Still dealing with a sciatic problem that recently spread to his left calf, Tim Wakefield's return to the Red Sox rotation has been temporarily delayed. After having an initial cortisone shot in his back, the knuckleballer is now considering having a second shot.
Wakefield, who hasn't pitched since July 8, was placed on the disabled list with a strained lower back on July 21. He received a cortisone shot in a joint in his back that helped with the pain, but then the sciatica hit his left hamstring, leaving him unable to walk more than few feet.
“I’m just depressed that this isn’t progressing the way I want it to
progress,” Wakefield told the Boston Herald. “I’m throwing,
playing catch. There are different symptoms now. I’ve got zero strength
in my left calf due to the nerve. I’m just waiting for it to get
better.”
Wakefield hopes he will be able to throw off a mound this week in St. Petersburg, Fla., but given the pain and discomfort in his leg, it isn't promising.
“I can pitch with this,” Wakefield told the Herald. “It doesn’t bother me landing on it.
It’s just if I have to cover first it’s not going to be pretty. If I
have to run, there’s nothing there. I’ll be hopping to first.
An All-Star this season for the first time in his 17-year career,
Wakefield is 11-3 with a 4.31 ERA for the Red Sox in 17 starts.
