Chris Carpenter Planning September Return

The difference between a shoulder injury and an elbow injury is significant. I picture the elbow as a part of the body that contains ligaments and tendons that connect from point A to point B. The shoulder is more like the world’s worst tangled pair of headphones stuck in used chewing gum, and doctors have basically given up trying to untangle them. Pitchers usually come back from elbow injuries. They don’t come back from shoulder injuries quite as often.

Then there’s stuff like this:

Carpenter last pitched in Game Seven of the 2011 World Series, in which he earned the win.

For more news and notes on Cardinals baseball, be sure to read Viva El Birdos.

Remember last spring, when everybody said Chris Carpenter wasn’t going to pitch this season at all? Well, it looks like he’s going to pitch this season. Jenifer Langosch (via MLB.com):

If Carpenter really is close to 100 percent, this is one of those proverbial good problems to have.

First the news was pretty bad: Chris Carpenter would probably miss the first months of this season, at least.

Then the news was worse: Chris Carpenter might need season-ending surgery.

The Cardinals and co-ace Chris Carpenter on Monday discussed a second shutdown and the possibility of season-ending surgery due to continued nerve-related shoulder problems that again arose following the pitcher’s most recent side session.

The club scrubbed Carpenter’s scheduled bullpen session Monday and has no timetable for Carpenter’s next session, according to a club source. Carpenter visited Dallas-based specialist Dr. Gregory Pearl last Thursday to discuss his alternatives as he confronts thoracic outlet syndrome, a rare condition that compresses nerves and blood vessels in a region between the collarbone and rib cage.With the All-Star break approaching and no timetable for anything, it would seem that surgery might be Carpenter’s best option; if done soon, he could be ready to pitch again in 2013.

For more on the Cardinals, please visit Viva El Birdos and SB Nation St. Louis.

Personally, I had no idea what this was before I saw this tweet. Off to the Google, whose first result is from the US National Library of Medicine:

Thoracic outlet syndrome is a rare condition that involves pain in the neck and shoulder, numbness and tingling of the fingers, and a weak grip. The thoracic outlet is the area between the rib cage and collar bone.All right, now we’re getting somewhere. What’s the prognosis?

Unfortunately, Monday’s throwing session didn’t go well, in that it didn’t go at all.

There’s been no official timetable set for his return, but he’s taking baby steps. Derrick Goold:

Carpenter, who has been out all season after nerve irritation caused weakness in his right shoulder, threw 26 fastballs at slightly less than full effort in a brief bullpen session at Busch Stadium. The workout was the next step in what Carpenter and the Cardinals are describing as a spring training-like schedule for the righty. The session was similar to one he would do within two weeks of reporting to spring training.

“It was a nice move in the right direction,” Carpenter said. “We’re treating it like a lead-up to spring training here. ... Any time you move forward that’s an exciting thing. But you also want to hold back a little bit because you don’t want to get too carried away.“Well, let’s see. A workout that’s “one he would do within two weeks of reporting to spring training”? That would put it in late January or early February. That would put “spring training outing” for him about a month from now, and any possible regular-season action about two months from now, that is, if there’s no rehab assignment in the minor leagues first.

May has come and gone. It’s almost mid-June. He’s still not back and there’s still no timetable. But there is news! Joe Strauss:

Carpenter has been throwing off flat ground. So he’s making progress. The article quotes him as saying he’s been making “huge steps”, but there is still no specific date anticipated for his return. The Cardinals could use him, but they’ll have to be patient.

The headline seems scarier than it is. A battery of tests is rarely a good thing. All it would take is one activist judge to change the definition and make it an “assault of tests,” and that would really sound scary. But Chris Carpenter is undergoing tests as a scheduled part of his recovery process.

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

But via Tim McKernan, we have an update from Cards GM John Mozeliak:

It’s worth remembering that Carpenter was running on fumes and gumption oil for the last month of the season, and that extra month would be hard on every pitcher. An older, somewhat-dinged pitcher like Carpenter even more so.

As with all official statements, this one is subject to change. Maybe Lynn doesn’t look very good, or maybe Carpenter has trouble coming back. Then it would make sense for the Cardinals to evaluate all options, internal and external. They’ll put their trust in Lynn for the time being, though, and he was good over 12 starts in triple-A last season. He won’t be Chris Carpenter, but he could do the job.

Now, not so much. Carpenter has been re-evaluated in St. Louis, and will be out of action indefinitely with nerve irritation in his pitching shoulder. The good news is that he’s dealt with this injury before, and always come back without needing surgery.

Here’s GM John Mozeliak, via Stltoday.com’s Joe Strauss:

Unfortunately, now that seems less likely than ever. Joe Strauss:

For more on the Cardinals and Carpenter, please visit Viva el Birdos.

Matheny said the team received encouraging news about Carpenter this morning. The ace, who is dealing with a bulging disc in his neck, felt better when talking with trainers on Sunday afternoon. Carpenter has not been cleared to return throwing.

There’s good news and bad news for St. Louis Cardinals fans waiting to hear more about Chris Carpenter’s mysterious neck injury. The good news is that Carpenter did not suffer nerve damage in his neck. The bad news, however, is Carpenter was diagnosed with a bulging cervical disc.

The report comes from Joe Strauss:

Those 273⅓ innings have apparently caught up to Carpenter. Joe Strauss: