And the hits just keep on coming for the Angels.This spring has already been hard on the Halos as they've already put four pitchers on the disabled list (Kelvim Escobar, John Lackey, Scot Shields, and Chris Bootcheck) and they'll probably be putting Gary Matthews Jr. on it as well in the coming days. It seems that every day the Angels are hit with bad news.
That didn't change this morning. Kelvim Escobar, who was expected to be back in May, had a setback in his shoulder rehab on Tuesday and is going to miss even more time.
As if the Angels didn't have enough problems, there was more disturbing news Tuesday: A week into his throwing program, the second phase of his rehabilitation from a sore shoulder, Escobar has been shut down because of discomfort, a setback that probably will push the right-hander's return to June.I don't know if I agree with Mike Scioscia's diagnosis of this being a "little glitch" in Escobar's rehab. Losing the 18-game winner for another month doesn't really qualify as "little" in my book. Kelvim stubbing his toe and having to miss a day is a little glitch. This is a bonafide problem.
"When you're activating your arm, sometimes you have little glitches," Scioscia said. "He started to throw, felt a little discomfort, and now he's trying to get some of the inflammation out of there. It's nothing unusual in a rehab scenario to have to take a step back."
If there's any good news for the Angels, it's that they didn't trade away any of their excess pitching this offseason because they need it now more than ever. Of course, it's even better news for the Mariners, as this can only help their odds of wrestling the AL West away from the Halos.
