Harang Has "Shoulder Inflammation"...

[membengal]

...and is being skipped over in his scheduled start today against Pittsburgh.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060309/SPT04/603090399/1071/SPT

Aaron Harang, the Reds' de facto No. 1 starter, has been scratched from his start today against the Pittsburgh Pirates with right shoulder inflammation.

The Reds are saying it's not as bad as it sounds.

"He's been working on some mechanical changes with some of his pitches," trainer Mark Mann said. "He's been dealing with this for about a week. We decided to have him skip a start and let it calm down. "This is more of a precaution." Mann said Harang has not had an MRI or X-ray of the shoulder. "We haven't deemed it necessary to do any kind of diagnostic work," Mann said. Harang didn't throw Wednesday and won't throw today. "We'll see how he is Friday," Mann said. Harang, a 27-year-old right-hander, went 11-13 with a 3.83 ERA last year.

Wow. Forgive me for not being completely as laisserz-faire as the Reds are apparently being with this. Perhaps an MRI wouldn't hurt? Just to make sure there is nothing going on?

And, let's hope there is indeed nothing going on, any chance this team has of getting near .500 is gone if Harang is shelved for any length of time.

[wolfboy]

I have to agree with you membengal. Go ahead with the MRI just to make sure. There's no reason to take risks with your best starter

[Chip R]

Usually the Opening Day starter jinx doesn't rear it's ugly head until after Opening Day.

[registerthis]

Usually the Opening Day starter jinx doesn't rear it's ugly head until after Opening Day.

I was thinking it typically rears its ugly head by the 2nd or 3rd inning of Opening Day, but that's picking nits...

[Red Leader]

This is going to be a long, unbearable season if Harang misses anymore than 3 starts this year.

[pedro]

I get scared when the pitchers start making "mechanical changes" and their arm starts hurting.

[Chip R]

Maybe Aaron has figured out the Opening Day starter jinx and is just faking his injury so he can be held back for the 2nd game of the season. ;)

[kyred14]

Uh oh.

[redsfan30]

Faaaannnntastic!

:(

[M2]

I get scared when the pitchers start making "mechanical changes" and their arm starts hurting.

Me too.

[steig]

There goes any hope of 3rd place.

[acredsfan]

I know from experience that shoulders can be funny, but it is also something that i believe shouldn't be taken lightly. If the Reds weren't afraid something was wrong, i would believe they would have went ahead with an MRI, this makes me feel that they may be afraid of something bigger. That's just how i feel about it though, i could be wrong.

[Falls City Beer]

Now maybe Krivsky will get off his evaluating butt and go get us a starter.

I predicted this would happen; and I argued that the Reds would find themselves flat-footed if they didn't try to bolster the rotation.

[timmario66]

According to Marc's blog:


BRADENTON -- Caught up with Aaron Harang back at the complex this morning. He said he isn't worried at all about his shoulder inflammation, and that he had a similar problem under similar circumstances a few years ago.

"It’s a soreness, and every once in a while it’ll grab me, but it’s right in the middle of my deltoid, which is muscle-based," said Harang. "If it was in the front or the back of my shoulder, then we’d worry about it.

"I did the same thing in AA, we were kind of tinkering with some mechanics and the same thing happened, it got inflamed. It’s basically my body telling me it doesn’t like what I’m doing, so do what I was doing before."

Said Jerry Narron: "If it was the season, I think he’d have pitched today."

:dancingco

[M2]

Now maybe Krivsky will get off his evaluating butt and go get us a starter.

I predicted this would happen; and I argued that the Reds would find themselves flat-footed if they didn't try to bolster the rotation.

Flat-footed? In terms of pitching this club is lying on its back inside a well-dug grave.

Frankly I could care less about the short-term problem. The Reds are going nowhere in 2006 and that was written in stone before Krivsky ever came into the picture. What he's got to do is fix the long-term problem.

I sincerely doubt he's evaluating anything at the moment. My guess is he knows who he has to replace and which players he intends to trade. It's just a matter of waiting for the trade market to develop.

The one guy I think Krivsky can and should move during ST is Dave Williams. While it may seem couterintuitive to trade a pitcher when you need pitching, I'm guessing there are some clubs that would take him for a AA or AAA arm in order to plug an immediate hole.

[ukwazoo]

Not good.

[KronoRed]

If I were Clauseen I would be frightened.

[MikeS21]

I'm not as concerned about the shoulder pain as I am with the fact that someone is messing with his mechanics. I'm not sure Harang or Claussen either one need their mechanics tweaked or fixed.

[Falls City Beer]

Flat-footed? In terms of pitching this club is lying on its back inside a well-dug grave.

Frankly I could care less about the short-term problem. The Reds are going nowhere in 2006 and that was written in stone before Krivsky ever came into the picture. What he's got to do is fix the long-term problem.

I sincerely doubt he's evaluating anything at the moment. My guess is he knows who he has to replace and which players he intends to trade. It's just a matter of waiting for the trade market to develop.

The one guy I think Krivsky can and should move during ST is Dave Williams. While it may seem couterintuitive to trade a pitcher when you need pitching, I'm guessing there are some clubs that would take him for a AA or AAA arm in order to plug an immediate hole.

I mean flat-footed in terms of rushing around at the last minute in order to replace someone, specifically the best pitcher on the staff.

And you should be worried about the near-term--it's inextricable from the long-term. If the Reds come out of the gate on one of their soap-bubble, unsustainable tears and go 20-10 to start the season, the Reds might be able to get real value for a Kearns or Pena. If, however, they go 10-20 to start the season, their commodities become less and less valuable in trade terms, regardless of the individual player's prowess.

