FanHouse Dr.JamesAndrews

Brandon Webb has been the subject of much speculation since it was reported that extension talks with the Diamondbacks fell apart because no insurance company would issue a policy for Webb, relating to a shoulder injury he was fighting through.

Then Webb mentioned his visit to Dr. James Andrews and, well, we were all justifiably concerned. Finally, some good news has arrived: an MRI revealed recently that Webb's shoulder injury was muscular and not structural.

Brandon Webb's seemingly innocuous injury that will keep him out of his next start took a turn for the worse yesterday when it was reported that the Diamondbacks yanked a contract extension offer to their ace off the table when an insurance company refused to provide a policy for the pitcher.

Now things have become even more terrifying, as it turns out that Webb -- while confirming the insurance policy business -- also visited the ever-so-dreaded Dr. James Andrews in December 2008, based upon the Snakes' ceasing of extension talks.

Dr. James Andrews is very good at what he does. Which, contrary to popular belief, is to help athletes heal from injuries, not kill their fantasy seasons. But that doesn't mean a star like Shawne Merriman going to visit him is ever going to be considered good news, especially just a few weeks before the season starts.

But the Chargers found their linebacker headed Southeast this week instead of practicing.

Merriman missed two more practices Tuesday and wasn't at Chargers Park. He was en route to Alabama to see Dr. James Andrews for what was described by a team official as a "follow-up exam."

It was Andrews who repaired cartilage damage in Merriman's left knee five months ago. Merriman isn't expected back to Chargers Park until Thursday.

Of course, since he was already a patient of Dr. A, it's a little better. Maybe. "Persistent knee pain", which is what has Merriman heading to visit Andrews, is a pretty terrifying prospect for an All-Pro linebacker on a team with Super Bowl aspirations, even if the Chargers are qualifying it as a follow up.

Steroid user (not even alleged!) or not, Merriman is what makes the Chargers defense click, and if he's not a full strength, well, that's not going to be good for anyone. Of course, it's still to early to totally panic on his season, particularly if he gets a good report from Andrews, but it's still an ominous sign.

Via MDS at PFT

On Thursday of last week, Tom Glavine returned to the mound for the Atlanta Braves for the first time since June 10th. Things didn't go very well, as the 300-game winner gave up seven runs in four innings, and still felt pain in his elbow after the game. It's because of this pain in his elbow that we now know Glavine has pitched his last game in 2008, as he's going to be shut down for the season.

The real question is, will Thursday's start against the Cubs be the last of Tommy's career. He's scheduled to visit with Dr. James Andrews next week, and the results of his tests there will determine what Glavine decides to do.

"All the discussions I've had, and the MRI I had before, were that it's my flexor tendon," Glavine said. "The soreness I have now is the same soreness I had then. You can pinpoint a needlehead as to where the pain is, and it just puts me through the roof when you touch it, so it's very similar in that regard. There have been some discussions about what my ligament might look like, but I think there's a very low percentage that there might be something wrong with my ligament.

"And if there was, honestly, I'd leave it alone and I'd be done. I wouldn't come back from that kind of surgery now. I'd fix the flexor tendon and leave the ligament alone and live the rest of my life."

There's not a lot that we know about Joba Chamberlain's injury at the moment. The latest report is shoulder stiffness, that he's had an MRI, and that the results of that MRI won't be made known until after Joba visits with Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Alabama today. Andrews is, of course, the guy that's best known for doing most of the Tommy John surgeries that happen these days. As a result, I've seen some speculation today that Joba's visit to Birmingham is going to result in a TJ surgery. Joba's problems are quite possibly much worse than that.

As baseball injuries go, a torn ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow isn't the death sentence to a career the way it once was. It does result in ligament replacement surgery (the technical term for the TJ surgery) and a missed year, but many pitchers come back and pitch just as good as ever with their bionic elbows. Joba's problem isn't in his elbow, though. It's in his shoulder, which almost certainly means a problem with his rotator cuff or labrum.

It's impossible to know what's wrong with Joba's shoulder until we hear about it and it might just be routine stiffness, but a torn rotator cuff or labrum is a much worse injury for a pitcher than a torn UCL. Follow along after the jump and I'll explain.

When the Braves learned they'd have to put Tim Hudson and Chipper Jones on the disabled list, it pretty much put an end to any hopes of winning the NL East this season, so they went ahead and traded Mark Teixeira to the Angels to make sure of it. Little did they know at the time that they would already be behind in the 2009 season as well.

That's because Tim Hudson has finally given in to reality and knows he has to undergo Tommy John surgery, which of course will end his season.

The veteran will have the surgery late next week. Dr. James Andrews will do the procedure, and Hudson faces a 12-month rehabilitation period.

"I just needed to convince myself," said Hudson, who on Wednesday was advised by two orthopedists - Andrews and Dr. Xavier Duralde - to have the surgery. "I needed to throw one more time, to convince myself of what needed to be done."

If there's any good news for Hudson, and there isn't much, it's that he's got plenty of teammates who have already had Tommy John surgery so they'll be able to prepare him for what he's going to go through. Of course, the bad news is that 12-month rehabilitation period.

