Will this surgery stop him from walking so many guys?

IN 2011, Danks walked 46 guys, 1 more walk than control pitcher Mark Buehrle. He also had the best K/BB ratio on the Sox staff.

http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/artic...rticle_40971092

 

CHICAGO -- When asked about his outlook for the 2013 season during the months of October, November and December, John Danks would use the words "cautiously optimistic" as part of his response.

 

Then Jan. 2 rolled around, and the rehab program for Danks' arthroscopically repaired left shoulder took him to throwing off the mound. That big step and ensuing positive results slightly altered the southpaw's outlook.

 

"Being on the mound for a little bit of time, I feel better about things than I did before," Danks told MLB.com via a Tuesday morning phone interview. "There's still a ways to go. I haven't spun anything or seen a hitter. But my shoulder feels great off the mound."

 

Danks has thrown 40 pitches off the mound three times per week since Jan. 2, going with the mix of 30 fastballs and 10 changeups. He felt good enough to petition to increase the number of pitches in the sessions, but White Sox head athletic trainer Herm Schneider and pitching coach Don Cooper have told Danks to stay where he's at currently.

 

Prior to arriving in chilly Chicago next Friday for SoxFest at the Palmer House, Danks will start "spinning them" as part of the increased mound work. He already has moved from just throwing fastballs straight down the middle to working them on the corners.

 

"We are getting there," Danks said. "I'm throwing pretty hard off the mound, not just wobbling it. So I can't complain.

 

"Our longer Spring Training will be helpful. I know they are going to be careful with me, but my goal is for them not to have to be careful. I just want to be one of the guys."

 

Surgery to repair a capsular tear and minor debridements of the rotator cuff and biceps taking place on Aug. 6 inherently moves Danks just outside that "one of the guys" category. Luckily for Danks, the surgery performed by Dr. Anthony Romeo and Dr. Gregory Nicholson, with assistance from Dr. Charles Bush-Joseph and Dr. Nick Verma, revealed a normal labrum and made possible a Spring Training return, or possibly a return shortly after the start of the regular season.

 

Schneider praised Danks for his commitment to the full rehab as part of a team-released video late last week. Danks completed the long-toss program -- which began on Nov. 1 -- on Dec. 31, and did the entire program without a glitch.

 

"Johnny is doing extremely well," said Schneider in the video. "Our philosophy is a slow climb, not peaks and valleys. Just a slow climb. That's exactly what he did, and he made nothing but progress all the way through. Johnny has worked very hard, has not complained one bit, and has been diligent on everything we asked him to do. Kudos to him, he has been awesome to work with.

 

"Surgery is like 10 percent of the fix, and 90 percent of the fix is the rehab and time you put into it. Surgery took 40 minutes or maybe an hour, and the rehab takes months, as we are seeing with Derek Rose. [The Bulls] are being careful with him. We are being careful, but being aggressive to get him back throwing. The longer you stay away from it, the harder it is to get back into the swing of things, especially with the rhythm of pitching."

 

An 0-8 effort with a 5.25 ERA over his first 11 starts contributed to a subpar 8-12 showing with a 4.33 ERA during the 2011 season for Danks. Those numbers stood as an unfortunate drop for a left-hander who won in double-digits each of the previous three years, had a sub-3.80 ERA in all three seasons, and pitched at least 195 innings in each year.

 

That rough showing was Cy Young Award caliber in comparison to the 2012 debacle for Danks, coming immediately after agreeing to a five-year, $65 million extension with the team. The intensely competitive 26-year-old never really felt right on the mound from the outset, and his 3-4 season all but ended with a victory at Wrigley Field on May 19 after just nine starts.

 

Frustration from continued pain while simply playing catch in an attempt to come back was replaced by optimism when the doctors surgically repaired the shoulder. Throwing off the mound and being able to bounce back healthy after throwing has certainly increased that optimism a level or two.

 

"Everything has been great to this point," Danks said. "I would think that going into the end of the season this is where I would be at this point, what we expected. I'm on pace for what they thought I would be.

