This Injury Report Can Be Written In Ink And Other Stories

• Mark Mulder leaves his first start after 16 pitches with shoulder discomfort:

I flipped to the Phillies-Cardinals game to have a look at Mark Mulder in his first start and it

was delayed by rain; later I tried again; they were in the third inning and Brad Thompson was pitching for the Cardinals; my first thought was that since the game was delayed, the Cardinals didn't want to risk putting Mulder out there after a long delay, see the game stopped again and waste his start, so they pushed him back a day; it was only later that I learned that Mulder did start the game, lasted 16 pitches before shoulder discomfort forced him out and he'll be evaluated Thursday. I wouldn't expect a positive evaluation and even if it's somewhat ambiguous, I wouldn't expect to see Mulder contribute much of anything this season.
It's a shame because in the games he had pitched in relief since being activated, Mulder's velocity was around 90 and his motion appeared to be back to the smooth-as-silk delivery he displayed with the Athletics. It's almost to a similar point with Mulder as it was with Alex Fernandez after his repeated shoulder surgeries: how much aggravation, rehab, stops and starts and pain do you want to put up without results and the same pain over and over again?

• Oh, Enough Already! Part II:

Just like it was enough in early May when Mike Hampton reported more pain in another

part of his body as he tried unsuccessfully to come back for the Braves, it's the same situation with this player; here's the quote from today's New York Times:

The Mets said Moises Alou reinjured his left hamstring Wednesday in the seventh inning of his second game of a rehabilitation assignment with Class AA Binghamton. Alou, who was playing against the Connecticut Defenders, dove for a ball and was injured. He will come to New York on Thursday to have the injury re-evaluated.

The Mets have to move on. If Alou is able to come back and contribute something at some time this year, then fine; he and Orlando Hernandez may function as useful late season pickups disguised as players returning from injury. They're going to have to go and get an

outfielder who can hit. There are such players available: Raul Ibanez; Xavier Nady; Casey Blake (who's a perfect fit); or they could go for Matt Holliday (the Indians supposedly told Mets GM Omar Minaya that he had the organizational depth to get C.C. Sabathia; whether Dan O'Dowd with the Rockies feels the same way is a question and what that depth would entail is an even bigger question). Bottom line, the Mets can't sit around and wait any longer for Alou to return because it's not going to happen anytime soon and if and when it does he----like Rich Harden and Mulder----are only one small, wrong twist, turn or sprain away from being out for the season. They need an outfield bat that's reliable to not only hit, but to stay out on the field for an extended period without the organization having to hold it's breath every time he has to exert himself.

• Why was Jorge Posada out rehabbing his shoulder if he's not going to catch anyway?

When Jorge Posada went on the disabled list with shoulder problems earlier this season,

he was able to do everything but throw. The Yankees sent him for rehab so he'd be able to catch later in the season. The best thing for the team at the time was probably to keep Posada's bat in the lineup and use him at DH and first base, but they decided to make the player happy and allow him to get back into a modicum of shape to be able to catch. Now he's back and he's not catching and not happy about it----NY Times Story.
No one seems to be admitting the real reason behind the switch to Jose Molina catching regularly: that Molina is a far superior defensive catcher and his presence behind the plate mitigates the opponent's running game whereas Posada's presence behind the plate is a detriment because he can't throw very well. The Yankees are hiding behind Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon's injury to have Posada DH or play first base when everyone knows why they're doing it even if they refuse to admit it. If this was their intent, wasn't it silly to deprive themselves of Posada's bat for all that time when they could have convinced him that his value was actually at the plate rather than behind it?

• Dodgers 2-Braves 1; Derek Lowe perfect through six innings:

I was waiting to see if Gregor Blanco was going to try and bunt to break up another no-hitter (this one by Derek Lowe) as he led off the seventh inning for the Braves. As irritating as it would have been had he done it, it would have been appropriate in this instance because

the score was 1-0, Dodgers and his presence on the bases could have meant the difference between winning and losing. He lined a hard single up the middle to break up the perfect game anyway. Lowe's motion looks better from the last time I watched him in June when he was rushing his delivery among other things; whether the Dodgers coaching staff helped him fix it or Lowe did it himself is the question, but his sinker was sinking again and it showed in the results and near history-making performance.

