Pomeranz stirs up panic
JUPITER, Fla. — The threat warning for now is at one, and not two, raised eyebrows after an injury to Drew Pomeranz yesterday.
As long as it stays right there for the left-handed starter, the team and Pomeranz can treat the tight, cramping sensation he experienced yesterday in the entire underside of his forearm that forced him out of his first spring start after just one inning as just a minor hiccup.
If the discomfort lingers or tests reveal something more sinister, well . . . let’s not go to that dark place, yet.
What matters is that when a starter of Pomeranz’ caliber has to leave a game early, it’s a real big deal. Pomeranz is a bigtime “if” and under-theradar cog in the rotation.
Last year, he was the Sox’ second-most-reliable starter after Chris Sale. He won 17 games with a 3.32 ERA and answered lingering questions about his durability.
Last spring, he got off to a slow start after an offseason elbow injection procedure (it worked) and then had triceps tightness. But he was fine the rest of the season.
So everyone was keen to see if Pomeranz was capable of improving this season.
That’s why yesterday’s development took all the air out of that balloon.
“Obviously would have liked to finish today but looking forward to getting back out there for the next one,” he said. “Hopefully will be back out there for my next one.”
According to Pomeranz, he had “no issues” and felt good prior to yesterday’s start.
“Pretty sure this is probably nothing,” he said. “Up to this point we’ve been taking it pretty slow. I just don’t want to push anything and give myself enough time to be ready for the season.”
Initial reactions to injuries are seldom reliable.
It was here two years ago when reliever Carson Smith had to leave with cramping in his forearm that eventually turned into Tommy John surgery. Initially, he was relieved that there was only a muscle strain in his flexor mass.
And David Price sounded relieved when he first came back from getting multiple opinions on his forearm/ elbow issue a year ago. He sounded confident he would be back soon. Then he was shut down for three months, and later missed six more weeks.
At least Pomeranz indicated no localized area of discomfort, such as near his elbow, which would definitely raise that second eyebrow. His level of concern? “Pretty low,” he said. “I felt pretty good in the first inning, just felt a little tightness going out there in the second inning,” he said. “I threw a few pitches to the first hitter and I wasn’t really pushing it, so I just was like ‘You know what, there’s no point.’ Let’s figure out what’s going on and shut it down.
“It was just something I didn’t feel like pushing in my first outing. I came in here, the trainers checked it out and everything seems fine, so we’ll see how I feel coming in the next couple of days.”
Manager Alex Cora voiced cautious optimism.
“He’s going to see a doctor and then we’ll go from there,” said Cora. “From what I heard he’s not too concerned off of it, so hopefully the best.”
Before the game, Cora made it clear how nobody should overlook Pomeranz’ importance.
“Sometimes we get caught up talking about the lefties, we talk about (Chris) Sale, we talk about David and you forget how good Drew is,” said Cora. “He can pitch. He’s one of those rare pitchers in this era that pitches inside, which I think is great. His breaking ball is great, very deceptive, so if he has a season like last year the way he threw the ball, I’d be happy with that.”
Right now, Cora would be happier if, when Pomeranz makes his next start, he walks off the mound when he’s done, versus when he’s hurt.
Then, everyone can resume raving about Pomeranz.
Until then, everyone has to worry about him.