Jason Schmidt back to the DL (1 Viewer)

[Frenchy Fuqua]

Interesting quotes after his game today:

http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/n...xt=.jsp&c_id=la

"We have concerns," manager Grady Little said of Schmidt. "I feel like we'll continue to run him out there and continue to build his strength and stamina."

Schmidt (1-4, 6.31 ERA) did not say his shoulder is still injured, but he's pitching like it. The former power ace of the Giants, his fastball touched a high of 88 mph only a few times and hovered around the mid-80s. More telling, however, is that he's pretty much abandoned his slider and curveball, which makes him a two-pitch pitcher -- fastball and changeup -- neither of which has been consistently effective.

"He's pitching with what he has, but he's not Jason Schmidt right now," said pitching coach Rick Honeycutt. "Today he had better arm speed, but there's still times the ball's not coming out, whether it's the bursitis in that area that's not allowing his arm to function the way it should."

That, of course, is the suspicion, that something inside Schmidt's shoulder is so wrong that seven weeks off couldn't fix it. The obvious implication, then, is surgery, but nobody's saying that yet. Schmidt has been disabled with shoulder problems five times in his career and had surgery in 2000.

"Something is still not right," Schmidt said. "I just don't feel like myself. It's not coming out as smoothly as I'd like. Whatever it is, I don't know yet. It could be mechanical, it could be anything. [i'm] not going to open a can of worms with this thing. It is what it's been since the beginning of the year. I feel fine out there, that's the crazy thing about it. It's not an issue of that [discomfort] right now. I was a little more free and easy today, but the command was lacking."

 

[Gaddis]

I finally dropped Schmidt last night for ####### Shaun Marcum. Schmidt's lost his velocity and now he's losing his control. I've had Billingsley stashed for about a month now. It's just a matter of time before he gets back into the rotation.

 

[Frenchy Fuqua]

Love to see Billingsley finally get his shot.

Notes: Schmidt's status 'on hold'

06/17/2007 4:45 PM ET

By Ken Gurnick / MLB.com

http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/content/...17/c2032121.jsp

LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers on Sunday appeared to be in crisis management over what to do with pitcher Jason Schmidt and his troubling shoulder.

On Saturday, after another underwhelming start by Schmidt, manager Grady Little said he would continue to "run him out there."

But before Sunday's game, Little said he wasn't sure if Schmidt would make his scheduled start on Thursday in Toronto and hinted the right-hander might not make the team flight on Monday, perhaps a precursor to placing Schmidt on the disabled list for more rehabilitation or for corrective surgery.

"Right now, we're evaluating," said Little. "We're on hold right now."

Schmidt escaped repeated jams for four innings on Saturday before receiving a quick hook after allowing two runs in the fifth inning. His velocity hovered around the mid-80s and, of equal concern, he pretty much abandoned his breaking ball, another indicator that he's not physically sound.

Schmidt said he didn't feel right, but he stopped short of saying it was pain that has reduced his repertoire and effectiveness. After making three disappointing April starts, he spent seven weeks on the DL with right shoulder bursitis and Saturday's outing was his third start back. In 2000, Schmidt had surgery on his rotator cuff and labrum.

The likely candidates to replace Schmidt in the rotation are long relievers Brett Tomko and Mark Hendrickson, the latter a former Blue Jay who is 7-7 with a 5.62 ERA in Rogers Centre. Another option is Chad Billingsley, who is 3-0 with a 1.11 ERA since April 29.

Tomko and Hendrickson have started eight games each this year, while Billingsley has pitched exclusively in relief and his longest outing is three innings on May 26. Tomko was 1-5 with a 5.95 ERA as a starter. Hendrickson hasn't pitched since last Sunday. He is 2-3 with a 4.81 ERA as a starter.

 

[Frenchy Fuqua]

Now is the right time for Billingsley to return to the rotation

Dodgers should replace struggling Schmidt with Billingsley, who has excelled in the bullpen.

Bill Shaikin

June 18, 2007

http://www.latimes.com/sports/baseball/mlb...3&cset=true

Grady Little did not care to elaborate.

The subject was Jason Schmidt. The answers were terse.

Would Schmidt make his next start?

"We're not sure," Little said Sunday.

Are the Dodgers planning on Schmidt flying with the team to Toronto today?

"At this moment," Little said.

Little is a good man in an impossible position. Schmidt simply cannot get major league hitters out consistently right now, and the Dodgers' manager should not have to dance around the subject.

The Dodgers have a pennant to win and a $47-million investment in Schmidt to protect. The best way to accomplish both objectives would be to put Schmidt on the disabled list and insert Chad Billingsley in the starting rotation.

The velocity on Schmidt's fastball has disappeared, falling back into the mid-80s. He has all but shelved his curve and slider. He averages almost two runners on base each inning. He might get routed, or he might not, but he throws so many pitches that he has completed five innings twice in six starts.

"Something is still not right," Schmidt said after Saturday's loss to the Angels. "Everything is not quite there."

The numbers testify to that — one victory, a 6.31 earned-run average and a sub-90 fastball in spring training, in April, and after seven weeks of rest and rehabilitation for an inflamed shoulder.

"It is what it's been since the beginning of the year," he said.

So it is time for something new.

On Sunday, Little said, "We're evaluating him." He wouldn't say what the Dodgers were evaluating — Schmidt's fastball, a trainer's report, the options to replace him in the rotation. Stan Conte, the Dodgers' head trainer, sent word through spokesman Josh Rawitch that there would be "no medical update" on Sunday.

Perhaps there will be soon. This isn't about getting Schmidt back to throwing 95 mph. Those days are gone forever, no matter what his salary, and they were gone before the Dodgers signed him. This is about getting him back to 90.

