Carson Smith out with forearm injury

[jacksonianmarch]

Tests are pending. Uh oh

[Orange Juiced]

Yeah this isn't good. Forearm injuries for pitchers almost never is a good thing, and usually it's really bad.

 

Ugh.

[Dojji]

For a power pitcher it's particularly bad too. I know we weren't counting on Smith particularly strongly, but he was supposed to be a significant piece, and now we have no idea what we'll get.

[jacksonianmarch]

Dojji, don't give me the whole "we weren't counting on him" garbage. The guy is your setup man. Tazawa was too unreliable and Koji is a walking time bomb. Smith was your lynchpin in the middle. You have depth, so that is good. And if he isn't injured badly, then your pen should be solid. But he is very much a big part of your pen.

[Dojji]

Craig Kimbrel is going into the season as t he setup man with Koji as the nominal closer. I think it's obvious that that plan looks like it may need to be adjusted as the season rolls on since Koji's 41 and was a bit fragile at the best of times, but Smith was, at most, the 7th inning guy on opening day.

 

And let's not jump the the whole "oh he clearly needs TJS and is gone for the season" train right away. That's possible. It's also possible this is just a bogstandard arm strain that will keep him out a few weeks. No need to overreact, unless your name is Jacksonianmarch then there's always a need to overreact.

[jonnylongfella]

Craig Kimbrel is going into the season as t he setup man with Koji as the nominal closer. I think it's obvious that that plan looks like it may need to be adjusted as the season rolls on since Koji's 41 and was a bit fragile at the best of times, but Smith was, at most, the 7th inning guy on opening day.

 

And let's not jump the the whole "oh he clearly needs TJS and is gone for the season" train right away. That's possible. It's also possible this is just a bogstandard arm strain that will keep him out a few weeks. No need to overreact, unless your name is Jacksonianmarch then there's always a need to overreact.

 

Ummmm.....what?!?!?! Someone get me what this guy is having.....

 

 

Hope it's just a strain for Smith.

[cp176]

Craig Kimbrel is going into the season as t he setup man with Koji as the nominal closer. I think it's obvious that that plan looks like it may need to be adjusted as the season rolls on since Koji's 41 and was a bit fragile at the best of times, but Smith was, at most, the 7th inning guy on opening day.

 

And let's not jump the the whole "oh he clearly needs TJS and is gone for the season" train right away. That's possible. It's also possible this is just a bogstandard arm strain that will keep him out a few weeks. No need to overreact, unless your name is Jacksonianmarch then there's always a need to overreact.

 

Really you say - Kimbrel to be Koji's set up man -

[mvp 78]

Tests are pending. Uh oh

 

"Smith will begin the season on the disabled list after an MRI revealed a strained flexor mass muscle in his right forearm, Mike Silverman of the Boston Herald reports."

 

Per the chart, if he had the Yankees facilities he'd be good to go. However, since he's stuck with the Red Sux he might as well get his arm amputated.

[mvp 78]

No timetable is set, but he is expected to pitch this season. Please step away from the ledge...

 

He could be ready about the same time Chapman begins his season. Pew pew pew...

[a700hitter]

"Smith will begin the season on the disabled list after an MRI revealed a strained flexor mass muscle in his right forearm, Mike Silverman of the Boston Herald reports."

 

Per the chart, if he had the Yankees facilities he'd be good to go. However, since he's stuck with the Red Sux he might as well get his arm amputated.

With him and ER on DL at the start of the season, roster crunch will not be a problem. Edited March 22, 2016 by a700hitter

[mvp 78]

Roster crunch is never a problem.

[jacksonianmarch]

Flexor mass strains are typically one to two month injuries

[Dojji]

Really you say - Kimbrel to be Koji's set up man -

 

My impression is that Koji is in camp and healthy. Is that not correct? I've had health issues recently and haven't been able to follow along as much as i'd like and may have missed something, so if I've got it wrong, I've got it wrong, but that's my impression If Koji is healthy, I don't see why they wouldn't give him the ball to close at least initially, he's done a fine job so far when he has been in the field.

 

When he can take the field there is no doubt at all about Koji's ability to get hitters out, that's never been his problem, if healthy, he's as good as Kimbrel and I don't see why it's such a slam dunk that the youngster would dislodge him.

Edited March 23, 2016 by Dojji

[jacksonianmarch]

Dojji, maybe you're hitting the pain meds a little too hard. Kimbrel is the best closer of the past 5 years. Koji has been a closer for 3 seasons, never topping 30 saves and aside from an impossible to repeat 2013, has been outplayed by a younger Kimbrel. Not to mention that Koji has not been able to stay healthy while Kimbrel has been in 60+ games for 5 years straight. Koji was the incumbent. Kimbrel is better and younger. Koji loses the job

[Dojji]

This is ultimately beside the point, since you're not disputing the fact that Koji is currently in camp and healthy, it's not up to either of us who closes and who sets up, and frankly the question is academic since A: they're both among the top relievers in the league, and B: due to Koji's age and health they may well both wind up closing at least a few games. I do think the incumbent gets first crack at the job however.

 

Either way, if both Uehara and Kimbrel are in the bullpen on opening day, making the claim that Carson Smith would be the setup man over Uehara is a bold statement. Either Uehara or Kimbrel are going to close and the other one is going to set up. Either way the workload is probably going to be stacked in favor of Kimbrel getting more innings, which is actually an argument in favor of Uehara closing and making 1 inning saves while Kimbrel does all the stretch work (inning-plus and multi-inning) that setup pitchers sometimes need to do.

 

We're actually in a rare situation right now, we theoretically have enough good arms to do all the jobs you need a good arm for -- closer, setup, and spot relief in earlier situations, and if we can count on Tazawa and Smith down the stretch we'll even have redundancy. And we have a decent stable of young starters we can call on for long relief appearances if needed. I could wish our infield D was better so we were not so dependent on power arms to get us through, but we're not really in a bad place with the pen at least on paper.

Edited March 23, 2016 by Dojji

[cp176]

My impression is that Koji is in camp and healthy. Is that not correct? I've had health issues recently and haven't been able to follow along as much as i'd like and may have missed something, so if I've got it wrong, I've got it wrong, but that's my impression If Koji is healthy, I don't see why they wouldn't give him the ball to close at least initially, he's done a fine job so far when he has been in the field.

 

When he can take the field there is no doubt at all about Koji's ability to get hitters out, that's never been his problem, if healthy, he's as good as Kimbrel and I don't see why it's such a slam dunk that the youngster would dislodge him.

 

Sorry to hear about your health issues. At this point their plan appears to be that Koji makes up part of a team of pitchers who will lead to the closer Kimbrel. In general, which ever one closes isn't really a big deal. The big deal was that the Sox were able to add one of the top arms in the game to help bolster a bullpen that needed to be rebuilt. Hope they all stay healthy.

[Kimmi]

Roster crunch is never a problem.

 

Roster crunch is always a problem.