 

"I've had days where I thought, 'Am I going to be ready?' And the next day, I feel great. The biggest thing is I've been able to bounce back each time, and I haven't had to take a step back. Before surgery, I couldn't play catch a couple days after long toss.

 

"My top priority is getting healthy, which is why on the same day I'm throwing and doing my shoulder program, I'm still doing my workout and conditioning," Danks said. "Right now, I feel like I'm as good as I can be. Coming off surgery and whatnot, I feel ready to go."

MOre at link...

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...0,2911915.story

 

John Danks plans to start throwing breaking pitches in the next step in his recovery from left shoulder surgery, and he wants to increase his pitch count.

 

But the White Sox remain cautious about Danks' rehab, as he revealed trainer Herm Schneider and pitching coach Don Cooper each has prevented him from increasing his volume.

 

"I felt like I was getting through it too easy," said Danks, who had a capsular tear repaired and minor debris of his rotator cuff and biceps cleaned up. "They want me to stay where I'm at. That makes feel good things about things. I feel I can go a little more … but I'm where they want me to be."

MOre at link...

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseb...0,2911915.story

 

 

Good report. I don't think he needs to rush it fregardless of how good he feels. Spring Training for the hurlers is just a few weeks away

Mark Gonzales ‏@MDGonzales

 

John Danks' left shoulder feels better than expected, 1 day after throwing in front of Sox officials for the 1st time post-op. more to folo

Mark Gonzales ‏@MDGonzales

 

Danks got through his upper body workout with no problems, will play catch later today

Take it easy John-its only Feb 15

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/white-sox/...st-session#more

Danks' velocity down, how much we don't know. If he is throwing under 90 sox are in big trouble with the contract. I think he doesn't have the command to reinvent himself as Mark Buehrle.

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/white-sox/...st-session#more

Danks' velocity down, how much we don't know. If he is throwing under 90 sox are in big trouble with the contract. I think he doesn't have the command to reinvent himself as Mark Buehrle.

Dude, it's February.

Dude, it's February.

 

Exactly. Everyone's velo is down right now, let alone someone who hasn't thrown from a mound in almost a year.

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/white-sox/...st-session#more

Danks' velocity down, how much we don't know. If he is throwing under 90 sox are in big trouble with the contract. I think he doesn't have the command to reinvent himself as Mark Buehrle.

I'm sure 99% of all pitchers in baseball velocity is down right now, it's February. Do you want Danks, or any other pitcher on the Sox staff, whipping the ball with all their might at this time?

 

Not saying Sox and Danks are out of the wood on this, but this article, to me, is far more encouraging than discouraging

Dude, it's February.

 

 

Exactly. Everyone's velo is down right now, let alone someone who hasn't thrown from a mound in almost a year.

The article stated that "significant progress needs to be made" I take that as a red flag, even in February.

The article stated that "significant progress needs to be made" I take that as a red flag, even in February.

Literally no one is throwing higher than 90 right now. At least, they shouldn't be. There are no red flags yet, maybe an extremely pale pink at the reddest.

The article stated that "significant progress needs to be made" I take that as a red flag, even in February.

Considering he just started throwing a month and a half ago, and they have him on a program so he won't overdue it, his velocity will be the last thing that comes. All indications are he is either right on schedule or even ahead of schedule and isn't in any pain. I think, if everyone is being straight, it is more optimistic than pessimistic. Time will tell.

Jesus, we couldn't even get to the games

And isn't a dip in velocity expected after shoulder surgery?

 

They should really ease Danks back into the rotation. Has there ever been any discussion of Danks being the fifth starter? If he responds well, they can always shuffle the rotation around off days and the ASB.

And isn't a dip in velocity expected after shoulder surgery?

 

They should really ease Danks back into the rotation. Has there ever been any discussion of Danks being the fifth starter? If he responds well, they can always shuffle the rotation around off days and the ASB.

 

He is the fifth starter in the spring rotation right now.

He is the fifth starter in the spring rotation right now.

