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Cards' Wainwright suffers "significant injury" to pitching elbow


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Looks like he will need Tommy john surgery and be done for the year.



JUPITER, Fla. -- Adam Wainwright, a 20-game winner for the Cardinals a year ago and the runner-up for the Cy Young Award, was being sent back to St. Louis Wednesday for tests on his injured right elbow amid concern that he could be lost for the season.


General manager John Mozeliak said "things do not look encouraging" for the right-hander, who injured his elbow during Monday's bullpen session.

Mozeliak stopped short of saying Wainwright would need Tommy John surgery.

"I don't want to speculate, but obviously ligament damage, that's usually what it results in," he said.

The 29-year-old Wainwright began feeling soreness following the bullpen session. Trainers examined him Tuesday and Wainwright was scheduled to fly back to St. Louis to meet with team doctors Wednesday.

"It appears to not be good," manager Tony La Russa said. "We'll see, though."

The news comes one day after the Cardinals learned utility infielder Nick Punto will miss eight to 12 weeks after incurring a sports hernia that will require surgery.

Wainwright's injury is much more significant. Losing him would leave a gaping hole in what looked to be a stable starting rotation heading into camp. Chris Carpenter, Kyle Lohse, Jaime Garcia and Jake Westbrook all have undergone arm surgery during their careers.

Adam Wainwright is just one of four pitchers the past two seasons to have at least 400 strikeouts and an ERA under 3.00.

The 6-foot-7 Wainwright went 20-11 with a 2.42 ERA last season, finishing behind Philadelphia's Roy Halladay in Cy Young Award balloting and earning his first All-Star selection.

His 2.93 ERA since 2007 trails only Halladay, and no National League pitcher threw more than Wainwright's 463 1/3 innings the past two seasons.

La Russa said he doesn't believe the injury is related to the soreness Wainwright felt toward the end of last season, when he was shut down in September. He said it's more likely related to minor issues Wainwright suffered in 1998 and 2004.

"It was so strange because he had a great throw his first time out," La Russa said.

In 2009, Wainwright led the NL in wins (19), innings (233) and starts (34), winning a Gold Glove while finishing third in the Cy Young Award voting.

Should Wainwright be lost for significant time, La Russa expects to find his replacement at camp from a group that includes Ian Snell, Lance Lynn, P.J. Walters and reliever Kyle McClellan.

"We are not going to look outside the organization," La Russa said. "The answer is here."

St. Louis also likely will look internally for Punto's replacement, giving Ramon Vazquez, Daniel Descalso, Tyler Greene and Allen Craig some extra at-bats.

Punto was injured Saturday. A lifetime .247 hitter, he hit .238 in 88 appearances last season with Minnesota. He hit a career-high .290 and scored 73 runs in 2006 with the Twins.

"The expectation is that [Punto] is going to be back 100 percent with a lot of the season to go," La Russa said.

http://sports.espn.g...tory?id=6150113
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[size="5"][b]Cards' rivals revel in Wainwright's woes[/b]
[/size]Posted on: February 23, 2011 3:18 pm


[url="http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/players/playerpage/225418"][color="#3b5998"]Brandon Phillips[/color][/url] started the fire between the [url="http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/teams/page/CIN"][color="#3b5998"]Reds[/color][/url] and [url="http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/teams/page/STL"][color="#3b5998"]Cardinals[/color][/url] last season, [url="http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/players/playerpage/288900"][color="#3b5998"]Johnny Cueto[/color][/url] stoked it and now [url="http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/players/playerpage/433807"][color="#3b5998"]Jonny Gomes[/color][/url] may just have added another log to the fire.

The Cardinals are bracing for bad news as [url="http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/players/playerpage/389743"][color="#3b5998"]Adam Wainwright[/color][/url] is headed to St. Louis to have his elbow looked at. Most of the world has already jumped to the conclusion that he's going to have to have Tommy John surgery, missing all of this season.

That word certainly reached Arizona, home of last year's National League Central champions. In a world where injuries aren't celebrated, Gomes wasn't hiding his excitement that the Cardinals may not be as strong as they were a season ago due to the loss of their ace.

