Author Topic: Hill suffers setback (Read 4276 times)

2k6nats · « **Topic Start:** May 30, 2007, 09:55:26 PM »

http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070530&content_id=1995139&vkey=news_was&fext=.jsp&c_id=was

Quote

WASHINGTON -- Nationals right-hander Shawn Hill will go to the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio on Thursday and have a second opinion on his sore elbow. Dr. Mark Schickendantz will look at the elbow.

Hill had a bullpen session on Saturday in St. Louis, and said the next day that the elbow didn't feel right. Hill is still hoping that he can come back and pitch in the Major Leagues sometime in late June.

"It flared up during the bullpen session. The team just wanted to get a second opinion and make sure there is absolutely nothing going on," Hill said. "Depending on what they said, we'll take it from there. We are still going forward [thinking] that it's not anything serious."

While he doesn't have any medical proof, Hill said he believes the elbow started to bother him after he decided to pitch with a sore left shoulder, which he hurt running the bases against the Marlins last month. Hill continued to pitch, but his mechanics were never the same and then the elbow started to hurt.

"Is that the reason? I don't know, but I knew how I felt when I was throwing," Hill said. "The mechanics felt out of whack. I felt I was pulling off the ball. So it kind of makes sense to me that the elbow took the stress as I started opening up."

Hill has a history of elbow problems. He had elbow reconstruction surgery after the 2004 season and missed all of the 2005 season. He returned to action the next season, but didn't pitch after June 28, 2006, because of elbow soreness.

tomterp · « **Reply #1:** May 30, 2007, 10:20:52 PM »

That's depressing. Sure hope they don't find anything major wrong. We could REALLY use ol' Hiller20 in the rotation.

kimnat · « **Reply #2:** May 30, 2007, 10:24:27 PM »

Between him, Bergie and JP, we're kinda hurtin' right now! And it ain't our elbows either!

wpa2629 · « **Reply #3:** May 30, 2007, 10:53:11 PM »

With that and fluid having to be drained in Bergmann's elbow ... looks like it's going to be a while before our poor pen gets any help ... could be a long June ... bummer

spidernat · « **Reply #4:** May 31, 2007, 11:44:08 AM »

This sounds too much like JP.

shoeshineboy · « **Reply #5:** May 31, 2007, 11:57:28 AM »

Keeping fingers crossed. At least the door is being kept open that this is not serious and more of a desire for a second opinion. We'll need to wait until the final verdict is in.

spidernat · « **Reply #6:** May 31, 2007, 12:13:31 PM »

Quote from: shoeshineboy on May 31, 2007, 11:57:28 AM

Keeping fingers crossed. At least the door is being kept open that this is not serious and more of a desire for a second opinion. We'll need to wait until the final verdict is in.

That also makes me think of JP. They kept saying the same thing about his injury.

UMDNats · « **Reply #7:** May 31, 2007, 12:18:46 PM »

Damnit, everytime Hill pitches well, he gets hurt.
We need him and Bergmann to come back. But we need not rush him back. This is almost a "throwaway" year, for lack of a better word. Think about it - this year we're rebuilding, how we finish is 2nd to how we develop and how the team looks for next year. If we have to shut him down for this year so that he can be 100% next year and beyond and start his rehab early, then I'm all for it.

Besides, we may end up getting a little taste of Balester if no one else can fill in permanently for Hill/Bergmann.

Ericas Nats · « **Reply #8:** May 31, 2007, 12:28:40 PM »

yeah this is frustating.

why cant we have guys who are not hurt 24/7. dont they make pitchers anymore who are injury free.

spidernat · « **Reply #9:** May 31, 2007, 12:43:02 PM »

Quote from: Ericas Nats on May 31, 2007, 12:28:40 PM

yeah this is frustating.

why cant we have guys who are not hurt 24/7. dont they make pitchers anymore who are injury free.

Try this pitcher Erica. Our pitchers seem like they're made of glass.

