Another nice win yesterday, with Frank Catalanotto getting the big hit. After an abysmal start, Cat is getting things back together, getting his OPS up to 686 on the season...still way too low for a platoon DH/LF, but heading the right direction. I still think Cat will be fine.
Not so sure about Vicente Padilla, though...Evan Grant's game story talks about the issues regarding whether or not Padilla is healthy:
Padilla, who had one start skipped earlier this month because of some forearm tenderness, said the same thing after allowing 14 base runners in four-plus innings Thursday.
"I felt bad, but only because if I can't win with a five-run lead, then I don't deserve to win," he said through a translator. "I'm doing my regular thing, and I feel fine."
Those comments, however, were distinctly different from ones attributed to him on the Web site mlb.com. In a report published Wednesday, Padilla was quoted as saying that a "dolorcito" (Spanish for "little pain") has been bothering him all year.
"It affects my control sometimes," the report quoted Padilla. "It's just a little pain, but it is enough that I notice it. I'm pitching high in the strike zone and am getting hit hard. My control is not where it was last year."
Scouts at Thursday's game wondered why Padilla was timid about throwing his hard slider and why he couldn't get his fastball to sink. Padilla used a very slow breaking ball and a change-up for secondary pitches Thursday.
When asked after Thursday's game about the comments attributed to him, however, he denied saying them.
I've said this before...I will be a little surprised if Padilla doesn't undergo Tommy John surgery in the next couple of months. All Padilla's symptoms are indicative of elbow ligament problems.
It would be a little ironic, given how many people have bitched about Padilla having no heart and his problems all being in his head, if it turns out Padilla's issues this year have been the result of trying to pitch through an injury.
A columnist in the Baltimore Sun is calling for new O's poobah Andy McPhail to go get Mark Teixeira and build around him. If Teixeira is going to get dealt, having Baltimore pushing hard for him will only help drive up the price...
Dave Sessions talks about Sammy Sosa playing several more seasons, and the possibility that those seasons will be with the Rangers. Bleah.
New York Newsday, meanwhile, mentions Sosa as a potential short-term fix if Moises Alou isn't going to be back anytime soon.
And Tim Cowlishaw says Sammy should be the Rangers' lone All-Star representative. Bleah.