Good news for Red Sox fans as golden boy Jonathan Papelbon has what is called in baseball terms, “dead arm.” In case you don’t know what “dead arm” is, Red Sox medical director, Thomas Gill defines it as:
“the ball of the shoulder joint had slipped slightly forward, but not completely out of the joint to the point where it would be considered a dislocation”
Right now the idea is to keep Papelbon out of the lineup til he regains the strength in the right arm. Since the Red Sox still have a shot to make the playoffs, you may see Mr. Papelbon return in a few weeks. If the Sox are out of the race by then, it would be wise to shut him down til next season.
I do have to wonder though, if he got “dead arm” as a closer, how many innings would it have taken him to go thru a “dead arm” phase as a starter?
CORRECTION: I do have to amend my last question due to the lack of medical knowledge I have about deadarm. An anonymous reader notes that deadarm can happen to a pitcher at any time. Deadarm is a partial or near shoulder dislocation. The ball starts out of the socket and stretches the ligaments and tendons but doesn’t pop out fully. So basically to answer my own question, Papelbon could have gone thru a deadarm phase at any point of the season. It could have happened to him after the first pitch of the season or any points in between.
