Given how he was pitching before he got hurt (four runs, four hits, and four walks in his last two innings), I'm not sure if this is good news or not, but Denny Bautista appears to be working through his shoulder tendonitis nicely. He began throwing a baseball yesterday, which I imagine is an important first step in rehabilitation.
After reading that Bautista threw a short game of catch with Todd Jones on flat ground, it occurred to me that I don't think I've ever read more - let alone written more - about guys playing catch than I have this season with the Tigers. Today's Tigers News: Fernando Rodney played catch for eight minutes! In other news, Joel Zumaya played catch, too! Up next, Denny Bautista tossed a ball 15 times!
I apologize; that's kind of snarky of me. Reading all these stories of playing catch actually gets me feeling kind of warm inside, and misty around the eyes.
Was it mean of me to spring that on you? I'm sorry about that. Really. I mean, you're probably at work. Now you're sitting there at your computer, sniffling or dabbing at your eyes, lower lip quivering, and your co-workers are passing by wondering what's wrong. Hey, maybe you can get a free lunch out of it.
Getting back on track here, Bautista should begin throwing off a mound soon, depending on how much soreness he's dealing with. Before he rejoins the major league club, however, the Tigers want Bautista to take a minor league rehab assignment - not just to build his shoulder strength back up, but to make sure he's regained the control that he lost sometime in mid-April.