Hardy's injury and possibly adding a reliever
The Orioles may have dodged another injury bullet, this time involving shortstop J.J. Hardy.
We’ll know more this afternoon.
It’s also possible they make a roster move today to get another pitcher in the bullpen after Josh Rupe and Jeremy Accardo were called on to pitch in long relief Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, and with the slugging Texas Rangers coming to town today.
“We’re going to examine whether or not we’re going to need a pitcher for [Friday] because Rupe and Accardo both are down for [Friday],” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said.
Just when it seems they get one player back, another gets scratched. This time it’s not all about pitching, either (although Jeremy Guthrie is still questionable for his start Sunday after dealing with pneumonia this week).
On Thursday, roughly an hour before game time, Luke Scott (right groin) gave Showalter the thumbs-up that he would be able to return to the lineup.
About 50 minutes later, Showalter learned that shortstop J.J. Hardy felt some tightness in his left side, near the ribcage. Hardy said he really felt it when he swung hard. But he still told the club’s athletic trainers. And they told Showalter.
“By the time I got all this information, it was 6:50 p.m.,” Showalter said. “I went out and had a conversation with [Hardy] on the field. With the cold weather, I didn’t feel like it was worth the risk, so [I] made the switch to [Cesar Izturis].
Hardy feels it’s a day-to-day injury and insists he could have played Thursday. He’ll be re-evaluated today.
“I was going to play through it, playing catch, doing everything, getting ready for the game. I wanted to put a little bit of Icy Hot on it just to keep it warm,” Hardy said. “At that point, it got back to Buck that it was tight, it was sore, and he came out and talked to me when I was playing catch getting ready for the game. He didn't like it, thought it was better to be safe than sorry. I think it was the right decision.”
The Orioles have Izturis and Robert Andino to play shortstop if Hardy’s injury is serious. Hardy had three hits and four runs in his first 14 at-bats this season.
A Baltimore native, 
Comments
Will the minor league daily recaps be posted every day like last season?
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Probably not daily. The guy who did that has new responsibilities. But we will do something.
Posted by: scott | April 8, 2011 7:55 AM
This may surprise some people, but I am going to praise Andy.
Keeping Izzy was a brilliant move.
Of course a more dynamic GM would have taken one look at our bare farm system last summer and moved Izzy for some low level prospects, and THEN brought him back in the winter.
Posted by: Brummie_Oriole | April 8, 2011 8:31 AM
I would strongly encourage the minor league daily recaps to return. It was one of the first pages on the website I would read, and I'm sure many others agree.
There is nowhere else to obtain said information in one spot other than to go locate the boxscores for all of the minor league teams. It's a feature that is unique and desired by the readers.
Posted by: Mike | April 8, 2011 9:29 AM
Who do you think will be the pitcher called up? I would much rather get a look at Troy Patton or Rick VandenHurk then one of the many old pitchers on Norfolk's roster.
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Patton is on the 40-man. He is likely one
Posted by: Ian | April 8, 2011 10:35 AM
Who do you think will be the pitcher called up? I would much rather get a look at Troy Patton or Rick VandenHurk then one of the many old pitchers on Norfolk's roster.
Posted by: Ian | April 8, 2011 10:54 AM
Love the proactive approach by Buck. We've watched players play little injuries into big injuries and had managers act like it was the trainer's call.
As Buck says,"he likes to keep everybody's eye's on the finish line."
And quess what, It ain't in April!
Posted by: MountainFan | April 8, 2011 12:34 PM
This team needs to look into Yoga and Kimpo before every game. They have to find a better way of preventing injury from happening.
Posted by: dspedden | April 8, 2011 1:42 PM