Since his dominant start back in May beating the Cubs at Wrigley Field, White Sox opening day starter John Danks had been kept off of the pitching mound with a mystery arm/shoulder injury.
A lot of the “Buehrle pressure” should be gone for Danks in ’13. Credit: Getty Images
Up until mid-July or so, most people surrounding the team thought that it was just a lingering injury that would soon fade away. But after multiple set backs, management decided a couple of weeks back to shut him down for the rest of 2012 after he went in to Dr. House. Actually it was a team of Midwest Orthopedics at Rush University Medical Center … but I couldn’t resist the “House” reference.
The surgery took place Monday (8/6) morning, and was instantly deemed a success. Manager Robin Ventura shed light on the good news by saying “He has your normal pitcher’s stuff, but nothing that they felt they had to fix. I know he’s pretty relieved as far as there was something there and they fixed it and he’ll be able to pitch next year. He should be ready in Spring Training.”
Currently being in the 1st year of a 5-year, $65 million deal with the south siders, it’s relieving to know that this injury won’t, or at least shouldn’t effect any more of that contract. As Ventura and others have noted, it’s just normal injuries that you commonly see in pitchers; not anything out of the ordinary or worthy of any further concern.
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We’re in the middle of Jake Peavy’s resurgence after being the first pitcher to ever receive the surgery he did, and while since most were pessimistic about his future after the procedure, it’s hard to not start imagining the best in the near future (2013) for Danks.
While the gritty south paw had struggled through the first couple months of 2012, he did mix in some impressive starts before going down, and should certainly be able to return to the form we saw from him in previous seasons. He won’t have to adjust or “take it easy” in comparison to how he used to pitch, either, because he’s always been one that throws to contact and doesn’t try to over-power hitters.
All in all, everything is looking up for Danks once he recovers and is with the team (hopefully) when pitchers and catchers report next Spring.