Left-hander Scott Olsen will miss the rest of the season after a visit to Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala., revealed that the Nationals pitcher has a small tear in the labrum in his left shoulder.
Olsen will have surgery Thursday morning in Washington, and, barring an unforeseen discovery of a more serious injury in his shoulder when the doctors perform what's being termed as a "cleanup procedure," he could be back on the mound in three months, according MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
It's been six days since FanHouse last wrote about Brett Favre and, well, that just won't do. Last we heard, Favre may or may not have talked to Dr. James Andrews about arm surgery in preparation for one more NFL season.
Either way, Favre hasn't come out and said he's done, although no one would believe him if he did. So we wait. Unlike last year, though, when a handful of teams were interested in Favre after he fake retired -- and it became clear the Packers weren't going to give him the job -- this time around, only the Vikings are in the running for the ole gunslinger's services.
Brett Favre has signaled once again that he is contemplating a return to the NFL, this time by paying a visit to orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews for an examination of his throwing arm.
Tom Glavine, who left his minor-league rehabilitation start Sunday with shoulder soreness, will see orthopedist James Andrews on Tuesday or Wednesday for further examination, agent Gregg Clifton said.
Andrews performed surgery on Glavine's elbow and shoulder last August.
Glavine was scheduled to be Atlanta's fifth starter, entering the rotation Saturday at Pittsburgh. According to mlb.com, Jo-Jo Reyes will be called up to make that start.
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.
Carl Pavano is a joke. A sham. An injury-riddled cautionary tale about big contracts and underachieving talent. At least, that's how most Yankee fans, writers, and probably most of the Yankees themselves feel -- Pavano took tens of millions of dollars and sat, injured, the entire time he was supposed to be earning his money.
But of course things aren't that simple. Now that he's back and 3-0, and thanks to the New York Times's Tyler Kepner, Pavano gets to tell his story in the paper of record today, and it's hard not to feel at least a little bit sorry for him:
"A lot of times when I was in Tampa, I was really angry, because I'm away from my team, and I'm down there not getting the support that you feel you need to be successful," Pavano said. "You know people are doubting you that should be helping you," he added. "You know people are kicking you when you're down, and they should be picking you up. That's the nature of this environment."
There's plenty more in there, including confusion over a pre-James Andrews diagnosis that led to some of the animosity between Pavano and the Yankees. Is Carl Pavano a paragon of virtue? No. But he, at least for once, seems way more human than the caricatures we've heard for four years. Don't get me wrong -- caricatures are fun! But sometimes they need some tweaking.
The Boston Red Sox believe they can win the World Series again this year, despite a four game deficit to the Tampa Bay Rays and a slim lead in the AL Wild Card race. Hence, their trade for Mark Kotsay.
Of course, part of those postseason plans probably don't include not having Josh Beckett. Which might be a legitimate scenario, as the Sawx ace didn't receive any good injury news today.
Following manager Terry Francona's postgame press conference in the wake of a 3-2 Sox loss at Yankee Stadium, Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein announced today that Josh Beckett has been scratched from tomorrow's scheduled start in order to visit with renowned specialist James Andrews in Birmingham, Alabama.
Translation: Start worrying again.
Uh yeah. That seems like a safe prognostication. Epstein mentioned something about Beckett's elbow not being "100%", which also seems reasonable, since he's headed to see Andrews.
I know we've all seen plenty of heroically styled September and October behavior from the Red Sox over the past few years, but in all honesty, if the Sox lose Beckett for the season -- not too far-fetched an idea with DJA involved -- I think we can all go ahead and call of any more Beantown celebrations.
It wouldn't be the dog days of summer without a good old fashioned panic attack in the Northeast, where baseball fans live and die with the outcome of each night's game. In almost perfect symmetry, the Red Sox, Yankees and Mets all got bad news on the injury front Wednesday.
Considering where the big three sit in the standings, fans in New York and Boston have plenty to be concerned about. Let's look at each team's situation and try to assess how bad things are right now and how bleak they could get.
Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz has already missed almost two months this season with a torn tendon sheath in his wrist. Now the slugger is reporting that he's hearing a "clicking" sound in the wrist he injured back on May 31 in Baltimore. The good news for Boston fans is that, on its own, the clicking sound isn't a concern. Indeed, Ortiz was back in the lineup for Wednesday night's game against the Royals.
