Sports of Boston » disabled list

Sore Back Sends Youkilis to DL; Lavarnway To Make MLB Debut

Brian Moller — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 00:04:53 +0000

The Red Sox have been placed third baseman Kevin Youkilis to the 15-day disabled list thanks to a sore back he’s been suffering from. Catcher Ryan Lavarnway has been called up from Pawtucket to fill the spot left open in Youkilis’ absence.

The Sox All-Star at the hot corner has played in only three games since August 10 because of nagging back pain. Youkilis stayed back in Boston Thursday to have tests done at Mass General Hospital, while his team traveled to Kansas City. Along with the tests he received an injection in his lower back.

“His lower back’s been bothering him for a while,” said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. “Hopefully two weeks down will really allow his body to come back and we can have the Youk that we need for the stretch drive.”

Youkilis is hitting .266 with 17 home runs and 78 RBIs this season.

The beneficiary of the open roster spot, Ryan Lavarnway, just recently became the first Red Sox minor leaguer since 2004 to hit at least 30 home runs in a season.

Francona had this to say about the 24 year-old prospect.

“We’re really excited about that. Maybe this kid comes in and gives us a spark,”

Lavarnway is said to have a high baseball IQ, good plate discipline and can drive the ball to all fields. Between Double-A Portland and Pawtucket this year he is batting .293.

He has struggled, going only 5-for-44 in August, but three of the five hits were homers.

With DH David Ortiz out for about a week with right heel bursitis, Lavarnway has been penciled into the lineup as the DH in the seventh spot Thursday night.

Follow Brian Moller on Twitter: @Brian_Moller

Fantasy News Flash: Joe Mauer Hits DL With ‘Bilateral Leg Weakness’

KC Downey — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 17:01:59 +0000

No, Joe Mauer doesn’t have a sore hamstring, or a seperated shoulder, or broken ribs. The Twins catcher has been placed on the disabled list with “bilateral leg weakness.” Say what?

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said the weakness in Mauer’s legs “is causing all kind of soreness in his hips, and he’s compensating because of the [left knee] surgery he had this winter and he’s starting to get sore in other places. So we are just going to shut him down.

“He is definitely very, very sore over the last few days — his shoulder, his elbow — and we think it’s his legs just not strong enough underneath him and he says he feels terrible.

“His knee is actually feeling OK, but he’s compensating for the weakness in his upper leg, this is what I was told, that’s causing a lot of other problems.”

Analysis

Of course, with leg/hip/knee injuries and the flu, there is no timetable for his return. He’s set to see a doctor in Baltimore, and should know more soon about what he’s battling.

I would stash him away in your DL spot, because you don’t want to be the manager that released him just to see him return to the field in a month.

As far as other potential catcher pickups, you could try these guys out:

John Buck, FLA (57% owned in Yahoo!) – If you’re lucky enough to grab Buck off the wire, do so immediately.
Alex Avila, DET (23%) – Avila’s been a hot pickup over the first month of the season (.258, 3 HR)
Yadier Molina, STL (17%) – Molina has a good track record with his batting average (.267 career)
Ryan Doumit, PIT (16%) – Doumit once was a must-own, and now plays most of his games in RF, which should preserve his legs.
A.J. Pierzynski, CWS (15%) – The track record (.284 career) speaks for itself, though he’s a jerk and he’s 34 years old.
Drew Butera, MIN (o%) – He takes over for the Twins…but he’s not worth your attention.

You could also try to make a trade, but everyone knows you lost Mauer and will likely make you overpay to get his replacement. I’d recommend playing with the waiver wire for a bit and be patient.

Manny Delcarmen Placed on Disabled List

KC Downey — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 02:07:44 +0000

OK, we know the bullpen has pitched very poorly. But is it really this bad?

The worst member of the crew as of late, Manny Delcarmen, has apparently been pitching with right forearm strain for a week, and the results have been atrocious. Delcarmen has allowed nine runs over his last three appearances, which span just one inning. If you’re counting at home, that would be good for an 81.00 ERA.

As a result, Delcarmen was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Thursday.

Before his last three outings, Delcarmen was one of the more reliable relievers out of the pen, sporting a 2.23 ERA over his first 30 appearances.

Now, after three disastrous appearances, Delcarmen has a 4.59 ERA. Unfortunately, the “Pride of Hyde Park” is still third among Red Sox relievers with that ERA (not counting Dustin Richardson), ranking behind Daniel Bard (2.04 ERA) and Jonathan Papelbon (3.82 ERA).