If the Dodgers order another round of tests, but they cannot pinpoint the cause of Schmidt's declining velocity, doctors could recommend exploratory surgery — and the sooner he undergoes the operation, the sooner he could return. If he would first prefer to try pitching without his fastball, he could strengthen his shoulder and then consent to a full 30-day rehabilitation assignment, rather than come back again after one minor league start.

The Dodgers ought not to trade for a starter to replace Schmidt. They need to save their assets to trade for a big bat, and Billingsley could be something special.

He arrived amid fanfare last summer, the top prospect in a farm system overflowing with talent. In his last eight starts, he went 5-1 with a 2.36 ERA. But he struck out 59 and walked 58 on the season, so erratic the Dodgers removed him from the rotation during the pennant stretch.

"I was pressing," Billingsley said.

"I was giving the hitters too much credit. I wasn't trusting my ability. It was my first year up. But I thought I did fairly well, except for pitch count."

The Dodgers stashed him in the bullpen this spring, and he has prospered, to the point where they entrust him with the seventh inning, setting up Jonathan Broxton and Takashi Saito.

Billingsley put his head down, did not whine about wanting to start and just threw strikes. In the early innings, he watched from the bullpen, learning about hitters and how the Dodgers pitched them.

"He's pretty quiet down there," reliever Joe Beimel said. "He just kind of soaks everything in."

In the late innings, he cranked up his arm and dominated. In his last 25 innings, he has 30 strikeouts, seven walks and a 1.07 ERA.

Relievers tend to streamline their repertoire, eliminating their third and fourth pitches. As a starter-in-waiting, Billingsley has not.

"I could go out there and just throw fastballs and curves, because they're my best pitches," he said. "If I don't go out there and throw my changeup at all, I'm not going to have it."

The Dodgers could return Mark Hendrickson or Brett Tomko to the rotation, but they don't need another five-inning pitcher at a time Randy Wolf appears to be turning into one.

Billingsley has not thrown more than 53 pitches this season. He said he could give the Dodgers 70 in a first start and build from there. That could be good enough for Little, should the Dodgers replace Schmidt.

"Whoever we put in there, we won't be asking a lot from him the first game or two," Little said.

On the one hand, Billingsley has pitched so well in relief that the Dodgers might be reluctant to change his role now. On the other hand, this could be his time to blossom in the rotation.

"He'll be one of the future fixtures here, as a starter," pitching coach Rick Honeycutt said. "We'll get everybody's head together and see if we feel this is the right time."

It is.

bill.shaikin@latimes.com

 

[Frenchy Fuqua]

Schmidt heads back to disabled list

Dodgers ace's velocity still down after previous DL stint

By Tom Singer / MLB.com

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20...sp&c_id=mlb

Jason Schmidt and his puzzling right shoulder were placed back on the 15-day disabled list on Monday by the Dodgers, who will continue to seek medical answers for the veteran right-hander's dropped velocity.

Schmidt's place on the roster for the start of a 10-game roadtrip was taken by Marlon Anderson. The infielder-outfielder has been recuperating from elbow surgery in early May, and was recalled from his rehab assignment at Triple-A Las Vegas.

Schmidt had made three starts since an earlier seven-week stint on the DL with the same shoulder problems. He toughed his way through six innings of one-hit ball against the Padres on June 5, but struggled in subsequent Interleague starts against the Blue Jays and Angels.

His fastball rarely reached the mid-80s Saturday against the Angels, against whom he was unable to make it through five innings.

Schmidt, a free agent, was lured from the rival Giants in the offseason and signed a three-year deal worth $47 million.

Tom Singer is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

 

[Angry Beavers]

Get Billingsley; Schmidt to have surgery

Sorry to hear Schmidt is going under the knife but happy to have accquired Billingsley off the wire early this AM

 

[The Kansas Comet]

Here's a link: Schmidt and Brazoban Having Surgery

 

[curta269]

Get Billingsley; Schmidt to have surgery Sorry to hear Schmidt is going under the knife but happy to have accquired Billingsley off the wire early this AM

I picked up Billingsley in both of my leagues today. Unfortunately, I drafted Schmidt in both of them. I don't usually take the same players in more than 1 league, but it just worked out that way. At least Billingsley can't be as bad as Schmidt has been this season.

 

[The Kansas Comet]

Schmidt out for year

Nice due diligence Ned.

 

[Knightro]

"The most startling discoveries were a torn labrum and a frayed biceps tendon, which did not show up on an MRI exam."

What kind of MRI did Schmidt have where a torn labrum wasn't showing up? I've had that injury 2x and both times, even my untrained eye could spot the tear on my MRI. It did help it was dye-enhanced but still, one would have to assume the club would order that. Unless, they're cutting corners because they're giving $47,000,000 to a pitcher everyone else knew was a bad risk.

1 win, $16,333,333 spent this year. Nice, very nice!

 

[Capella]

Another faaaaaantastic free-agent signing. God, what a disaster FA can be if you hit it wrong.

 

[The Kansas Comet]

Another faaaaaantastic free-agent signing. God, what a disaster FA can be if you hit it wrong.

I can only hope Schmidt's contract was insured. Way to take a gift (Drew opting out of his contract and saving the Dodgers a lot of cash) and throw it into the trash Ned. I can't believe NONE of that damage showed up in any of the examinations prior to surgery. Time for Billingsley to step up and make the most of his opportunity.

 

[Statorama]

Mark Prior is always available in a deal

 

[tommyGunZ]

Another faaaaaantastic free-agent signing. God, what a disaster FA can be if you hit it wrong.

Yep. Seems like the busts are strongly outweighing the solid buys these days.Zito and Schmidt are disasters right now. Soriano hasn't performed. Lee is hitting, but obviously isn't a game changer.