Sitting around and waiting for stuff to happen is bad, bad, bad planning. Now it certainly looks like the Reds are going to have to find a way to replace his innings. Because Harang's replacement currently on the Reds' roster isn't bad, he's non-existent. They need innings, pronto.

[M2]

I mean flat-footed in terms of rushing around at the last minute in order to replace someone, specifically the best pitcher on the staff.

I agree whole-heartedly the club should have been looking to add to Harang during the offseason, but that ship sailed before Krivsky arrived. As for replacing him now if he really does have a shoulder problem (and it sounds entirely possible that he doesn't), you don't. That's partially because you can't (no one's trading that caliber of pitcher at the moment), but also because 2006 is dead as a daisy in December as far as the Reds are concerned ... even if Harang has a good season. Making moves for 2006 would be suicidal.


And you should be worried about the near-term--it's inextricable from the long-term. If the Reds come out of the gate on one of their soap-bubble, unsustainable tears and go 20-10 to start the season, the Reds might be able to get real value for a Kearns or Pena. If, however, they go 10-20 to start the season, their commodities become less and less valuable in trade terms, regardless of the individual player's prowess.

Nah, the Reds could go 0-30 and it wouldn't affect Pena or Kearns' trade value. If they play well, they've got market. The only effect the team record will have on dealing them is the Reds' willingness to pull the trigger.


Sitting around and waiting for stuff to happen is bad, bad, bad planning. Now it certainly looks like the Reds are going to have to find a way to replace his innings. Because Harang's replacement currently on the Reds' roster isn't bad, he's non-existent. They need innings, pronto.

Yeah, sitting around and waiting sucks. Unfortunately the window on the trade market is largely closed at the moment. Gripe about all you want, but it won't open up again until May.

I can give a hang about replacing Harang's innings in 2006. Either he'll be fine and pitch those innings himself or he won't be healthy and they go to a conga line of guys who can't get the job done. What the Reds need to be dealing for is arms who can pitch well for a few years, not innings replacements. The organization has precious little talent to deal and it can't waste trades on inconsequential cosmetic moves. If Harang isn't able to take his regular turn in the rotation (and it doesn't sound like that's a major concern at the moment), then the inevitable consequences are unavoidably ugly. My suggestion is to hope this is a molehill. It's the only good outcome for us Reds fans in this situation.

[Falls City Beer]

I agree whole-heartedly the club should have been looking to add to Harang during the offseason, but that ship sailed before Krivsky arrived. As for replacing him now if he really does have a shoulder problem (and it sounds entirely possible that he doesn't), you don't. That's partially because you can't (no one's trading that caliber of pitcher at the moment), but also because 2006 is dead as a daisy in December as far as the Reds are concerned ... even if Harang has a good season. Making moves for 2006 would be suicidal.



Nah, the Reds could go 0-30 and it wouldn't affect Pena or Kearns' trade value. If they play well, they've got market. The only effect the team record will have on dealing them is the Reds' willingness to pull the trigger.



Yeah, sitting around and waiting sucks. Unfortunately the window on the trade market is largely closed at the moment. Gripe about all you want, but it won't open up again until May.

I can give a hang about replacing Harang's innings in 2006. Either he'll be fine and pitch those innings himself or he won't be healthy and they go to a conga line of guys who can't get the job done. What the Reds need to be dealing for is arms who can pitch well for a few years, not innings replacements. The organization has precious little talent to deal and it can't waste trades on inconsequential cosmetic moves. If Harang isn't able to take his regular turn in the rotation (and it doesn't sound like that's a major concern at the moment), then the inevitable consequences are unavoidably ugly. My suggestion is to hope this is a molehill. It's the only good outcome for us Reds fans in this situation.

Didn't Bowden pick up Greg Vaughn in mid-late February?

Teams trade players in Spring Training. They do. I promise you; I've seen it happen tons of times.

And I'm not talking about finding Harang-level to replace Harang. I'm saying there ISN'T the conga line of bad starters to fill his shoes. They simply do not exist on this team, majors or minors. But hell, I'm all for bringing up Bailey and seeing what he could do.

And team performance certainly does affect tradeability: Kearns, for example, would be MUCH more tradeable if the team were performing well and he were OPSing .760--than if he were performing at the same clip and the team's record sucked. There are dumb GMs still (despite DanO's exit).

[M2]

Didn't Bowden pick up Greg Vaughn in mid-late February?

Teams trade players in Spring Training. They do. I promise you; I've seen it happen tons of times.

And I'm not talking about finding Harang-level to replace Harang. I'm saying there ISN'T the conga line of bad starters to fill his shoes. They simply do not exist on this team, majors or minors. But hell, I'm all for bringing up Bailey and seeing what he could do.

And team performance certainly does affect tradeability: Kearns, for example, would be MUCH more tradeable if the team were performing well and he were OPSing .760--than if he were performing at the same clip and the team's record sucked. There are dumb GMs still (despite DanO's exit).

I've seen it happen too, but I haven't seen them deal many (really any) quality major league starters, especially in recent years. Top-tier prospects also aren't on the block at the moment. Position players are just about the only thing you can put your hands on. If the Reds had a Chad Billingsley and a desperate need to upgrade the offense you can bet I'd be shopping him. Then again, I'm baffled as to why the Red Sox didn't look to move John Lester for B.J. Upton.

Like I said earlier, I'd be looking to find a market for Williams right now because you might be able to score due to him being unique offering for February.

But there's a reason why he's unique.

Anyway, if there's no Harang, then I suggest you brace yourself for the comedy stylings of Mike Gosling, Phil Dumatrait and El Lizardo.

If Kearns has a .760 OPS, he's got no market. The Reds could be undefeated and he'd still have no market. If he has an .860 OPS, then other teams are going to want him and be willing to part with some talent to get him. Kearns was totally tradeable after 2003 when the Reds sucked the high hard one.