Ericas Nats · « **Reply #10:** May 31, 2007, 12:47:22 PM »

ahh..looks good

nats2playoffs · « **Reply #11:** May 31, 2007, 01:59:39 PM »

Quote from: Nats19 on May 31, 2007, 12:18:46 PM

Damnit, everytime Hill pitches well, he gets hurt...

If Hill = Patterson, and they are going to be chronically on the DL, then the front office needs to spend a big chunk of that increase in payroll to acquire two good pitchers, with a track record of good health.

I don't care whether it's a trainer's or doctor's fault, or whatever the next excuse will be, or who has their autographs. We don't need this. These two guys can rotate in and out, as our #5 pitcher, when they're not hurt. Maybe we just shouldn't play one of them at all for three months - not even in the minors - so he'll be healthy when the other one goes on the DL, which is now a near certainty to happen... every single year. We cannot rely on them anymore.

UMDNats · « **Reply #12:** May 31, 2007, 02:27:33 PM »

Yea, but it's not like we've missed Patterson. He was our worst pitcher when he was healthy. At least Hill was pitching good and just had bad luck.

PC · « **Reply #13:** May 31, 2007, 02:43:15 PM »

Like I said in the "Who can we blame" thread, our players, especially our pitchers, go on the DL and somehow get MORE injured while there. Other players, on other teams go on the 15-day DL and come back in 15 days or soon thereafter. Our players, it's like being dropped into the Bermuda Triangle.

When was the last time we had a player go on the 15-day DL and actually come back, healthy, in 15 days? Not Nook Logan or Cristian Guzman, they were out for a month. I honestly can't think of anybody.

nats2playoffs · « **Reply #14:** May 31, 2007, 03:18:09 PM »

We are the Yankees. They've had the same problem of losing most of their starting pitchers, all year. They have won one more game than we have, but we've lost three more, thanks to Yankee rain outs. We're 13.0 games behind the Mets, while the Yankees are 13.5 games behind the Red Sox. Do the Yankees have anyone we'd want for one of our new starting pitchers?

Somebody needs to find out if Roger Clemens has done much sightseeing in Washington, DC, for his 2008 re-entry into MLB. He might be available just as Hill and Patterson go on the DL.

thunderstrucknatsfan · « **Reply #15:** May 31, 2007, 03:35:42 PM »

"Yea, but it's not like we've missed Patterson. He was our worst pitcher when he was healthy."

Patterson was NOT healthy - that is why he was the worst pitcher! He was still trying to regain his arm strength and velocity when he went on the DL. It appears that his arm has been hurting all season, but he tried to pitch through it because he did not want to go on the DL. In addition to his arm problems, he had also been sick for about a month. People who criticise Patterson need to know a little more about him.

UMDNats · « **Reply #16:** May 31, 2007, 03:45:54 PM »

Psh, I don't believe all that. I know a guy's arm strength is down after TJ surgery for a long time but he was throwing up beachballs every game. If he was truly injured, he should've said something so he wouldn't have gotten pounded every 5th day up until his injury. His velocity was down but that shouldn't affect his control. He was walking a lot of guys and his pitches didn't have much movement.

I can see if he wanted to be tough and help the team, but he wasn't giving us a chance. I hope that when he comes back he's healthy and lights it up.

tomterp · « **Reply #17:** May 31, 2007, 04:10:22 PM »

Quote from: Nats19 on May 31, 2007, 03:45:54 PM

His velocity was down but that shouldn't affect his control. He was walking a lot of guys and his pitches didn't have much movement.

Without the velocity, he's not going to have his usual movement on his pitches. It was obvious from the lack of velocity that he wasn't at his best. Patty should be around 94mph consistently on his fastball, else you know something's not right.

UMDNats · « **Reply #18:** May 31, 2007, 04:45:14 PM »

Ok, but he should've talked to the trainers and started the season on the DL. I know he has good intentions but he could've helped the team by rehabbing for another month and starting healthy now.

shoeshineboy · « **Reply #19:** May 31, 2007, 04:50:21 PM »

Quote from: PC on May 31, 2007, 02:43:15 PM

Like I said in the "Who can we blame" thread, our players, especially our pitchers, go on the DL and somehow get MORE injured while there. Other players, on other teams go on the 15-day DL and come back in 15 days or soon thereafter. Our players, it's like being dropped into the Bermuda Triangle.