"Wainwright's gone, Wainwright's gone, Wainwright's gone," Gomes sang "at the top of his warbly voice" as he entered the Reds' clubhouse on Wednesday morning, [url="http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/cincinnatireds/entries/2011/02/23/reds_on_alert_over_loss_of_wai.html"][color="#3b5998"]Hal McCoy of the [i]Dayton Daily News[/i] writes[/color][/url], adding that the singing was done "joyously." McCoy was the same person who reported Phillips "whiny little bitches" comment last year that led to a brawl. Gomes is 2-for-10 lifetime against Wainright with a homer and a double coming as his two hits.

Reds manager Dusty Baker took the high road, saying, "I hate to see that. He's not only a great pitcher, he seems like a fine young man, too," Baker said, [url="http://marksheldon.mlblogs.com/archives/2011/02/news_spreads_quickly.html"][color="#3b5998"]according to MLB.com's Mark Sheldon[/color][/url]. "Every time I've seen him, he's been mannerable, polite and respectful."

That said, Baker notes that it makes his rivals weaker.

"Nobody has the depth to overcome [the loss of] a Wainwright," Baker said, according to McCoy. "You can replace him, but in Wainwright and [url="http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/players/playerpage/7495"][color="#3b5998"]Chris Carpenter[/color][/url], you're talking two of the top six or seven pitchers in the league. … Philadelphia has most of the other ones."

While Baker did take the high road, he also got in a shot at his critics -- "who are they going to blame for that one?"

-- C. Trent Rosecrans




[url="http://mlb-facts-and-rumors.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/22297882/27623786"]http://mlb-facts-and-rumors.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/22297882/27623786[/url]
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[quote name='Tigers Johnson' timestamp='1298508356' post='972470']
That sucks so early in the season...
[/quote]

Yeah it sucks for them. Im not gonna feel bad though cause we essentially missed our "Ace" or at least our potential ace based on how he performed in 2008 for most of 2009 and 2010 because of tommy john. To win divisions and world championships you need luck to go your way, this might be our first little bit of luck with hopefully more to come (and by more to come i dont mean injuries necessarily).
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[b][url="http://cincinnati.com/blogs/reds/2011/02/23/sorting-out-gomes-wainwright/"][size="5"]Sorting out Gomes-Wainwright[/size][/url][size="5"] [/size][/b]

[b]7:57 pm, Feb 23, 2011 by [email="johnfayman@aol.com"]jfay[/email] | [url="http://cincinnati.com/blogs/reds/2011/02/23/sorting-out-gomes-wainwright/#comments"]0 Comments [/url]


[/b]
Jonny Gomes started Twitter/blog storm without really knowing it today. Gomes walked out of the players dining room singing the Karate Kid song: "You're the best around. I'll never let you down . . ."

He continued and mentioned Adam Wainwright. Gomes said he sang "Is Wainwright gone?" It was reported elsewhere that he sang "Wainwright's gone."

Gomes said he just heard from Rob Dibble during an interview that Wainwright was hurt. He was seeking clarification.

I heard it. I honestly don't remember exactly what he sang. I didn't report it because I generally don't write what players say aloud or sing in the clubhouse. I only use what I get in interviews.

I talked to Gomes a bit ago. He is mortified that it was construed that he wished ill on Wainwright.

"I would never wish injury on anyone," he said. "If he's hurt, I wish him a speedy recovery. I know Wainwright. He's a good dude. It's a great organization."



[url="http://cincinnati.com/blogs/reds/2011/02/23/sorting-out-gomes-wainwright/"]http://cincinnati.com/blogs/reds/2011/02/23/sorting-out-gomes-wainwright/[/url]
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[quote name='JBandJoeyV' timestamp='1298508729' post='972472']
Yeah it sucks for them. Im not gonna feel bad though cause we essentially missed our "Ace" or at least our potential ace based on how he performed in 2008 for most of 2009 and 2010 because of tommy john. To win divisions and world championships you need luck to go your way, this might be our first little bit of luck with hopefully more to come (and by more to come i dont mean injuries necessarily).
[/quote]

It is really going to be hard to beat the Phillies with their 4 Ace's.....
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