MILWAUKEE -- Brewers ace Ben Sheets expects to make his next
start despite a strained chest muscle
"I feel the same," Sheets said. "I'm trying to get the
soreness out."
Sheets, 2-4 with a 4.71 ERA, is waiting for soreness to subside
since leaving Saturday's game against St. Louis after throwing 27
pitches in the first inning.
Manager Ned Yost said Sheets will be moved back a day to pitch
the middle game of a three-game series at Atlanta. Chris Capuano
will be moved up to pitch the opener.
"Cappy was penciled in for Saturday, but we'll move him up one
and put him on his regular day's rest and give Benny an extra
day," Yost said.
Assistant general manager Gord Ash said if Sheets can't make his
next scheduled start, he probably would go back on the disabled
list.
"From a roster management standpoint, we can't afford to go
short for a prolonged period of time," Ash said. "We'd make that
decision either Friday or Saturday."
Yost said Sheets has been told by doctors to continue to throw
despite the soreness.
"There's been no great, huge diagnosis. He's got a mild
strain," Yost said. "He's not shut down or anything like that."
Sheets threw on flat ground from 60 feet on Tuesday and said he
will not pitch a bullpen session before Saturday.
Sheets has made only 29 starts since last year, going 12-13 with
a 3.59 ERA over that stretch. He has been on the disabled list for
a variety of ailments -- including an infection of the inner ear, a
torn back muscle, a strained back muscle and shoulder tendinitis.
Team physician Dr. William Raasch said the torn back muscle was
the first of its kind among major leaguers and has been the root of
Sheets' problems this season because other muscle groups are trying
to pick up the slack.
"Last year when this thing happened and his MRI was done and we
saw what he had, his MRI was sent out across the country," Raasch
said. "Eventually he'll strengthen those muscles to endure the
kind of over and over stress that he experiences when he pitches.
It's one thing to throw one pitch, it's another thing to throw 100
pitches and then five days later throw another 100 pitches."
Raasch also said that second baseman Rickie Weeks will have to
decide whether he wants to have surgery on his right wrist, because
a tendon continues to snap out of place.
"It's not a serious injury, but it's an injury that prevents
him from swinging a bat," Raasch said. "Surgery is becoming more
and more of an option for him."
Weeks, who had been leading off and hitting .279 with eight
homers and 34 RBIss, can't damage the area more by declining the
operation, but Raasch said that the tendon would probably continue
to cause discomfort because of Weeks' heavy use of his wrists while
swinging.
"There's no timeline really involved," Raasch said. "Part of
it is a frustration level on his part, a comfort level on his part,
because we consider this a relatively safe injury."