John Lannan will not make his next scheduled start after receiving a cortisone shot in his left elbow.
Lannan said he first began experiencing discomfort in the elbow during his April 21 start against the Rockies, particularly when trying to throw his two-seam fastball and his change-up. He underwent an MRI after that, a test that came back "clean," according to GM Mike Rizzo.Lannan said he felt a bit better during his next start in Chicago, but the discomfort became worse Sunday in Florida.
"The last start, I knew something was wrong," he said. "I didn't have my normal stuff, I didn't have the life that I usually have to get groundballs. I said something, so now we're taking the next step."
Doctors have diagnosed Lannan with swelling around the flexor tendon. No surgery is required at this point; the club hopes the combination of the cortisone shot and rest will allow the left-hander to return strong.
"There's not going to be any DL," Rizzo said. "But we're going to skip one start. He should be able to make his next start."
Rizzo said a decision hasn't been made yet who will start in Lannan's place Saturday against the Marlins. If he's not needed in long relief this week, veteran Miguel Batista could get the nod. If Batista isn't available, the club would promote a starter from the minors.
Owner of a 3.91 ERA in 70 career big-league starts before this year, Lannan has rarely pitched to his normal capabilities this season. In six starts, he's 1-2 with a 6.34 ERA and a league-high 1.93 WHIP. The elbow injury hasn't caused a drop in velocity, but it has prevented him from getting full extension on his pitches, making it difficult for Lannan to locate his fastball and change-up.
"I've never really been injured before," Lannan said. "So it's really frustrating. But the goal is to just get better. Hopefully this program works out, I'll skip this next start and then I'll be back the next start."
10 comments:
Why am I not suprised. First it's Marquis and now it's Lannan.
Based on the AAA rotation, Lannan's spot would go to... Balester, he of the 11.57 era in AAA. Certainly has not earned a spot start in Washington. AA's rotation spot was populated by Strasburg and he's obviously not coming up either. They might bring up JD Martin, who seems to be getting bumped from his 5/7 start for baseball Jesus. Or just throw rubber-arm Batista out there to absorb the loss against Florida's ace Johnson.
Heh, heh. Told ya! Not that I'm happy about it, of course, but I know my boy!
http://natsfangirls.com/2010/04/27/open-letter-to-john-lannan/
That's why you can never have enough pitching. I always get nervous if GM's and front office people talk about pitching depth in their system. Once they utter such statements their pitchers' arms start falling off.
Bring Him Up!!
Crud. Feel better, John.
Compare his good game earlier this year h/v movement against the brewers:
http://www.fangraphs.com/pitchfxg.aspx?playerid=7080&position=P&season=2010&date=2010-04-16&dh=0
With his most recent start:
http://www.fangraphs.com/pitchfxg.aspx?playerid=7080&position=P&season=2010&date=2010-05-02&dh=0
Less velocity, more vertical movement (i.e. to the middle of the zone), more horizontal movement (i.e. failure to work corners) leads to what was Sunday...at least we may be able to attribute it to injury. FYI: 10 FB/4 LD/6 GB = 30% GB; not how he succeeds.
I'd still like to know how Greg Maddux had an injury-free career. Scientists need to take his DNA and replicate it for MLB. Pitchers, ya can't live with 'em,and you can't live without 'em! What if we used pitching machines instead of live arms?
Greg Maddux had the simplest, most elegant throwing motion I've ever seen. Its only eccentricity is that it's so ... normal. It looks like he's throwing from second base to first.
How about bringing up Andrew Kown? 28 yo out of Georgia Tech who last pitched on 4/30. 24 innings pitched this season with a team leading ERA of 1.50! Give him a side session on Wednesday and he'll be ready to go against, gasp!, Josh Johnson on Saturday--great way to make your MLB debut. I'm so excited with how well Atilano has pitched that I'm looking forward to see some other new young arms in our system instead of the Mock, Balester types. The only problem is that he isn't on the 40 man roster.
Mark or anyone who knows--what are the implications of getting Kown on the 40 man roster to start Saturday?
Post a Comment