There seems to be a reason Adam Wainwright left the game on Tuesday night after throwing only 92 pitches against the Tampa Bay Rays. He was feeling discomfort in his pitching elbow. Per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post Dispatch, Wainwright has returned to St. Louis for an MRI and there is no structural damage but a little discomfort on the outside of the elbow.
Now, the first thing that pops into people’s minds when the words “Wainwright’s elbow” and “discomfort” meet for a cup of coffee in the same sentence is the UCL. In other words, the ulnar collateral ligament that was fixed up in a relatively unknown procedure called Tommy John Surgery. The good news is that the discomfort isn’t coming from inside the elbow around the ligament. There is no damage there and the UCL is fine. The discomfort comes from a soreness that can be attributed to “tennis elbow”, according to John Mozeliak who spoke on CBS Radio this morning about Wainwright’s condition.
If you want to play doctor, here you go. The official definition of tennis elbow is as follows, taken from the American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons.
” Tennis elbow is an inflammation of the tendons that join the forearm muscles on the outside of the elbow. The forearm muscles and tendons become damaged from overuse — repeating the same motions again and again. This leads to pain and tenderness on the outside of the elbow.”
So there you have it. Wainwright is dealing with pain or discomfort and there isn’t really a timetable or exact method to determine how long this will keep him off the mound. Antibiotics will be administered today and if the pain persists, they will go with a better painkiller and go from there.
My honest opinion is that this may cause Wainwright to miss a start to show precaution but that isn’t for certain at this point. The name of the game right now is to not panic and wait to see how a couple days of rest sits with Wainwright’s condition. If he misses his bullpen between starts, he may have to push back his start and miss Monday’s appointment with the New York Mets.
At this time, nothing is for certain but remember this. Wainwright has pitched a lot of innings and that can lead to this kind of injury. He pitched over 241 innings in 2013 and that wasn’t even including the playoffs. He is projected to pitch 249 innings this year. This is wear and tear. I am not telling you it won’t develop into something else but at this time the words “no structural damage” should produce a sense of calm.
The potential injury doesn’t come at an ideal time, as the team is starting to show true signs of life. Until there is more news, know this. Wainwright is tough as nails, and won’t take a seat because of some minor injury. He will be back on the mound and until at the very earliest Friday or Saturday comes around, there is no reason to overthink this MRI.
Come back later this afternoon for another dose.
Thanks for reading.
-DLB