Maybe the Braves can call the Angels and see if they want Casey Kotchman back in exchange for a starting pitcher.

As I mentioned over the weekend, the Toronto Blue Jays had to place Shaun Marcum on the disabled list due to some problems with his elbow. More specifically, the fact that it had been hurting him the past few weeks. Marcum was scheduled for a visit with the famous Dr. James Andrews on Monday to find out what exactly was wrong, and to see how long he's going to be out.

He got some good news, as it doesn't appear that Marcum is going to miss too much time.

During an examination in Birmingham, Ala., Andrews confirmed Marcum was suffering from strained ligaments around the elbow and forearm. The injury wasn't deemed to be severe, and Andrews gave Marcum the go-ahead to begin a throwing program as soon as Saturday.

According to the team's website, there's still no established timetable for Marcum's return. He is eligible to be activated from the 15-day disabled list in time for Toronto's July 4-6 road series against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, but it's more likely that the Blue Jays will take extra precaution, meaning Marcum could be sidelined until around the All-Star break July 14-16.

While it's good news that Marcum will not be needing surgery and that it's an injury that should heal with rest, it still comes at a bad time for the Jays. They had lost seven in a row before beating the Pirates on Sunday, and have lost 14 of their 19 games in June to fall behind everybody in the AL East. Considering how well everyone else in the division has played this month, by the time Marcum makes it back to the mound, Toronto may be completely out of the race.

Now that Cito Gaston has re-emerged from whatever cave he's been in the last eleven years to return as manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, and put J.P. Ricciardi's job in serious jeopardy (okay, so Ricciardi is probably the one who put his job in serious jeopardy), he has to be wondering if he'll have any starting pitchers left at the end of the season. The way A.J. Burnett is begging talking, odds that he won't be a member of the Blue Jays after July 31 are looking pretty good. Jesse Litsch has followed up his 7-1 start to the season by going 0-3 with a 6.46 ERA in four starts this month.

Then there is that whole Roy Halladay taking a line-drive off his head incident on Friday night against the Pirates. Halladay left the game immediately and underwent a CAT scan. The scan showed no broken bones, and Halladay hasn't been experiencing any headaches or other signs of a concussion, so it's looking like he won't be missing his next scheduled start.

The same cannot be said for his teammate Shaun Marcum, who has been placed on the disabled list.

Marcum, second in the American League with a 2.65 ERA, was to fly to Florida on Saturday to be examined by Dr. Steve Mirabello. Marcum will also see noted orthopedic Dr. James Andrews on Monday.

"Hopefully, we'll get good news and then after 7-10 days of a rest period, we'll make a decision and go from there," Blue Jays pitching coach Brad Arnsberg said.

Marcum says that he's been experiencing pain in his right elbow the last few weeks, but that hasn't seemed to stop him from pitching well over that span. Gaston has made no announcement as to who will take Marcum's place in the rotation, the team called up outfielder Adam Lind to take his place on the roster, and they'll probably just bump A.J. Burnett up a day to take Marcum's place on Tuesday.

The good news out of Alabama regarding John Smoltz is that, um, well there is not really any good news, actually. Smoltz had shoulder surgery yesterday while on vaca with Dr. James Andrews and it appears there is significant damage to his labrum.

'You rarely find a pitcher of John's experience level and age that doesn't have some sort of labrum issue,' general manager Frank Wren said Tuesday evening. 'It was pretty significant, what they found with his labrum.

'At this point they don't know what the prognosis is until he starts trying to throw and rehab in the next few months.'

Smoltz remained at the Andrews Clinic in Birmingham on Tuesday night. He had yet to consult with Dr. James Andrews, who performed the operation, nor Wren. The pitcher is expected to return to Atlanta late Wednesday afternoon.

The Braves were muffled and vague enough where this legitimately sounds like it could be the end of John Smoltz' career. Wren mentioned the unknowns of course and the fact that Smoltz wanted to return but pointed out that "based on the surgery, we just don't know."

Which means that until they know for certain what his status is -- and with someone like Smoltz you can imagine it would be after the start of the 2009 season before he actually makes a definite call -- the Braves will not make an official statement. So get ready for a Summer of Unknown if you're a Braves/Smoltz fan. It's like Summer of George but with less soda in the fridge.

Hey wow, did you hear? Mark Prior is hurt again! And people are paying college athletes money! When will the madness stop? For realz, though, Padres fans -- or anyone who still had some semblance of dwindling hope in Prior -- should know the pitcher's rehabilitation is not featuring metaphors for explosion. Encouraging!

San Diego Padres right-hander Mark Prior has had a setback in his rehabilitation, ESPN.com's Buster Olney reports. In his last rehab outing, he threw 10 or 15 pitches and had a feeling "like a firecracker going off in the back of his shoulder." Prior, who has a career record of 42-29 with a 3.51 ERA, is seeking a second opinion from noted surgeon Dr. James Andrews.

So let's see: The word setback? Check. Something visually metaphorical about one of Prior's body parts exploding? Check. "Seeking a second opinion from Dr. James Andrews." Check.

It's official: Mark Prior will never play baseball again.