The news keeps getting worse for the Angels. The L.A. Times reports that John Lackey is expected to start the season on the disabled list. Manager Mike Scioscia told the paper that "right now, it's definitely unlikely" Lackey will be ready to pitch the April 6 season opener against Oakland. An MRI showed inflammation in Lackey's throwing elbow and with the starting rotation already depleted because of injuries to Ervin Santana and Kelvim Escobar, this was probably the last thing that the team needed to hear.
The missing trio, and their combined 252 career wins, were supposed to anchor one of the deepest staffs in the league, but now Joe Saunders and Jered Weaver will be joined in the rotation by the likes of Dustin Moseley and his 5.52 career ERA, the inexperienced Nick Adenhart, who didn't make it out of the sixth inning in any of his three May starts last season, and Shane Loux who last started a game in the big leagues back in 2003. For his part, Scioscia is trying to put a positive spin on things: "We have starting pitching depth, but right now we're stretching it as far as we're comfortable with," Scioscia told the Times. "But we're very comfortable with the way Adenhart is throwing, the way Loux has been throwing, and Moseley is reaching his projected talent level -- he's throwing the ball as well as he has in his life. Obviously, any rotation without Lackey, Santana and Escobar is not going to be as strong, but we have confidence these guys are going to give us a chance to win."
Still, this latest development has to give all fantasy owners pause before selecting one of the Angels' injury-ravaged trio; certainly Lackey will no longer be given No. 1 starter status in ESPN standard drafts, and with such a hit to the starting pitching as a whole Brian Fuentes' value as closer is also sure to plummet, as those save situations, at least for April, should be few and far between. I think it might be time for the Angels to give Pedro Martinez a call. After his strong performance with the Dominican Republic team in the World Baseball Classic, several teams expressed interest in the veteran, but few have as dire a situation as the Angels … and the Angels' situation is dire, especially after Shane Loux's performance on Friday -- he allowed seven earned runs in only four innings against Arizona. If Loux doesn't do much better in his next start -- Wednesday in the spring finale against the Rangers -- Fern Cuza (Pedro's agent) had best be waiting by the phone.