Relievers Scott Atchison (4.62 ERA), Ramon Ramirez (4.88 ERA), and Hideki Okajima (5.81 ERA) have had really mediocre seasons, and the rest of the bullpen has been even less impressive. Bums Scott Schoeneweis, Joe Nelson, Boof Bonser, et al have all come and gone with absolutely no success.

Case and point, the Sox need help in the bullpen. The return of Josh Beckett would push Tim Wakefield to the pen, but how much will that help?

Cameron, Ellsbury Placed on Disabled List

KC Downey — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 01:00:44 +0000

The Red Sox outfield got a little less crowded on Tuesday, as the Red Sox placed both Mike Cameron and Jacoby Ellsbury on the disabled list. Both players missed most of the weekend series against the Rays for very different ailments.

Cameron first had kidney stones, and then was hospitalized on Monday for abdominal pain. It was later revealed he had “an abdominal tear near the attachment site of the abdominal muscle and the pelvis,” which is another way to say ‘something really, really painful.’ He said on Tuesday night that surgery may be an option.

Ellsbury, meanwhile, has been out of the lineup since a nasty collision with Adrian Beltre on April 11 against the Royals. He suffered a “left chest contusion,” which wasn’t bad considering he could have suffered broken ribs.

In their places, the Red Sox called up outfielders Josh Reddick and Darnell McDonald. Reddick was inserted into the starting lineup in center field for Tuesday night’s game against the Rangers, relegating Bill Hall to the bench. Good move, Francona (Hall is hitting .091).

George Kottaras Placed on 15-Day DL

KC Downey — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 15:56:46 +0000

Red Sox backup catcher George Kottaras was placed on the 15-day disabled list with back spasms, making room for new 1B/C Victor Martinez. Kottaras had been playing with the injury for about a month, but said he was ready for whatever Terry Francona needed.

“It’s just something I’ve been dealing with the last month or so,’’ Kottaras said. “I told [manager Terry Francona]. He’s been aware of it the whole time. I told him I’d be ready for whatever scenario he needed me for.

“Now, it’s one of those things, now that we’ve got Victor, it’s an opportunity for me to rest my back, get better, and come back around the time [Tim Wakefield is ready to pitch again].’’

Outfielder Josh Reddick, who was called up before Martinez and Casey Kotchman arrived in Boston, will remain on the active roster while Kottaras is out. Martinez will step in as the backup catcher to give a tiring Jason Varitek some rest.

Mike Lowell on the DL, Time to Panic?

Melissa — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:41:58 +0000

Mike Lowell went ahead with the Synvisc shot on Monday in order to help alleviate the pain in his hip, a leftover side effect from the surgery he had last October. Although the procedure went well, and doctors additionally removed 15 cc’s of fluid from the area, it’s still unclear whether that may be enough.

Lowell was placed on the 15-day disabled list yesterday, according to the Boston Herald. Although Lowell said he was feeling well enough to play a few games, Terry Francona felt it was best to put Lowell on the DL, to try and guarantee that this time when he comes back, he’ll be feeling 100%.

At this point, I really can’t be sure how much of this is just Francona and Lowell being “extra careful,” or if they’re trying to mask the seriousness of the situation. I understand that Lowell went through hip surgery and it takes a long time to fully recover from any operation, but this is professional baseball. If you’re not playing up to expectations (or up to your salary, in some cases), the outlook is bleak.

So it may be panic time…well, for those of us who are Mike Lowell fans. There’s no doubt that the team could survive without him – there are options by switching Kevin Youkilis from first base to third and using Jeff Bailey, who was just called up from the minors yesterday – but it’s not an ideal situation.

Hopefully I’m just gearing myself up for the worst, and that there is nothing to actually be concerned about. If Lowell comes back after the All-Star break and starts playing consistently and without signs of struggle, then maybe all this worry will be for nothing, which would be the best-case scenario. Francona seems to expect that all will be well-and-good once Lowell returns from his stint on the DL, and he’ll be able to finish the second half of the season feeling great and playing just as well.

However, I will not be able to relax until after Mike Lowell comes back and starts putting up the numbers I know he’s capable of. I know he’ll tough it out the rest of the season no matter what happens – he proved he had the stamina after playing through his injury last season – but I would like to see him remain on the Red Sox for as long as possible without an annoying hip injury as the reason for him to be traded (or in other words, gotten rid of) sooner.

Perhaps I’m just biased, because Lowell is my favorite player. Or perhaps I’m just paranoid. But, either way, I’m concerned. I want to see Mike Lowell finally rid of this nuisance hip problem and back to normal. So, until after the All-Star break, my fingers are crossed.