More On The Yankees And Other Stories

• Red Sox 7-Yankees 0 (Part II):

Manager Joe Girardi closed the clubhouse doors for a half hour as he lit into his team for their lackadaisical play; we'll know at the end of this weekend whether or not it did any good

(or will be perceived to have done any good, anyway). There's no doubt that the team deserved a tongue lashing after the way they've played this week, but what I'm wondering is how far Girardi is able to go in unloading on his team and how much the players----many former teammates of the manager and in the same age group----are going to take.
The players know he's the manager and that the relationship between player and teammate and player and manager must be at least slightly different, but if he really starts letting them have it, how long before a guy like Alex Rodriguez (for example) just rolls his eyes and uses the logic of "who are you to be telling me anything?" It's a fine line that a contemporary has to take when he essentially becomes the boss. Girardi is a solid enough strategic manager and he does have some presence, but I would think that Joe Torre tearing paint off the walls in screaming at his slumbering players would have more of an impact than Girardi doing it would just because Girardi's such a young and inexperienced manager.

Michael Kay was at it again with the nonsense of "Jason Varitek wants a Jorge Posada-type contract"; you have to give Kay credit in that he latches onto one thing and doesn't start changing his tune months later even if what he says was ridiculous when he first said it and continues to be ridiculous. I'm not going into repeated detail on this because I talked about it earlier----Does Michael Kay Listen To Himself When He Speaks? 4/16/08----and the gist remains the same almost verbatim.

There's another story about Brian Cashman's contract in the NY Times----Story----and it's implying that the deal is about fait accompli that Cashman is going to return and I'm not so

sure. The longer this drags out and the combination of things----change in ownership, struggles on the field, leaving the team with a young nucleus and the possibility of moving onto a less stressful environment----make it at least a decent chance that Cashman might leave. Add in that there are going to be attractive jobs definitely open----Philadelphia and Seattle----and jobs probably open----Washington and Toronto, and Cashman may tell the Steinbrenners that

enough's enough and leave. The one I would keep an eye on is in Washington because it's a job that any baseball person in his right mind should want. I've said this before and I'll say it again: if an executive is able to bring a championship contending team to the Washington DC area, the world (literally) could be his. Cashman's calculating enough to take that into consideration and might want to take the opportunity if it's presented and it very well might be.

• Diamondbacks 6-Brewers 5:

I opened my big mouth about Salomon Torres and the possibility of the Brewers closer

making the All Star team because he solidified the role and possibly saved the manager's job and the team from an under .500 season and he blows a game a couple of hours later. In all fairness, no closer is going to enter a ninth inning with his team leading by five runs and expect to have to record a save; it's part of the job description for a closer to be ready at all times, but even Hall of Fame closers like Mariano Rivera aren't going to expect their teams to blow a lead that fast. Torres blew the game, but it may have been more of a mental hiccup than a physical one.

• Dodgers 5-Astros 2:
  

Even with all the injuries and problems scoring runs the Dodgers have endured, they're starting to get their veterans back and Chad Billingsley is beginning to look like the ace his stuff dictates he could be. The Diamondbacks have slumped and it's allowed the Dodgers to heal without worrying about getting buried in the playoff race and I think, after the All Star break, they're going to take off.

• Mark Grudzielanek or Luis Castillo----20/20 hindsight:

I hadn't even thought of Luis Castillo as an option at second base for the Mets last season when they were openly in the market for a replacement for the injured Jose Valentin; I preferred Mark Grudzielanek and they presumably could have gotten him for a couple of prospects. The argument that the Mets would likely have made for

Castillo is that he's (supposedly) five years younger than Grudzielanek, but Grudzielanek is the far better player; now that Castillo's on the disabled list and Grudzielanek is having such a fine year at the plate and is a Gold Glove winning second baseman, are the Mets having second thoughts about A) going after Castillo over Grudzielanek; and B) signing Castillo to a long-term extension? I don't think they need to be told now that they made a mistake.