Tijuana ties Vero Beach for the league lead in injuries September 17, 2000
When Mike Mussina and Hippolito Pichardo were both removed from games
during the double header today, Tijuana established a new season high
for injuries, with 8 players currently nursing injuries of varying
severity. Pichardo is gone for the remainder of the season, joining
Joe Randa, Albert Belle, Ben Jones, and Andy Benes on the disabled
list.
Ray Durham had been nursing a bruised hip, but doctors cleared him to
return to action today. While Vero Beach can afford to have people
injured, as they aren't in any kind of race, these injuries could not
have come at a worse time for Tijuana. Currently tied for the
wildcard spot with Anchorage, they can ill afford to be playing
without some of their best players.
There is an outside chance that Benes and Belle will be ready to go in
the playoffs if Tijuana gets in, but it is unlikely. "We've just got
to plan on them not being in there. It sucks, but injuries are a fact
of life" said owner/GM Scott Watterson. "We've lost a lot of playing
time to injuries this season. I really think that if we could just
stay healthy, we'd be running away with this division." Team MVP and
former triple crown winner Bobby Higginson missed nearly 3 months with
the dreaded bruised heel this season.
"It's tough going into the last 15 games with 1/3 of your lineup
banged up. We've really got to bear down and get some solid play from
the few guys that are healthy. We're resting Todd [Walker] and Jeff
[D'Amico], hoping they'll get better before it's too late. I really
hope Moose can be ready for his next start, because I'm really out of
options for starters at this point" said Watterson.
"The only good thing is that our schedule is favorable over the last
stretch. Not that Motor City and New Diggens are bad teams, far from
it, but at least we don't have to go on the road to Galena. It's
shaping up to be an excellent race for the wildcard spot. Montreal is
playing very well, and Anchorage won't just roll over and let us in.
We've got to step up and take control of our own fate."
Currently, Montreal is 4.5 games back in the race, with Tijuana and
Anchorage tied. The border patrol have one less loss than the
All-Knighters, and 5 less than the Royals.
