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.

Just How Good is Roy Halladay?

Roy Halladay is one of the best pitchers in the major leagues, if not the best, and it's not just because of his career 3.32 ERA, it's because of his intangibles and what he can bring to the team that he is pitching for. When opposing batters step into the box to face Halladay, they know that they're facing a man who can put the fastball wherever he wants to with pinpoint accuracy and can throw a 12-6 curve that would buckle anyone's knees. Halladay is the perfect pitcher.

2010 was Halladay's year, he recorded a MLB-leading 21 wins while throwing 250 2/3 innings, another MLB high. In addition to his phenomenal endurance last year, Halladay threw nine complete games and four shutouts, two more MLB highs for the year. Not to mention the no-hitter that he posted during the playoffs.

Last year, Halladay put up a near sub-one WHIP, a 1.04 for the season. His career WHIP sits at 1.18, a stunningly low number for a pitcher who has thrown the most innings over the last five years. By averaging just over a hit or walk per inning pitched, Halladay is able to maintain is dominance. By not allowing men on base, he is able to keep his pitch count low and close out games, which helps his bullpen out by giving them a rest every fifth day.

In Halladay's first season with the Phillies he was able to drop his ERA by 35 points, going from 2.79 in Toronto in 2009 to 2.44 with Philadelphia in 2010. This is partly to be expected by the pitcher moving into the less powerful National League, but in playing an entire season pitching to players that he had never seen, decreasing his ERA that significantly is impressive.

Halladay has the pitching style of a traditional power pitcher, he crowds the batter down and inside, making sure that if they make contact with the ball they will drive it into the ground for a harmless ground-out. Most successful pitchers are those who can pitch to contact instead of trying to burn the ball past the batter three straight times.

While Halladay pitches right-handers and left-handers similarly, left-handers hold an almost 30 point edge over their right-handed counterparts. Against lefties, Hallday has an ERA of .259 whereas righties have only been able to bat .231 against the pitcher.

Having a pitcher the caliber of Halladay on the staff is enough to make any major league manager giddy, but the Phillies have rounded up one of the most impressive pitching rotations to date. With Halladay being named their opening day starter, their rotation fills out like this; Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, Cole Hamels and Joe Blanton.

Halladay appears to be healthy this spring and shows no signs of not being on top of his game again this year; batters beware, if the guy on the mounds name is Halladay, you best be ready to head back to the bench because you're not getting anything off this guy.