Last One Out Turn Off the Lights

Apparently, Scott Rolen is headed back to St. Louis to consult with Dr. Paletta about his shoulder.  Dr. Paletta has a mixed reputation in Cardinal Nation.  Well, "mixed" could be considered generous.  The botching of injuries such as Rolen's shoulder originally have led to some looking for a change in medical management.  The fact that the Cardinals seem to be the worst about letting someone sit the bench because "they'll be back in a couple of days" and then, after they've sat for over a week, finally put them on the DL has to come from somewhere.  It was noted somewhere (and I can't remember where at the moment) that the Cardinals were on the cutting edge of injury analysis research.  They've had plenty of test subjects this year.

Anyway, Rolen is out.  Probably going to wind up on the DL, throwing another obstacle in the Cardinals' path.  (Though if it's one of those "cortizone shots and here we go" things, that might be all right since that tends to help the player get back to form, at least for the short term.)  But that's not all on the injury/sky-is-falling front.

There are rumors floating around that Chris Carpenter is going to need Tommy John surgery, which means he probably won't pitch again until 2009.   With Carpenter going to the doctor in the last day or so, the timing for these rumors is believable.  Whether they are true or not is a totally different story, but if they couldn't tell when he had his earlier surgery that TJ was needed, Paletta needs to pack up his office today and find somewhere else to ply his trade.  That could be the final straw, especially with the contract extension Carpenter signed in the offseason.

Fewer and fewer things to be excited about in 2007.  At least until some of the minor league guys start coming up.