David Ortiz continues to rehab his left wrist, and earlier this past week took his first swings off a tee while team Doctors monitored the situation. This was his first attempt of swinging a bat since his injury and having been immobilized in various casts and splints. Ortiz felt that the wrist was "weak", though weakness at this juncture in his recovery is certainly to be expected. Noticeable weakness can occur with very short periods of immobilization, even as little as one week. The swings were not pain-free, however. Ortiz said that it hurt to swing "a little bit, but not as bad as it was."
He will certainly sit out the All-Star game, and a return to the lineup does not seem likely until the latter half of July at the earliest. I would not be surprised to see this process linger into August. The Red Sox will take their time with their beloved slugger, as they are primed for another postseason run and cannot afford to be without their "Mr. Clutch." A rehab assignment will be needed.
Alfonso Soriano ’s fractured left metacarpal bone seems to be healing nicely , according to the most recent set of x-rays. He is (way) ahead of schedule, and may start taking batting practice shortly. Displaced fractures typically do not heal in under 4 weeks, but apparently this is what is happening in Soriano’s case. At this time, he is not even 3 weeks removed from the trauma. You have to wonder if the fracture was as bad as it was made out to be.
Manager Lou Piniella did not rule out Soriano from participation in the upcoming All-Star game - possibly indicating that he will be ready to return prior to the All-Star break. He has been cleared to start baseball activities, active range of motion and strengthening exercises for the left hand, indicating that the fracture is healing well and that they are not concerned about the fracture being worsened.
With Chris Young set to have surgery tomorrow morning (June 30) to correct his deviated septum, fantasy owners are all wondering when he will be able to return to the rotation. The answer: sooner than you might think. Young was able to throw a 45-pitch simulated game on Saturday without a screen in front of him - a huge hurdle, mentally - and he said that he felt great. Said Young, about the possibility of being struck by a batted ball, "Not one time did that enter my mind. And not one time did I think about the ball coming back at me." Even more importantly, his pitching arm felt good. He has been working on his arm strength all along so that the process of returning to action would be shorter.
The problem that Young has been having is strictly related to his ability to breath comfortably and effectively through his nose. Obviously, athletes need to be able to do this to perform at a high level - no different for pitchers. Following surgery, it will take no longer than 7-10 days for him to return to the mound (to allow for the bones to settle in place). He will then go on a rehab assignment (probably 1-3 starts), which will put his return sometime in late-July. Initially, he might struggle with control of his off-speed pitches, and might not last long into games, but this should improve over time.
Meanwhile, the rival of the Padres - the Los Angeles Dodgers, - will be looking to greet back Rafael Furcal and possibly Nomar Garciaparra when they square off against the San Francisco Giants next weekend. Furcal has been on the DL for quite some time now due to a bulging disc in his lumbar spine, but was able to come away unscathed from a "vigorous" workout this week. Disc problems tend to come and go (just ask Eric Chavez), and are easily exacerbated with acts of bending and twisting, as commonly seen with a fielding a ground ball or with swinging a bat. Though Nomar plans to return and play third base, his recent history suggests that his mysterious right calf pain will return at some point (who knows, probably within a couple weeks or less). He recently went against his Physical Therapist’s advice to rest for 10 days, and according to an article on MLB.com, "…he’s at the point now where he just wants to let it fly." Yeah, great idea.
Perhaps most interesting will be to see how Andruw Jones performs when he returns after the All-Star break, likely against Arizona. He is recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery that addressed the source of his nagging right knee pain - a partially torn meniscus. Though it is likely that Jones is at the beginning of the downside to his career, it is equally possible that the right knee pain from the meniscus tear prevented him from generating power during his swing. We’ll soon find out which is the case.
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