When was the last time we had a player go on the 15-day DL and actually come back, healthy, in 15 days? Not Nook Logan or Cristian Guzman, they were out for a month. I honestly can't think of anybody.

Most players who go on the DL do not come back in 15 days. Very often if they are not injured that badly, they never go on the DL so they don't have to miss at least two weeks. The league is filled with injuries every year, and plenty of players go down on teams for extended periods of time. I don't believe that there is anything special about the Nats DL.

What we do have more than other teams is a rotation of pitchers with injury histories, and players with injuries in their past tend to end up with injuries in the present and future.

thunderstrucknatsfan · « **Reply #20:** June 01, 2007, 01:18:22 AM »

Quote from: Nats19 on May 31, 2007, 04:45:14 PM

Ok, but he should've talked to the trainers and started the season on the DL. I know he has good intentions but he could've helped the team by rehabbing for another month and starting healthy now.

When Patterson is right he has good velocity and good control. It is very unusual for him to walk more than 2 or 3 in a game and he usually has lots of Ks. He also does not normally give up many home runs. When you see him walk 2 batters in an inning it is a sign that something is wrong. He was not himself in any game he pitched so far this season - even the San Diego win was not the true Patterson. Surely Acta and St. Claire could tell that there was something wrong with him. I am assuming that they all thought that he would come around when he regained his arm strength and velocity, which he seemed to be doing. Also, it is true that he was sick for at least a month - possibly with a bug that was going around the clubhouse, described as flu-like symptoms - and had finally gotten medication for that the day before his last start. Also on that day, he was hit on the left cheek by a batted ball, and though a CT scan was negative, it surely shook him up a bit. Add to that, a throbbing biceps and it would seem that he was not a very good candidate to start that game. Whose fault is it - Patterson or Acta? Obviously, Patterson wants to pitch, and perhaps has not always been completely truthful about the status of his arm, because he believes he can "pitch through it". But I believe that Acta and St. Claire must have known that he was not right, even though he may have said that his arm wasn't hurting. And I also feel that Patterson believed that he could help the team - he would not have gone out there if he thought it would hurt the team.

natsfan1a · « **Reply #21:** June 01, 2007, 09:29:36 AM »

I don't think that Patterson's stats for this year, or even last year, represent him pitching when healthy. For that, you'd need to go back to 2005, and I don't think that he was our worst pitcher then.

Quote from: thunderstrucknatsfan on May 31, 2007, 03:35:42 PM

"Yea, but it's not like we've missed Patterson. He was our worst pitcher when he was healthy."

Patterson was NOT healthy - that is why he was the worst pitcher! He was still trying to regain his arm strength and velocity when he went on the DL. It appears that his arm has been hurting all season, but he tried to pitch through it because he did not want to go on the DL. In addition to his arm problems, he had also been sick for about a month. People who criticise Patterson need to know a little more about him.

thunderstrucknatsfan · « **Reply #22:** June 01, 2007, 09:53:34 AM »

Quote from: natsfan1a on June 01, 2007, 09:29:36 AM

I don't think that Patterson's stats for this year, or even last year, represent him pitching when healthy. For that, you'd need to go back to 2005, and I don't think that he was our worst pitcher then.

You are absolutely right! He has had a few good games since then, but basically he has not been healthy since the end of Spring Training 2006.

UMDNats · « **Reply #23:** June 01, 2007, 02:29:49 PM »

Last year before he got hurt he was average at best. I'm not holding my breath on his return. I hope that when he does come back he pitches well and doesnt give us any excuses.

But back to Hill: Apparently there's no further damage to his elbow. Thank God.

natsfan1a · « **Reply #24:** June 01, 2007, 02:37:01 PM »

That's really good news on Hill.