 

Good. That's smart.

Every single baseball fan on planet Earth knows guys aren't throwing at 100% velocity any time soon; that's not new or quality intel whatsoever.

 

After a shoulder surgery though, I see nothing wrong with speculating the level of screwed we'd be if John is below 90 from this point forward. Why do we have to wait until we see 88 in June and a 6.5 ERA to start talking about it? We all know the front office is planning "what ifs". We can't? Lol

 

Put me in the camp of "John Danks will suck if he doesn't throw 92-94 anymore". Prove us realists wrong there John Adrian Pererson Danks!

Every single baseball fan on planet Earth knows guys aren't throwing at 100% velocity any time soon; that's not new or quality intel whatsoever.

 

After a shoulder surgery though, I see nothing wrong with speculating the level of screwed we'd be if John is below 90 from this point forward. Why do we have to wait until we see 88 in June and a 6.5 ERA to start talking about it? We all know the front office is planning "what ifs". We can't? Lol

 

Put me in the camp of "John Danks will suck if he doesn't throw 92-94 anymore". Prove us realists wrong there John Adrian Pererson Danks!

 

Because that wasn't said at all.

Every single baseball fan on planet Earth knows guys aren't throwing at 100% velocity any time soon; that's not new or quality intel whatsoever.

 

After a shoulder surgery though, I see nothing wrong with speculating the level of screwed we'd be if John is below 90 from this point forward. Why do we have to wait until we see 88 in June and a 6.5 ERA to start talking about it? We all know the front office is planning "what ifs". We can't? Lol

 

Put me in the camp of "John Danks will suck if he doesn't throw 92-94 anymore". Prove us realists wrong there John Adrian Pererson Danks!

 

Oh well that is true. If he's not popping that fastball his change is pretty much useless and he'll get rocked as we saw last year. But after surgery it may take longer for him to get that fastball going, which is why it's smart to have him as the 5th starter.

 

Gives him a better chance against everyone else's fifth guy, build up some W's and some confidence. Just need the Sox to score some runs for him, which has plagued him most of his career...

He is the fifth starter in the spring rotation right now.

 

It's minor leaguers and bullpen guys the first 6 ST games, and then March 1-5 it's Sale, Quintana, Peavy, Danks, Floyd.

 

Hopefully by OD it's Sale, Peavy, Danks, Floyd, Quintana, and they're all ready to go 31-33 starts.

It's minor leaguers and bullpen guys the first 6 ST games, and then March 1-5 it's Sale, Quintana, Peavy, Danks, Floyd.

 

Hopefully by OD it's Sale, Peavy, Danks, Floyd, Quintana, and they're all ready to go 31-33 starts.

 

Unless Danks looks like Danks, you gotta swap him and Q... at least for April...

Oh well that is true. If he's not popping that fastball his change is pretty much useless and he'll get rocked as we saw last year. But after surgery it may take longer for him to get that fastball going, which is why it's smart to have him as the 5th starter.

 

Gives him a better chance against everyone else's fifth guy, build up some W's and some confidence. Just need the Sox to score some runs for him, which has plagued him most of his career...

 

I feel like we go over this at one point every year, but this is rarely ever the case. It only takes 1-2 off-days or 1 skipped start to throw the entire rotation off. If anything, he'd be the "5th starter" just so we can limit our own expectations for him.

 

Personally, I think he's going to end up being the 3rd best starter the Sox have this year.

And isn't a dip in velocity expected after shoulder surgery?

 

They should really ease Danks back into the rotation. Has there ever been any discussion of Danks being the fifth starter? If he responds well, they can always shuffle the rotation around off days and the ASB.

No.

 

But it's expected before he has a chance to build up his throwing routine and build up his throwing strength.

 

Remember he really hasn't thrown since August or whenever it was he was shut down. I think he has only a few times in rehab.

 

Could you lift the same amount of weight or run the same distance if you took 4 months off?

 

Would it even be smart to try?

Edited February 17, 201313 yr by ptatc