Injury News and Analysis - September 24th 2008

Well this is likely going to be the final twice weekly post for the injury news and analysis since the regular season will be wrapping up.  I will definitely be posting important news throughout the post-season and off-season as it comes up regarding injuries.  This year we have seen an increase in the number of injuries but it seems a lot worse based on who it effected.  I’d like to thank all of my readers.

Joe Crede

Crede’s problems with his back are well known but this time it appears to be in a slightly different location.  This is both good news and bad news.  The good news is that it’s not effecting the same area. The bad news is that it could be a slightly cascading effect where a new area is at risk for a similar injury to the other disk.   Disk problems are a debilitating problem for hitters at times and occasionally there is just no way a player can return to the previous level.  This is not officially what’s going on with Crede yet but it’s looking more and more like it.

Justin Duchscherer

Justin’s basically got the same problem of Jason Isringhausen in that his hip is arthritic.  Jason ended up needing surgery which helped him come back although he wasn’t at the same level.  Justin could end up being in a similar position where he will be effective for a little while and then slowly deteriorate until he simply can’t do it anymore.  At that point he’ll have to make a decision about surgery or simply not pitching anymore.  Arthritic hips rarely occur while a player is active in baseball so there are very few comparables.  It looks like the great run he had earlier this year will be a distant memory for 2009.

Julio Lugo

Lugo suffered another setback while fielding grounders earlier this week. This should end his season as I can’t imagine the Red Sox would give him any playing time in the playoffs after missing basically half of the season.  He should be fine during the 2009 season health wise, but I’m not sure he’ll be playing everyday as Lowrie has performed well in his place.

J.D. Drew

Drew’s coming close to the Lugo treatment.  He may end up being left off the post-season roster if his back doesn’t significantly improve.  His back is going into spasms almost every time he swings a bat so it doesn’t appear he’ll be in any of the remaining few games during the regular season.  Disk injuries don’t just go away so this is something that could easily bother him in 2009.  I would not invest heavily in him next year.

EDIT: Drew is in the starting line-up tonight but I doubt that they’ll leave him in there any longer than necessary.   This increases his chances of playing throughout the first round.

Carl Crawford

Crawford began hitting off a T so he’s either Wolverine and heals incredibly fast all of a sudden or Joe Maddon downplays injuries moreso than others.  Hitting off the T is actually a few steps from the beginning of things so he will likely start taking light BP fairly soon.  He’s still going to be out for the remainder of the regular season but there is an increased chance of seeing him in the first round of the playoffs.  He’s likely to suffer a little bit though but to what extent is hard to guess. 

Mike Lowell

Lowell’s hip will continue to bother him the remainder of the year.  Once he gets the surgery done in the off-season it’s going to be roughly a 6 month recovery which would put him back in early April.  There is a chance that this will become too aggrevated and painful to continue playing.  With that I think that the Red Sox will have to use an extra roster spot for flexibility.

Brandon Moss

Moss will be seeking a second opinion on whether or not to have knee surgery that would sideline him 4-6 months.  This is likely a cartilage issue.  There is still some debate about how best to treat these sorts of injuries but it sounds like he’ll end up needing it at some point.  I think it’s best to get it done now rather than waiting.