Rodney: injured or just kinda?
posted in 2008 Spring Training |We started the day off with ominous news at the Freep: Setupman Fernando Rodney had pain in his pitching arm that was keeping him from throwing off the mound.
Rodney said Wednesday he’s had pain in his throwing shoulder this week. He said it’s similar to the pain he had last season that forced him onto the disabled list for more than a month. (Freep)
And by the end of the day, it was no big deal. Sorta. The Freep article updated to say Rodney tossed the ball 60 and 90 feet with backup catcher Vance Wilson (he of his own elbow problem)
Well, for a team that has to stay healthy, this can’t be good news.
Or can it?
Rodney didn’t hide his injury this year. So that’s a good start. Given the coaching staff knows about it, Leyland said he’ll take it easy on Rodney during Spring Training. So Rodney should get some extra rest time leading into the season. While he may be not quite up to speed early on, hopefully that helps him stay healthier long term. (And fresher.)
That, and in the meantime, Leyland has more time to look at the relievers that he does have. Francisco Cruceta, Denny Bautista, Matt Mantei, Armando Galarraga and Yorman Bazardo will all be trying to go north to Detroit in the bullpen. Whether there’s room for any of these guys will be up to the incumbents holding their jobs.
Still, I guess I’d rather know Rodney was healthy. And the report today doesn’t seem to clear that up terribly well.
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