Sean Burnett's recent struggles out of the bullpen haven't been a result only of poor execution but of an elbow issue that plagued the left-hander earlier this summer and has come back to haunt him again.Burnett got treatment after yesterday's game for "a little inflammation" in his throwing elbow, manager Davey Johnson said this morning. Johnson said the 29-year-old reliever would likely need to rest for a "couple of days."
The Nationals' primary setup man all season, Burnett acknowledged in mid-July he had been dealing with elbow tightness for about six weeks. He bounced back, though, and tossed 10 consecutive scoreless outings through August 10.
But over his last eight appearances, spanning six innings, Burnett has been tagged for 16 hits, with opponents posting a 1.220 OPS against him. He was charged with blown saves each of the last two days after giving up the tying run to the Cardinals on both Saturday and Sunday.
Johnson said he became aware of the recurring problem following yesterday's win.
"After the game, he got treatment," the manager said. "That's not usually what he does."
Johnson said Burnett was not scheduled to receive an MRI on the elbow.
9 comments:
Sounds eerily similar to Storen and HRod.
Rest for Burnett. M Gonz when we need a lefty, C. Garcia gets some innings.
Tommy John's rehab veteran Sean Burnett. There's another data point. Have to wonder how long that graft lasts given the stress of major league pitching?
And Christian Garcia? He's already had two Tommy Johns.
Glad to see they put Henry on the 60-day and brought up Zach Duke. The guy has earned it. Of course Yunesky Maya is pitching today and I guess depending on the outcome perhaps he gets called up as well?
There goes Rizzo's notion of the "select few" instead of a crowded dugout and clubhouse.
This could explain Burnett'd issue.
"Select few" = no Rendon, peric.
I imagine an injury changes things up a bit on the callup front
Burnett should stop hiding these problems--He hurt the team by blowing two leads in key situations.
Hope it will improve with rest. Saw someone - thought it was Burnett but couldn't quite make his face out with the binos - standing up against the bullpen fence and gazing out at the mound during Storen's inning. Thought he looked rather bummed, so if it was him maybe that's why.
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