Boston Red Sox’s John Lackey sidelined for 2012 season – MLB Update
The Boston Red Sox, after crashing out of the 2011 season, have finally sought out the solution to fix starter John Lackey’s growing concerns. The right-handed pitcher will undergo Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow and will be out of action for the
entire next season, getting ample time to regain physical as well as mental strength.
Ben Cherington, making his first major announcement as general manager of Red Sox at Fenway Park, stressed that the pitcher needed time away from the Majors to regain his form and that the surgery will remove any nagging problems in his right elbow, which
had troubled him throughout 2011.
Cherington clarified that Lackey had suffered from intermittent elbow soreness throughout the season and thus paid a follow-up visit to Dr. Lewis Yocum after initially consulting him during midseason. Dr. Yocum, medical director at Los Angeles Angels, performed
Daisuke Matsuzaka’s Tommy John surgery this season and will now operate Lackey. There has been no announcement as to when will the surgery be carried out.
Talking to reporters at Fenway Park, Cherington said, "I talked to him the other day, he's really excited about the future, certainly anxious about the surgery, getting that done and rehabbing. But he knows that he's a much better pitcher than what he showed
in 2011, and I believe he's going to be a much better pitcher than what he showed in 2011. We look forward to having him as part of the staff likely in 2013."
Lackey still has three years remaining on his five-year, 82.5-million-dollar deal and fans, after his performance in 2011, have little reason to believe that he will make a considerable difference to the bull-pen when he returns in 2013.
The pitcher tossed 160 innings in the regular season and finished with an earned-run average of 6.41, winning 12 starts and losing as many to present a dreary picture of the bull-pen. Furthermore, Lackey was named among the trio of starting pitchers who
would drink beer in the dugout on days they were not pitching.
The Red Sox and Lackey are committed to each other through 2014 with a team-option at Major League minimum salary for 2015. It will be interesting to see if John proves to be useful for the ballclub after returning from the surgery.
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