As we chronicled on Wednesday, Derek Holland 'fessed up to some tummy issues that he said had caused him to lose a lot of weight over the past 2 1/2 weeks and was the reason for his sudden drop in velocity which resulted in his fastball topping out at 88 mph in the sixth inning before he was removed.
Afterward he told us about his diarrhea problems, but now we know the real reason for his seemingly unexplainable 5-8 mph drop in velocity as the Texas Rangers have placed Holland on the 15-day disabled list with left shoulder fatigue. The contract of Tanner Scheppers has been purchased from Triple-A Round Rock. Scheppers will be in the bullpen for Thursday's game in Oakland.
Holland watched his innings increase to 198 last season from 57.1 in 2010 and 138.1 in his rookie year of 2009, not to mention the 35.1 postseason innings he's thrown over the past two years. Now, apparently, it's coming back to bite him.
Holland had been erratic all year, making some great starts, and some bad ones. In 67 innings of work, he's compiled a 5-4 record with a 5.10 ERA.
With Neftali Feliz already on the disabled list, until the all-star break, at least, the Rangers' rotation is now in full disarray. Roy Oswalt is set to make his second start in Round Rock and is aiming for a June 22 debut for the Rangers. Between now and then, your guess is as good as mine as to what the Rangers will do about starters, but things are looking pretty dire right now.
Scott Feldman had basically worn out his welcome after Monday night's awful start in Oakland, prompting many to call for Robbie Ross to get a shot to step in for the absent Feliz. Now, it might be both of them making starts in place of Feliz and Holland. Ouch. There's Alexi Ogando, who is far too valuable in the bullpen to risk starting and injuring his arm. It would take him at least a month to get stretched out, and in all honesty, he might be more valuable in the pen. UPDATE: Now, reports are saying Ogando will start Sunday's game in San Francisco.
The offense is in an awful way right now, the starting rotation is dropping like flies, our pets' heads are falling off. What's next?
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It's time to hit the panic button, folks. Sound it loudly.
