A single pitch hasn't even been tossed yet in the 2009 season, but injuries are already starting to hit the Jays.
I'm starting to wonder if someone, unknown to those of us in the media and you the fans, sold their soul to the devil for the Toronto Blue Jays’ back-to-back World Series titles in 1992 and 1993, and now its payback time. That can be the only explanation for the tsunami of injuries that continue to wash over this franchise.
The Jays haven't even thrown a ball in anger yet and word comes out of spring training camp on Monday that Vernon Wells will be shut down for about a month with a left hamstring pull, the same hammy that caused him to miss 26 games in the middle of last season. Now the problem resurfaces taking part in drills before Grapefruit League games have even begun.
So much for traveling with a personal trainer to keep you in peak physical condition. Where's Greg Anderson or Brian McNamee when you need him?
And so it begins, as it has for several seasons in a row where key components on this team -- all needed to be healthy for this team to contend -- have missed considerable time to injuries. Going back to 2005, Corey Koskie broke his right thumb sliding into second base and missed two and a half months. Roy Halladay's season ended before the all-star break when a line drive broke his left tibia. Ted Lilly then missed six weeks with left biceps tendinitis.
On to 2006 where A.J. Burnett started his Blue Jays career on the DL with right elbow soreness, something that would flare up again at the end of April, causing him to miss two months of starts. Gustavo Chacin spent a pair of stints on the DL with a variety of arm ailments. Alex Rios developed a staph infection and missed almost all of the month of July. And Justin Speier missed a month with a tight right forearm.
In 2007, Reed Johnson missed almost three months with a herniated disc in his lower back. Right shoulder pain shut down Brandon League until the all-star break. Closer B.J. Ryan was lost for the season in the middle of April when he needed ligament replacement surgery (Tommy John) in his pitching elbow. Troy Glaus took a trip to the DL with bone spurs and had problems with his feet all season. Gregg Zaun missed six weeks with a fractured right thumb. Halladay missed 20 days with acute appendicitis. Lyle Overbay was out over a month with a broken hand and was never the same when he returned. Burnett's shoulder started barking and he made just one start between the middle of June and the middle of August. And Wells was finally shut down with a week to go when it was revealed he needed surgery on his left shoulder.
Then last season, the injury bug started biting again in spring training. Casey Janssen tore his right labrum and was lost for the season. Newly-acquired third baseman Scott Rolen broke the tip of his right middle finger during routine fielding drills. Once the regular season started, a strained right triceps shut down reliever Brian Wolfe for eight weeks. On May 7th, both David Eckstein (hip flexor) and John McDonald (sprained right ankle) were DL'd, leaving a massive hole at short. Wells fractured his left wrist diving to make a catch against Cleveland and missed a month. An inflamed right elbow cost Zaun 19 days of service. Aaron Hill suffered a concussion in late May and was lost for the season. Shannon Stewart sprained his right ankle and missed two months before being released. Shaun Marcum's elbow problems started, first missing a month starting in late June and finally causing him to be shut down until 2010 when it was revealed he needed Tommy John surgery. Dustin McGowan tore his labrum in early July and was shut down for the balance of the season, unlikely to return until the middle of 2009. Wells strained that left hamstring and missed a month. Brian Tallet broke his right baby toe. Rolen's left shoulder started acting up enough for him to miss 15 days. And finally, Scott Downs sprained an ankle and missed the final two weeks of the season.
Now, I'm a big believer in karma, and it sure seems to me that the Jays' is all bad. I was kind of hoping that the return of Cito Gaston and Paul Beeston to the fold -- two pillars of the championship years -- would change that, as things would return to the old 'Blue Jays Way' of doing things, when winning came often and easily. Apparently those are just pipe dreams. A black cloud continues to hang over this once-proud franchise.
I really have no idea how to change this. Does anybody have the number of a good witch doctor?