However, as injury guru Will Carroll points out, the problem could be more mental than anything. If Ortiz's swing gets less violent and vicious because he is afraid of getting injured, it could hurt his productivity -- a frightening proposition for Boston in the wake of the Manny Ramirez trade.
It's almost like he just popped his head up to record his 3,000 career strikeout, and then, just as quickly as he came, John Smoltz is gone again, hitting the disabled list Tuesday with an inflamed biceps muscle and rotator cuff. I kid about the head-popping thing; Smoltz was actually around long enough to make five starts, three of them wins and two of them where he struck out 10 different batters.
The crazier thing is that, according to MLB.com, Tom Glavine was called up for his Atlanta debut only because the Braves sent Doyle Alexander to Detroit for this Smoltz guy. And then today, they swapped sides as Glavine was activated to take Smoltz' place on the roster.
Before sending Glavine to the mound to start Tuesday night's series opener at Nationals Park, the Braves seemingly found some good news regarding Smoltz's right shoulder. But they will still be without the 40-year-old hurler for at least two more weeks, while he goes on the 15-day disabled list for the second time this season.
'We're going to let him rest for a little bit and see what happens, said Braves manager Bobby Cox after learning that noted surgeon Dr. James Andrews didn't find any significant structural damage while evaluating Smoltz on Tuesday.
That's at least good news -- DJA is the most terrifying name you can hear when you're talking baseball injuries, so any time someone gets out of 'Bama able to come back at any point of the season. The Braves have said, though, that there is "no timetable" for Smoltz' return and that they want him to be as healthy as possible before returning.
Fantasy Spin: There's not a lot you can do, other than DL or bench Smoltz. If you don't own him though, I'd probably consider him a nice buy low; the guy has been relatively healthy for his career and usually goes through some semi-extended injury each season.
Reggie Bush has torn his PCL and will likely not start this Monday against the Falcons. In fact, there's a significant chance that he won't play again the rest of the season. From a "real" football perspective, you have to hope he gets better and you also have to wonder about the timing of this whole thing, given things and stuff that may or may not be surrounding his time at Southern Cal.
From a fantasy perspective, you should be relieved. (Look, it's a business. You want the babes, fame and cash that come with it, you gotta be cutthroat.) What has this guy done for you since you made him your early first/late second round pick this season? Because if six total touchdowns, eight fumbles, a 3.7 yard per carry total and under 1,000 yards from scrimmage sound like fun to you, well, invite me to join your Suckball league next year, will ya? And he's too explosive and potential-riddled to find the bench or be droppable, so you were staring down a nightmare of having to start him in the playoffs.
Bush has been a total and complete bust in 2008 after breaking out during the second half of last season, and while some of it might be attributed to Sean Payton checking down his passing attack, there's a large portion of me that wants to keep pointing out how smart the Texans were for taking Mario Williams. But that's not really relevant to this discussion.
You have two to four weeks left - if Bush is the only wiggle room you've got on your roster, drop him. Grab Aaron Stecker, especially if you have playoffs in week 17 as the Saints get the Bears. Otherwise, wait until Bush's meeting with Dr. James Andrews before cutting him loose. Oh yeah, and pat yourself on the back if you're anywhere near the playoffs after drafting this guy.
Left-hander Scott Olsen will miss the rest of the season after a visit to Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala., revealed that the Nationals pitcher has a small tear in the labrum in his left shoulder.
It's been six days since FanHouse last wrote about Brett Favre and, well, that just won't do. Last we heard, Favre may or may not have talked to Dr. James Andrews about arm surgery in preparation for one more NFL season. 
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.
Carl Pavano is a joke. A sham. An injury-riddled cautionary tale about big contracts and underachieving talent. At least, that's how most Yankee fans, writers, and probably most of the Yankees themselves feel -- Pavano took tens of millions of dollars and sat, injured, the entire time he was supposed to be earning his money. 
It's almost like he just popped his head up to record his 3,000 career strikeout, and then, just as quickly as he came, John Smoltz is gone again, hitting the disabled list Tuesday with an inflamed biceps muscle and rotator cuff. I kid about the head-popping thing; Smoltz was actually around long enough to make five starts, three of them wins and two of them where he struck out 10 different batters.
Reggie Bush has torn his PCL and will likely not start this Monday against the Falcons. In fact, there's a significant chance that he won't play again the rest of the season. From a "real" football perspective, you have to hope he gets better and you also have to wonder about the timing of this whole thing, given things and stuff that may or may not be surrounding his time at Southern Cal. 
