Padres Injuries Add Insult to a Difficult 2008
The Disabled List Informer	written by: Chris Neault 05/31/2008

So far, the 2008 season has been extremely difficult for the San Diego Padres, to say the least. They have started the year with a 21-34 record, good for a mere .382 winning percentage, and trail first place Arizona by 8.5 games. Even more pathetic is their nightmarish .239 team BA. Don’t even bother mentioning that they are in dead last in the National League with just 195 runs scored, 188 RBI, and a .308 team OBP. As a team, they have struck out an NL-worst 446 times.

The whole McAnulty/Gerut/Hairston project has been nothing short of atrocious. The hesitancy of the Padres front office in bringing up Chase Headley is inexplicable. They added Jim Edmonds to the fold, and when he clearly proved that he was washed up, he was released and signed by the Cubs.

In my opinion, the only positives this season are Paul DePodesta’s blog, and Adrian Gonzalez solidifying himself as one of the better first baseman in the National League.

Could It Get Any Worse?

In two words- much worse.

Adding insult to injury, their only team strength (pitching) has recently taken a tremendous hit with the injuries to #1 starter Jake Peavy, and #1a Chris Young. Even their battery mate, Josh Bard, has been sidelined with a significant ankle injury.

As everyone in the fantasy baseball world already knows, Jake Peavy has been dealing with right elbow pain since late-April, and was recently sent to the disabled list with a with a strained right elbow. Diagnostic imaging revealed no structural damage, which also indicated that the Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL) was not involved. Still, the elbow remained quite swollen and painful, thus forcing him to the 15-day DL for just the second time in his stellar career.

It is important to note that Peavy has a history of right elbow pain. In 2004, he was sent to the DL and ended up missing 6 weeks with a strained tendon at his the medial (inner) aspect of his right elbow. He has not had any further issues with the elbow until this season. Peavy reported that his current injury’s location is closer to the UCL than his 2004 injury was. Let us hope that this trend does not continue with more proximal involvement in the future.

The injury can likely be attributed to his aggressive pitching motion, and the abrupt elbow and forearm recoil that he produces upon release. With a pitcher like Peavy, it is going to be near impossible to change that aspect of his delivery, as his approach and demeanor is to be a pit bull on game day. Drastic changes to his mechanics at this point would be like trying to train a thoroughbred to walk instead of run – it just won’t happen.

Peavy is talking a lot about a quick return to the rotation; however, with the Padres stinking up the NL West, they will take their time and ensure that he can return without risking further injury. Right now, he is scheduled to throw off a mound on Sunday – this, following a successful 40-pitch session on Tuesday on flat ground offered no pain. A realistic timeline for a return to the rotation is probably just shy of another 2 weeks. In the meanwhile, at least Peavy was able to take some time to bust out the vocal skills with Kenny Chesney.

So, with Jake Peavy hurt, at least the Padres had Chris Young in the rotation. Then Albert Pujols came to town – and left in his wake a trail of blood, broken bones, and a twisted ankle.

On Wednesday, May 21^st, Pujols sent a line drive up the box, breaking pitcher Chris Young’s nose on a line drive in the 3rd inning. Later that inning, Pujols slid into home plate and collided with catcher Josh Bard’s left ankle. Obviously, neither of these injuries was intentional by Pujols.

The diagnoses for Young were plentiful - a broken nose, deviated septum, facial fracture, and fractured skull. The nasal septum (the dividing partition between the nostrils) will likely need surgical correction because the damage is obstructing proper air flow through the nostrils, but this is a minor outpatient procedure (septoplasty) that heals within a month. The major concern is his skull fracture, which needs to heal completely prior to returning to action because of the possibility of infection that could enter the brain. It is uncertain at this time if he will require further surgery to correct the nose and facial fractures. Thankfully, Young did not incur a concussion or any other, more serious injuries. I would anticipate a return to action in another four weeks or so, though if any setbacks or extra surgeries are needed, it would obviously be delayed further.

In the other half of the Pujols demolition, Josh Bard had to be assisted off the field with what appeared to be an eversion (foot turned outward) ankle sprain involving the Deltoid ligament (on the inner aspect of the ankle). The injury was later diagnosed as a left “high ankle sprain”, which basically means that not only were the ligaments at the ankle sprained, but the large ligamentous membrane between the Tibia and Fibula was sprained as well. This is generally referred to as the Syndesmotic Ligament. There is very poor blood supply to this region; hence, a longer rehabilitation time is needed. I would not expect him back in action for at least 6-8 weeks from the time of the injury, which would be sometime in late June at the earliest.

In summary, Peavy will be back soon, while Young should be next in line, followed by Bard.