Injuries, they say, are part of the game, but two recent events may influence the Diamondbacks quest for movement in National League West Division.
Injuries to key personnel, just two days apart, could foretell, or at the least, present some semblance, on how the NL West race may evolve. Both injuries, to important performers, will have a lasting effect, and influence the way the race is ultimately determined.
First, Colorado left-hander Jorge De La Rosa, the Rockies best pitcher so far in 2011, went down May 24 in the third inning of the Rox 12-4 over the Diamondbacks at Coors Field. Warming up prior to the game, de la Rosa told MLB.com he felt soreness but thought nothing of the pain.
Then, the 26-year-old from Monterrey, Mexico suffered a complete tear of the ulnar cottateral ligament in his left elbow, and will undergo Tommy John surgery. That will effectively put De La Rosa out of baseball for a least one year. His timetable has not been determined, but it is unlikely he will not return to game action until the 2012 All-Star game to be played in Kansas City.
"I was working so hard since spring training," De La Rosa told MLB.com May 24. "Things happen for a reason, I think. I just want to try to work hard and get back. I'm not the kind of guy who wants to make my money sitting and doing nothing.”
The injury is especially noteworthy because Ubaldo Jimenez, considered the ace of the Colorado staff, is struggling. Coming off a 19-8, 2.88 ERA and four complete games a year ago, Jimenez has yet to win a game in 2011. For the Rockies, De La Rosa had complied a 5-2 mark, 3.51 and faced the D-backs after his first complete game of 2011.
With Jimenez struggling and De La Rosa out until mid-season 2012, the Rockies pitching staff appears in an immediate disarray. After two months into the baseball season, only right-hander Jhoulys Chacin appears left as one from which manager Jim Tracy can build his staff.
If the Rox pitching staff is in turmoil, the Giants may be in a more precarious position.
Catcher Busty Posey, the NL rookie-of-the-year last season, and a vital component in the Giants quest to repeat as World Series champions, is lost for possibly the rest of the season. Posey sustained a fractured bone in his lower left leg and possible ligament damaged when the Marlins’ Scott Cousins ran over Posey in the 12th inning May 25 at At&T Park in Florida’s eventual 7-6 victory.
Posey was hitting .284 at the time, and on a 13-game hitting streak that help propel the Giants back into first place in NL West. The 24-year-old native of Leesburg, Va was coming off a splendid rookie season in which he hit .305, drilled 18 home runs and drove in 67 runs. More importantly, he handled a pitching staff considered one of the best in baseball with knowledge and leadership.
"It's part of baseball, I understand that, guys running into catchers. Being a catcher, I've been in a few of them. You're in harm's way there," Giants manager Bruce Bochy told the Associated Press after the game. "I think we do need to consider changing the rules here a little bit because the catcher is so vulnerable and there's so many who have gotten hurt. And not just a little bit, had their careers ended or shortened. And here's a guy who's very popular in baseball. Fans want to see him play. Now he's out for a while."
The Giants will now go with reserve Eli Whiteside, a 32-year-old native of New Albany, Miss. Last season, and backing up Posey, Whiteside hit .238 (four home runs, 10 RBIs) in 56 games. To back up Whiteside, the Giants recalled Chris Stewart from AAA Reno.
The injuries to De La Rose and Posey put the remaining three West Division teams, the Dodgers, Padres, and D-backs in a position to take advantage. Right now, the Diamondbacks are the hottest team in the league, and won 10 out of 12 before their May 26 at Colorado.
For the first two months of the season, the Diamondbacks had their share of injuries but nothing too serious. The only player with a sustained injury is left-handed pitcher Zach Duke, scheduled to come off the disabled list, and be ready to face the Astros in Houston May 28. Duke has been out since March 12 when he sustained a broken pitching hand when struck by a line drive in a pre-season game.
PERSONNEL UPDATE
The Diamondbacks placed right-handed reliever Juan Gutierrez on the DL with inflammation in his right elbow, and recalled left-hander Zach Kroenke. At AAA Reno, Kroenke, a 27 year-old out of Omaha, Neb., had a 5.64 ERA in the minors.
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