Injury Bug Bites Brewers

Greinke: That guy's finger looks like it hurts

The injury bug bit the Brewers camp today. Jonathan Lucroy broke his right pinkie finger this morning during drills. He'll have a pin inserted in his finger tomorrow and will miss four weeks. It's uncertain as to whether he'll need to start the regular season on the DL. This must be a huge disappointment for him as it's the first spring he's entered as the Brewers full time catcher. He's bound to lose some of the time he'd have spent catching new Brewers pitchers and he'll enter the regular season with little, if any, at bats under his belt. Here's hoping he's ready for opening day.

News also came out this morning that Mat Gamel would not participate in hitting drills for at least one week due to a strained oblique. Tough luck for a guy who injured his shoulder in Spring Training last year, losing his chance to make the club. Many on Twitter wondered if he prepares his body at all during the offseason to get ready for ST, though he told reporters that he worked out more than ever this offseason and the injury is "not [from] a lack of ... stretching [or] working out." He called the strain "minor" and said that taking a week off from hitting was merely a "precaution."

Shortly thereafter Mark Rogers ended a live batting practice session early due to tightness in his shoulder. This is not a good sign for a pitcher with questionable mechanics and two shoulder surgeries under his belt. I may have spoken too soon last month when I wrote that he was "back on track." He later said it was just tightness, not pain, and he'll be ok. I hope that's true.

Around the same time it came out that Zack Greinke will not participate in live batting practice today due to a bruised rib cage (gasp!). Gord Ash said that was precautionary and he could throw again as early as tomorrow (whew!).

In related news, the Cardinals announced that ace pitcher Adam Wainwright suffered an elbow injury while throwing on Monday and will see a specialist in St. Louis today. Nothing is certain yet, but every indication makes it sound like he'll need Tommy John surgery (Cards GM nearly said as much). I hate to see a pitcher of Wainwright's caliber go down like that, but one must acknowledge that the Brewers would benefit from not facing him this season, especially considering how thin the Cards' starting pitching is. Here's hoping it's not as bad as it sounds, even if that means facing him in 2011.