, causing fielders and pitchers to have to avoid the flying projectile while attempting to field the ball. In many cases the barrel end has a sharp, jagged end, that is seriously dangerous. It’s only fun until somebody gets impaled, or in the case of Don Long, loses an eye, which almost happened.

Last night Brian Roberts was left with only the knob of his bat, after his bat exploded, and the dangerous part flew into the stands, where it almost hit several shocked fans. We all know, when attending a game in person, to be on the lookout for foul balls screaming into the stands, but this is even more dangerous. It used to be that every once in awhile, especially on a rainy day, a player would lose his grip on his bat and it would fly into the stands. In those rare instances, fans would be allowed to keep the bat, or negotiate with the batter for a replacement bat. But who wants to be skewered?

MLB needs to wake up to the fact that somebody is going to be seriously injured or killed and do something fast. What to do, you might ask? Well the problem seems to be in the bats that are used today, in particular maple bats. Before Barry Bonds went on his home run tear, or tearoid as the case may be, nobody except Barry used maple bats. Now everybody uses them. There’s even a bat company called Old Hickory, you guessed it, they make maple bats.

I’m not saying we need to go back to the days of hickory bats. But we need to wake up to the reality that maple bats are lethal weapons and outlaw them, before it’s too late.

Tags: Injuries by Teddy Ballgame
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Looks like Joel Zumaya’s rehab is coming along nicely.

Tags: Injuries by The Baseball Zealot
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Cubs outfielder Felix Pie is missing today’s game with the Milwaukee Brewers with a twisted testicle. OUCH! We’ve all heard the term, “Play Ball”, but this gives it all a new meaning.

Pie is having a procedure today to straighten things out down there and should be back with the ballclub later in the week. Felix has been having a pretty good spring so far and looks to have the inside track on the starting centerfield job with Chicago. The fans in the bleachers at Wrigley Field yell out different types of pie when Pie (pronounced pee-AY) is in center.

Tags: 2008 Spring Training Trip, Cubs, Injuries, Spring Training by Teddy Ballgame
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Boy, that didn’t take long.

Tags: Injuries by The Baseball Zealot
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Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.

In the first week of spring training, word has it this will be Mark Prior’s year.  He is “free of pain” in his workout according to the NY Times.  He is “pain-free” according to SI. 

The Canadian Press goes as far as to say that Prior is “on track for a comeback”.

Well, the expectations have been set.  But as a Cub fan, I’ve been through this before. 

If the Padres were smart, they would steer the press away from Mark Prior.  When one workout without pain makes the headlines, it only adds to the pressure.  And while baseball players should be able to focus and get that out their head, I get the idea that this kind of thing really affects Prior. 

But hey, he’s not our problem anymore. 

Tags: Cubs, Injuries by The Baseball Zealot
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