Are you drunk? You might want to get drunk for this. From Marc Topkin…
Officially there is no update yet on the status of LHP J.P. Howell.
But indications are that Howell went to Birmingham, Ala., today to be seen by Dr. James Andrews, will have surgery this week to repair his labrum and will be out about a full year.
So if we are reading that right, and we like to think we are. JP Howell will not only miss this season, but he won’t be available to start the 2011 season either.
Amok! Amok! Amok!
20 Comments
I just threw up in my mouth
I’m not here. This isn’t happening …
This hurts…bad… was looking foward to seeing JP. Well I guess we will be looking for a lefty at the Deadline.
Unless RJ Swindle is 100% or Jake McGee is ready, I’d bet they’re looking now.
NOOOO!!!!! I was really looking forward to his return. Looks like I’ll be waiting a while
Sorry, but I am not worried…..much. I like what I have seen of the BP so far this year. Maybe some regression is in order, but I think they are all pitching well and will not regress much more the rest of the year.
I agree. If we had gotten this news 3 weeks ago I’d be a bit worried, but from what we’ve seen lately, I think we’ll be ok. Still sucks though, always like to watch the Dude work.
Guys its still JP. He’s one of the most clutch and consistent guys we’ve ever had.
Hope JP gets well soon.
If there’s a good thing, you can’t lose what you didn’t have and we never had JP this year, and so far, so good, and no guarantee JP would have been what he was if he did make it back this year…
Ask yourself this question:
Did you like it better in 2009 with JP or 2010 with Soriano?
I know which way I’m going?
Ask yourself this question smart guy: Would you rather have Jp and Soriano or no Jp?
It seems to be working just fine so far…..
OH I also forgot…from what I seen Mon. night…. I rather have Soriano and Benoit (5 batters/5 stikeouts) than JP or anyone else!!
point is that we are in a better situation than last year still w/out JP.
Can JP (and his agent) sue Joe Maddon for managerial malpractice? Not only did he make the major’s most appearances in 2008-09 (despite being shhut down early in 2009), JoeMa had him up and down in the pen quite often as well. A bummer, as he seems like a good dude and he may never get the payday he deserved.
Even with good starting pitching, the Rays still have too many short relief apperances. Randy Choate’s arm should fall off by August at this rate.
I have zero medical expertise, but I worried from day 1 that his problems were more serious than they had suggested. It just never made sense to me that he would come to spring training after not pitching for 5 months and have what they were calling a “arm weakness” or something.
Apart from the question of whether the Rays bullpen will be weaker without him, I just feel badly for him. This is a big setback for a likable young guy.
Not only have the Rays been robbed of a key component to their bullpen, but MLB has been robbed of some great facial hair. Jayson Werth can sleep easy tonight.
Get better, JP.
So…..we deal with it the same way the Twins dealt with losing Nathan. Last I checked, they are weathering the storm. So will the Rays. It’s an opportunity for someone, next man up.
This isn’t just a “we don’t need him” or an “oh my god, no JP!!!” kinda thing. It doesn’t matter if our bullpen is performing or not (it is) or whether we have faith in the bullpen as it stands (I do more and more each day). Having JP Howell is better than not having Howell, simple and plain. So yeah, not season shattering news but it’s still disappointing