Brian34Cook

Forget the Title ok?

Johnson is scratched from outing
03/02/2008


Cards relief pitcher Tyler Johnson asks his catcher to move the target to the outside while throwing a bullpen session at training camp last month.
(Chris Lee/P-D)

JUPITER, FLA. • Cardinals lefthanded reliever Tyler Johnson has been shut down until a scan can be taken of his left shoulder and a reason discovered for the tightness and weakness felt during a warm-up Saturday.

Johnson was scheduled to throw an inning in Saturday’s game against Florida, but shortly after he started warming up he told bullpen coach Marty Mason that he "didn’t feel right," pitching coach Dave Duncan said.

"We stopped him right there," trainer Barry Weinberg said. "Any time you have to stop a pitcher from throwing, there is a concern."

Johnson will have a magnetic resonance imaging scan taken of the left shoulder Monday, and he will not pitch until the results are known.

STLtoday - Sports - Cardinals

Brian34Cook

La Russa on Tyler Johnson’s shoulder soreness: “It’s a concern. … It’s not a big surprise.”

[Link]

Brian34Cook

Concern for reliever Johnson
03/03/2008


Lefthanded reliever Tyler Johnson will have an MRI taken of his left shoulder today to determine if there is an injury. Johnson stopped throwing during his warm-up for Saturday's game because of tightness and soreness in the shoulder.

Johnson came to spring training in good throwing shape, coaches say, but they were not as pleased with his overall conditioning. La Russa said the lefty had been ill. The manager said given those factors, a shoulder problem was "not a big surprise."

STLtoday - Sports - Cardinals

Brian34Cook

Johnson relieved by diagnosis
By Derrick Goold
03/04/2008 8:15 am

JUPITER, Fla. — Cardinals reliever Tyler Johnson left the campus yesterday wary of what awaited him and his shoulder in a scan of the sore joint, but he returned Tuesday with two words worth their weight in relief:

“No surgery,” he said before meeting with trainers early this morning.

Johnson has a strained rotator cuff and tendinitis, he said, and he will be shut down for a week. After giving the shoulder time to heal the Cardinals will re-evaluate his status and schedule a throwing program to get him back on the mound. Johnson told reporters that his recovery will be based around strengthening the shoulder. That is according to P-D scribe Joe Strauss, who was with reporters who spoke to Johnson.

[Link]

Brian34Cook

Johnson looks likely to start season on the disabled list
03/06/2008

JUPITER, FLA. — Cardinals reliever Tyler Johnson is expected start the season on the disabled list, and he will have to be more diligent in his conditioning or risk a chronic shoulder problem, the team's doctor said.

The Cardinals received the requested second opinion on Johnson's ailing left shoulder Wednesday, and they said Dr. Lewis Yocum confirmed the strained rotator cuff diagnosis and the prescribed rest. Johnson will not throw for at least a week, and at the earliest would start a long-toss program after being re-evaluated next Wednesday.

Dr. George Paletta said the schedule puts him far enough behind that he isn't likely to be ready for opening day.

STLtoday - Sports - Cardinals

Brian34Cook

03/05/2008 11:58 PM ET
Johnson to miss start of season
Tendinitis, strained rotator cuff keep lefty off mound two weeks
By Matthew Leach / MLB.com

JUPITER, Fla. -- Tyler Johnson's shoulder injury is expected to force him to miss the start of the season, the Cardinals' head team physician said on Wednesday.

The left-hander has been sidelined with tendinitis and a rotator cuff strain in his left shoulder. He won't throw a baseball at all until the middle of next week, at which point he may begin building back up again toward game activity.

Johnson's absence would have a couple of effects on the Cardinals' bullpen. First, it would improve Ron Villone's chances of making the team as a non-roster invitee to camp. Moreover, it would remove Villone from the list of candidates to serve as a long reliever and open a new competition for that position. Assuming Johnson is out, Villone now projects as more of a specialist in the early part of the season.

"It gives [Villone] a [great] opportunity," manager Tony La Russa said. "From what we've seen with Villone, we have a real chance there. Based on what we've seen, I think Villone can do it. They've used him [in other ways] because he can get right-handers out, but I think he can be really tough on left-handers."

[Link]

Brian34Cook

Cards Notes: Tyler Johnson still out
By Joe Strauss
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
03/21/2008

JUPITER, FLA. — Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak voiced increased concern Thursday over lefthanded reliever Tyler Johnson's continued absence from the mound due to what the club calls a slight rotator cuff strain.

"There doesn't appear to be anything physically wrong. However, to answer the question, absolutely it's a concern," Mozeliak said. "At some point we need the pitcher to pitch. He's not pitching. So at some point we examine all our options and try to determine what's best for the club."

Johnson was shut down before appearing in a Grapefruit League game due to discomfort in the front of his left shoulder. Johnson confirmed Thursday that he is experiencing weakness in the region, which is frequently associated with rotator cuff problems. Technically, a strain is a tear. However, the club minimized the condition's severity when it was disclosed March 4. The Cardinals at first projected that Johnson would be shut down for a week, but he has yet to throw since.

[Link]

Brian34Cook

Johnson, who did not pitch in a Spring Training game as a result of tendinitis and a rotator cuff strain in his left shoulder, has started throwing, but only lightly. He still has a ways to go before he even pitches off a mound, so it could well be at least six weeks before he is game-ready.

[Link]

Brian34Cook

Tuesday afternoon tidbits: Johnson to have surgery

Brian34Cook

05/13/2008 6:24 PM ET
Johnson slated for shoulder surgery
Lefty has been sidelined since Spring Training with capsulitis
By Matthew Leach / MLB.com

The Official Site of The St. Louis Cardinals: News: Johnson slated for shoulder surgery