Nolasco May Not Be Done

Florida Marlins pitcher Ricky Nolasco became the latest MLB player to suffer a freak injury, he tore meniscus in his right knee while bending over to tie his shoes. Ya, pretty crazy huh. A torn meniscus is typically an injury that would normally sideline an athlete for at least a few weeks, but not Nolasco. Ricky wants to make his next start and if the doctors give him the O.K. then he’ll be on the mound.

Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez is also warming up to the idea of Nolasco pitching. Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald reports that the Marlins are going to work out Nolasco today and Wednesday, if all goes well he could start. Monday’s work out would consist of playing catch, while Wednesday would be a bullpen session.

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“He wants to pitch, and he says he’s feeling much better the last two days,” Rodriguez said. “At this point of the season, pretty much everybody’s hurt. Nobody’s 100 percent. If he says he’s 90, 95 percent, I think it’s good enough.” (per Beasley & the Miami Herald)

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There’s no doubt that Rodriguez and Nolasco himself want him to be on the mound. He’s been outstanding since the All-Star break going 5-2 with an ERA of 3.40 (a number that would be much lower when you remove the seven runs given up to the Cardinals). Since that start against St. Louis, Ricky’s actually buckled down giving up ZERO runs in his last two starts.

As a pitcher it looks like he is finally coming to his own, he looks like he’s got it all figured out, so who wouldn’t want to keep building on that success?? I know I would. The question to me thou is how much pain can he deal with?

Yes, the knee might be feeling a lot better but that still doesn’t mean much. I’ve thankfully never experienced a torn meniscus but people that have, have said that its some of the worst pain they’ve ever dealt with.

As a right handed pitcher will his leg be able to handle all of that pressure put on it, every pitch?
Will he start to compensate in his delivery, throwing his mechanics out of whack and stressing other parts of his body?

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“Obviously, it’s the toughest thing I’ve ever dealt with on the baseball field,” said Nolasco. “Nobody understands what it’s like until they actually deal with it. There’s not much I can do now.”

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If he thinks he can pitch, I’d say go ahead and show us what you got but realistically I think its best for him to just shut it all down. Why risk what’s looking like a bright future when your team is an extreme long shot to make the playoffs?