Musgrove tries to get it right
By John Mehno
For the Mirror
PITTSBURGH–As starter Joe Musgrove begins to plot he return from the disabled list, the righthander has a good idea of how he landed there.
He believes he overdid things in the off-season trying to get ready for a new team and a return to the starting rotation.
“There are a lot of things that could have played into it. I think ultimately it was the rest and the timing of me firing things up in the off-season that wasn’t very great.”
To explain:
n Musgrove pitched for Houston last season. The Astros won the World Series, and they played until Nov. 1. That meant Musgrove’s off-season started a month later than usual, and it threw off his schedule for winter conditioning.
n Because he was late, he tried to ramp things up too quickly. That led to the shoulder strain that delayed his start of spring training and then put him on the DL to start this season.
“I got traded and found out I was going to be a starter,” Musgrove said. “I tried to fire up my program a little more to make sure I was ready to go four, five, six innings at the end of spring.”
n The Pirates advised Musgrove to shut down all throwing for a week. Now he is scheduled to throw 25 pitches in the bullpen this afternoon in Philadelphia. Musgrove will be limited to throwing fastballs at less than maximum speed.
If all goes well, he could throw another bullpen session on Sunday.
After that, the staff will map out a plan for simulated games and minor league rehab work.
n It’s been a longer journey than Musgrove expected when he noticed some pain in his shoulder. He says he now feels better than he did at any time in the spring.
“I tried to give myself time to work through the kinks, thinking it might have been the growing pains of getting back into being a starter,” he said. “But it got to a point where I wasn’t getting any better and I felt it started to really affect the way I was pitching.”
n Musgrove hopes that by taking a measured approach to the recovery, the problems will be behind him for the rest of the season.
“I’d like to take the time now to get it right and hopefully be healthy for the last five months rather than tinker with it back and forth,” he said.
Roommates
This weekend series in Philadelphia is the Pirates’ sixth annual Dads’ trip.
The players and staff members were invited their father or a father figure from their life. Trevor Williams and his father Richard played catch on the PNC Park field before the game.
Better weather?
After playing in brutal conditions at home and on trips to Detroit and Chicago, the Pirates could be headed for more baseball-appropriate weather this weekend.
The projected high temperatures for their four-day stay in Philadelphia are 50, 53, 59 and 62. The only significant chance for precipitation is being forecast for today.
Past success
The Pirates have won the season series against the Phillies for the last six years.
Their record in that span is 28-14, including 6-1 last year.
Mehno can be reached at johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com
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