June 2
BREAKING NEWS
Pirates closer RH Matt Capps(2-3,3.12,17 saves ) will miss at least 8 weeks with a shoulder injury. After blowing his last 2 saves, he returned to Pittsburgh and an MRI showed bursitis & tightness that is preventing him getting full extension on his delivery.
General Manager Neal Huntington outlined a plan of treatment involving 4 week of rehabilitation then 4 weeks of pitching conditioning. This is the 4th Pirates regular on the pitching staff to go on the DL in the past 2 weeks, joining RH reliever Franquelis Osoria and starters LH Phil Dumatrait & RH Ian Snell.”We’re going through a tough stretch right now,” Huntington said during a conference call. “Matt’s a gamer. We know he’s going to be back.”
The team entered Wednesday’s game down one pitcher with the Capps injury. LH set up man Damaso Marte(4-0,3.54, 15 holds,1 save) has 32 career saves and is a strong option. Rookie RH Romulo Sanchez got the save in the game last night. “The reality is, it’s probably a very short-term move because we’re looking at Phil Dumatrait and hopefully Ian Snell coming off the disabled list at some point here sooner than later,” Huntington said. “So we’re not looking at this as being a long-term replacement for Matt Capps.”
The good news here? Capps inability ti finish his delivery could have led to a much more serious injury, like a torn labrum, if he continued to pitch. With proper rehab and rest, he should be ok and back without surgery.
“Ninety to 95 percent of pitchers that have this sort of problem, when it’s caught early like this, can go on a rehabilitation program, eliminate the range of motion deficit and go back and pitch healthy and pitch effectively,” Huntington said. “And that’s what we’re anticipating with Matt.”
