Notes: Burke's '05 injury a silver lining
03/01/2006
KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Question: What's the best way to add strength to your right arm?
In Chris Burke's case, the answer is simple: Dislocate the shoulder in your left.
Initially, Burke's injury last September -- a partially dislocated shoulder and slight tear in his labrum on a diving play in center field -- resulted in a week of missed games. But six months later, that misfortune may have actually been a blessing, because he had to add a new round of exercises to his routine over the winter.
"I had to do shoulder-stabilizing exercises with my left shoulder, and when you do shoulder exercises, you don't just do one shoulder," Burke said. "You do them both together. So, my right arm feels better."
That's encouraging news, considering the club is considering playing Burke at shortstop and in left field. Arm strength is somewhat of an issue, so this added strength might just help his cause.
"The Lord works in mysterious ways," Burke said.
As for whether the offseason training will help him throw harder, Burke chose not to look too deeply into the matter.
"I just think there's less soreness," he said. "Usually, this time of year, you have a little more soreness, getting back to throwing every day. So far, I've had less."
Rings: All uniformed personnel from last year's pennant-winning club will be sized for rings on Thursday at the Kissimmee complex. A diagram of the National League champion ring was posted on the bulletin board in the Astros clubhouse Wednesday.
On the top, an Astros star -- filled with 20 diamonds -- sits atop a large ruby, with four diamonds down each side. The top is engraved with "National League Champions."
On one side, the player's name will be engraved next to the words "First World Series," with an Astros logo sitting on top of a logo of the state of Texas.
The other side will feature an engraved "Astros," a depiction of Minute Maid Park and the year "2005."
In addition to players and coaches, all full-time Astros employees will receive a National League championship ring.
Lineup: Craig Biggio will lead off as the designated hitter in the first Grapefruit League game on Thursday against the Cleveland Indians. He'll be followed by Willy Taveras in center, Burke at second, Morgan Ensberg at third, Jason Lane in right field, Adam Everett at shortstop, Luke Scott in left, Eric Munson at first base and Humberto Quintero catching.
Manager Phil Garner will work in Preston Wilson in the second game of the exhibition season on Friday in Winter Haven, and Brad Ausmus will play his first spring game on Saturday, at home against the Braves.
Jeff Bagwell will DH in Winter Haven on Friday and at home on Saturday, pending the Braves' expected approval to implement the DH rule at the Astros' home ballpark.
Springer: Russ Springer, recovering from a pulled rib cage muscle, threw approximately 35-40 pitches off the mound Wednesday.
"I turned it up a little bit more," he said. "As long as it feels good, I'm going to keep rolling. I just don't want to take any back steps."
Springer will throw again on Friday.
Minor setback: Mike Lamb won't play in the spring opener on Thursday because of a sore Achilles tendon, but the infielder doesn't appear concerned that the discomfort will linger.
"You can call it day-to-day," he said. "Better now than later."
Pecking order: In a last-minute scheduling twist, the Astros announced that Dan Wheeler will start against the Indians on Thursday, not Brad Lidge, as earlier reported.
Apparently, being one of the top closers in the league doesn't carry as much weight as it used to.
"It's simple," pitching coach Jim Hickey said. "Wheeler's got more time in the big leagues. He's got seniority. We do it by the hierarchy, and Wheeler's the senior member of the club."
Indeed, he is. According to the newly released, hot-off-the-presses, 436-page Astros media guide, Wheeler has 3.047 years of big league service time. Lidge has only 3.043 years.
Advantage, Wheeler.
"He used to have only two days on me," Lidge insisted. "At some point, he ended up gaining two phantom days in the offseason."
Lidge does not appear to be miffed by his second-inning assignment. After all, it keeps him and Wheeler in the same order as fans have grown accustomed to in the last year.
"It doesn't bother me," Lidge said. "Put it this way. If we went out there in a different order, we might get confused and run out backward. This is probably a good idea."
Following their brief appearances against the Tribe, Lidge and Wheeler will head to the airport to fly to Phoenix, where Team USA is training for the World Baseball Classic.
Final results: As expected, Lidge's group won the annual pitchers spring bunting contest with a final score of 570. Much credit, however, has to go to Roy Oswalt's group, which had a strong showing in the final days to finish second with 545. Andy Pettitte's crew finished third with 310 points, followed by Springer and Wheeler's group, whose poor performance netted them a paltry 242 points.
"Complete tailspin," tournament commish Doug Mansolino said.
Odds and ends: The Astros practiced sliding during morning workouts on Thursday, and this drill wasn't limited to players only. "It brought back old memories," Garner said. "My rear end's on fire, from where I bounced on the ground instead of slid. Getting old is tough." ... Wilson and Pettitte were not in camp Wednesday but instead were tending to personal matters. Garner expects both to return Thursday. ... Former Astros catcher Tony Eusebio, who lives in Kissimmee, dropped by the Astros complex to say hi to old teammates. Eusebio played for the Astros from 1994-2001. ... The Astros signed five players to one-year contracts Wednesday: Brandon Backe ($442,500); Eric Bruntlett ($365,000), Mike Gallo ($365,000), Hector Gimenez ($327,000) and Chad Qualls ($376,000).
