White Sox Peavy Suffers Another Setback En Route to Comeback

The addition of RHP Jake Peavy to the White Sox last season should have been the move that put the White Sox over the edge in the American League Central, but then Peavy suffered a shoulder injury last summer ending his season and dooming the Sox to second place in the division.

In the offseason Peavy underwent a new medical procedure to reattach the muscles that he had torn under his shoulder. The experimental surgery was chosen as a pitcher had never before returned from tearing his latissimus dorsi muscle, but Peavy is doing just that.

Despite reports that manager Ozzie Guillen was pushing Peavy too hard in preseason work outs, Peavy was right on track to be the White Sox opening day starter. His progress was heralded as a success for medicine and as giving hope to pitchers in the future with this injury. However, Peavy suffered a setback during a spring training game that resulted in the pitcher having rotator cuff tendinitis.

For the last week Peavy has worked hard to attempt to return from this latest injury as quickly as possible, but as doctors have informed him that his injury is significant he will now start the season on the disabled list. When Peavy does return from the DL he will be limited in the number of pitches that he will be able to throw, doctors and White Sox training staff have set that number at 60 pitches per outing.

Peavy is scheduled to throw off a mound on Sunday, March 27, his first work since he suffered his latest medical setback. This progress is good news for the White Sox as Peavy has said that he hopes to only miss three to four starts before being able to return to the club. 

ESPN's Baseball Tonight goes into detail on Peavy's injury and his recovery.
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=6251933

Peavy was expected to be the cornerstone of a strong White Sox rotation this season, in his absence rookie pitcher Phil Humber will take the mound. Humber started against the Chicago Cubs on Thursday, it was not a good outing. In his 4 1/3 innings of work, Humber surrendered 7 earned runs, which may have set in stone Humber as being the No. 5 starter in the Sox rotation until Peavy returns.

With the offseason additon of Adam Dunn to the lineup and Paul Konerko returning to the team, the White Sox look to be an imposing ball club this season. And if Peavy can return from this setback, the White Sox will be near impossible to beat. Having a rotation that includes Mark Buehrle and Edwin Jackson as well as a healthy Jake Peavy could rival almost any other pitching line-up.