I can't believe I'm sourcing all of this from a Larry LaRue column, but here goes...
Cliff Lee still felt the strain while playing catch yesterday and the club has shut him down for a week. Wakamatsu mentioned the previous time frame in healing (six weeks) and that he "hoped" new treatments would get Lee back on the field sooner. My concern at this point isn't really in the injury, but in the timing. With it coming midway through Spring Training, Lee doesn't only have to heal, he has to stretch out still.
Like we saw with Ryan Rowland-Smith last season, injuries to starting pitchers at this juncture can cause them to take longer to get back up to game speed than at any other time of the year. I'm not predicting doom or anything, but if you haven't already prepared yourself for April without Cliff Lee, then I would start. On the plus side, maybe we add Cliff Lee and Erik Bedard to the rotation at the same time in early May! That would be fun, right?
Jack Hannahan is flying to Philadelphia to get checked out for a possible sports hernia on his groin injury. While that may come back negative, it does indicate that he is not progressing too well back to recovery.
Apparently, Don Wakamatsu confirmed that Casey Kotchman is the team's everyday first baseman and not a platoon player. On one hand, Wakamatsu also just said that about Milton Bradley in left field and that's clearly a fantasy. On the other hand, welcome back Mike Sweeney!