Jhoulys Chacin, who is slated to be the Colorado Rockies' opening day starter, was scratched from his start yesterday with back spasms. The Rockies insist that it was solely a precautionary move, but should we be worried anyway?
David Wiers of Rotographs wrote a blurb on Chacin's situation today, mentioning that the Rockies' already uncertain pitching situation could be dealt a huge blow if this turns out to be more than what the club says it is. Of course, while making his point about Chacin's strong return from a torn pectoral a year ago, Wiers gives the caveat of Chacin only pitching into the seventh inning once but apparently forgot about Project 5,183, which prevented Chacin -- or any other starter -- from going too far over the 100-pitch threshold.
The one concern I have is this: What if Chacin has been pitching through back pain all spring? Sure, maybe his back issue isn't serious, but there's always the possibility (and these days, maybe it's more of a probability) that he could have tweaked something else while compensating for the back pain.
Chacin hasn't pitched well this spring, albeit in a very small sample size, so it will be interesting to see how he bounces back. For the record, Troy Renck says the injury is not serious and shouldn't affect opening day. But, if it does end up being serious, the Rockies will have to make a move. Jon Garland and Kyle Lohse are available, but it's doubtful either player would want to pitch in Denver if there are other options on the table.
Links:
Celebrate the Rockies and Walt Weiss by drinking a Walt Weiss at Denver Beer Co - Denver - Restaurants and Dining - Cafe Society
Last week, Blue Moon unveiled its plans for a 20th Anniversary brew as a tribute to the Rockies. Denver Beer Co. jumped on the Rockies beer bandwagon this week by announcing its special Walt Weiss, which is, of course, a weiss-style wheat brew.