Following Mets pitcher Matt Harvey's triumphant return to the mound, Stephania Bell of ESPN published what I feel is the must read article of the week, taking a look at the facts and the myths of Tommy John surgery. While the press screams for Masahiro Tanaka to get the surgery, it serves as a great caution. Not so much that the surgery is bad for it has helped many, but full recovery is no guarantee.
As for Matt Harvey, it was like he was never gone on Thursday afternoon as he dominated the Nationals for six innings, allowing no runs and striking out nine. Jeff Sullivan wrote a great breakdown of it for Just A Bit Outside.
Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times writes of the drama that continues to play out over Josh Hamilton relapse. Angels owner Arte Moreno appears agnostic at best to the idea that Hamilton will suit up for the Angels this season and may even look to challenge the contract.
Richard Justice of MLB.com writes of last night's 19 inning classic between the Yankees and the Red Sox. The classic rivalry has been the inspiration of pace of play rules and what not so it's only fitting they open up their many battles together this season with a game that clocked 6 hours and 49 minutes. Through great pitching, clutch hits and power outages, it was Mookie Betts' sacrifice fly in the 19th that sent the Red Sox to the clubhouse with a win.
Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweeted yesterday that Rangers pitcher Derek Holland will be shut down for 4-6 weeks with a shoulder strain following pitching just one inning in yesterday's loss to the Astros. It's getting to the point where someone not being injured is news for Texas. They have Wandy Rodriguez for the short term. They have been linked to Cole Hamels in the past. Doubtful that gets visited just now.
