Can Pitcher Injuries Ever Be Not Serious? and Other Bullets

This week’s episode of the podcast has been imperiled by sickness and travel, so you are warned that there’s a chance that there won’t be an episode this week. A thousand apologies.

• Dale Sveum joined Jed Hoyer in downplaying Matt Garza’s latest setback. Then again, Sveum also used the words “hope” and “dead arm whatever,” which still doesn’t engender a lot of confidence. I guess they can’t know for sure that it’s just dead arm until Garza throws again, but I’ll remain anxious until he does. Garza reportedly already felt better yesterday, and could play catch in the next few days.
• Jeff Samardzija cut his right index finger on a comebacker from the first batter yesterday (though, from my seats, I couldn’t tell why the trainer came out to see him), but he pitched through it and says it’s no big deal. He called it a “baby cut” and more an “aesthetic” issue.
• As I mentioned yesterday, the Cubs/Rangers game that was rained out earlier this month has been rescheduled for Monday, May 6 at 7:05pm CT. The Cubs concurrently announced that two previously TBA’d Friday games have been set for 1:20pm CT (June 7 and June 21). This is notable because, as you’ll recall, the Cubs’ night game proposal included up to six Friday 3:05pm CT starts, which is clearly why these games had originally been listed as TBA. The City Council hasn’t even yet voted on the night game issue, and the Cubs are already abandoning these two games as possible 3:05 starts. A bad sign? Maybe. Maybe it’s just the Cubs showing good faith so that they can get the three remaining Friday TBA’s in July and August as 3:05 starts.
• Jesse Rogers takes a closer look at Carlos Villanueva’s latest gem, including a discussion of his many offspeed offerings.
• The Kane County Cougars are hosting their annual Ozzie’s Home Run and Walk 5K on Saturday, May 18 at Fifth Third Bank Ballpark. The race benefits the Cougars’ charity, and starts and ends at the ballpark (as in, it ends at home plate, which is pretty cool). There will be food and fun activities (if you’ve never been to a 5K, The Wife drags me takes me to them all the time, and I actually find them to be a heck of a lot of fun, even though I’m not running), and there’s a nice bonus grab bag for the first 300 folks to register. Here are the full details, including how you can register. It’s $25 for adults, and $12 for kids age 5 to 12.
• Kerry Wood emphasizes that the Wrigley Renovation is key to landing free agents in the future, thanks to the hilariously bad facilities that exist there currently. (Money would help also.)
• Thanks to Carrie and Shaun on this one: Scott Baker, after his Tommy John recovery setback, is expected to re-start a throwing program at the end of this month. That would make your absolutely, positively most optimistic return time-table for him the second half of June (four weeks of throwing, three to four weeks of simulated games/rehab starts). I wouldn’t expect him until after the All-Star break, though. That’s just the way the cookie crumbles.
• Dale Sveum says there’s no closer controversy on the Cubs, because there’s no obvious closer. This remains the right approach, at least until Kyuji Fujikawa returns from the DL, presumably throwing as well as he’s supposed to.
• Paul Sullivan answers questions, and, if the questioners were a representative sample of Cubs fans, you would have to think every Cubs fan is very angry.
• You’ve got one more day to enter the BN fantasy contest, by the way. (Full details here.)