Source: http://houston.astros.mlb.com/
KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Question: What's the best way to add strength to your right arm?
In Chris Burke's case, the answer is simple: Dislocate the shoulder in your left.
Initially, Burke's injury last September -- a partially dislocated shoulder and slight tear in his labrum on a diving play in center field -- resulted in a week of missed games. But six months later, that misfortune may have actually been a blessing, because he had to add a new round of exercises to his routine over the winter.
"I had to do shoulder-stabilizing exercises with my left shoulder, and when you do shoulder exercises, you don't just do one shoulder," Burke said. "You do them both together. So, my right arm feels better."
That's encouraging news, considering the club is considering playing Burke at shortstop and in left field. Arm strength is somewhat of an issue, so this added strength might just help his cause.
"The Lord works in mysterious ways," Burke said.
As for whether the offseason training will help him throw harder, Burke chose not to look too deeply into the matter.
"I just think there's less soreness," he said. "Usually, this time of year, you have a little more soreness, getting back to throwing every day. So far, I've had less."
Rings: All uniformed personnel from last year's pennant-winning club will be sized for rings on Thursday at the Kissimmee complex. A diagram of the National League champion ring was posted on the bulletin board in the Astros clubhouse Wednesday.
On the top, an Astros star -- filled with 20 diamonds -- sits atop a large ruby, with four diamonds down each side. The top is engraved with "National League Champions."
On one side, the player's name will be engraved next to the words "First World Series," with an Astros logo sitting on top of a logo of the state of Texas.
The other side will feature an engraved "Astros," a depiction of Minute Maid Park and the year "2005."
In addition to players and coaches, all full-time Astros employees will receive a National League championship ring.
Lineup: Craig Biggio will lead off as the designated hitter in the first Grapefruit League game on Thursday against the Cleveland Indians. He'll be followed by Willy Taveras in center, Burke at second, Morgan Ensberg at third, Jason Lane in right field, Adam Everett at shortstop, Luke Scott in left, Eric Munson at first base and Humberto Quintero catching.
Manager Phil Garner will work in Preston Wilson in the second game of the exhibition season on Friday in Winter Haven, and Brad Ausmus will play his first spring game on Saturday, at home against the Braves.
Jeff Bagwell will DH in Winter Haven on Friday and at home on Saturday, pending the Braves' expected approval to implement the DH rule at the Astros' home ballpark.
Springer: Russ Springer, recovering from a pulled rib cage muscle, threw approximately 35-40 pitches off the mound Wednesday.
"I turned it up a little bit more," he said. "As long as it feels good, I'm going to keep rolling. I just don't want to take any back steps."
Springer will throw again on Friday.
Minor setback: Mike Lamb won't play in the spring opener on Thursday because of a sore Achilles tendon, but the infielder doesn't appear concerned that the discomfort will linger.
"You can call it day-to-day," he said. "Better now than later."
Pecking order: In a last-minute scheduling twist, the Astros announced that Dan Wheeler will start against the Indians on Thursday, not Brad Lidge, as earlier reported.
Apparently, being one of the top closers in the league doesn't carry as much weight as it used to.
"It's simple," pitching coach Jim Hickey said. "Wheeler's got more time in the big leagues. He's got seniority. We do it by the hierarchy, and Wheeler's the senior member of the club."
Indeed, he is. According to the newly released, hot-off-the-presses, 436-page Astros media guide, Wheeler has 3.047 years of big league service time. Lidge has only 3.043 years.
Advantage, Wheeler.
"He used to have only two days on me," Lidge insisted. "At some point, he ended up gaining two phantom days in the offseason."
Lidge does not appear to be miffed by his second-inning assignment. After all, it keeps him and Wheeler in the same order as fans have grown accustomed to in the last year.
"It doesn't bother me," Lidge said. "Put it this way. If we went out there in a different order, we might get confused and run out backward. This is probably a good idea."
Following their brief appearances against the Tribe, Lidge and Wheeler will head to the airport to fly to Phoenix, where Team USA is training for the World Baseball Classic.
Final results: As expected, Lidge's group won the annual pitchers spring bunting contest with a final score of 570. Much credit, however, has to go to Roy Oswalt's group, which had a strong showing in the final days to finish second with 545. Andy Pettitte's crew finished third with 310 points, followed by Springer and Wheeler's group, whose poor performance netted them a paltry 242 points.
"Complete tailspin," tournament commish Doug Mansolino said.
Odds and ends: The Astros practiced sliding during morning workouts on Thursday, and this drill wasn't limited to players only. "It brought back old memories," Garner said. "My rear end's on fire, from where I bounced on the ground instead of slid. Getting old is tough." ... Wilson and Pettitte were not in camp Wednesday but instead were tending to personal matters. Garner expects both to return Thursday. ... Former Astros catcher Tony Eusebio, who lives in Kissimmee, dropped by the Astros complex to say hi to old teammates. Eusebio played for the Astros from 1994-2001. ... The Astros signed five players to one-year contracts Wednesday: Brandon Backe ($442,500); Eric Bruntlett ($365,000), Mike Gallo ($365,000), Hector Gimenez ($327,000) and Chad Qualls ($376,000).
Source: http://houston.astros.mlb.com/
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