The Los Angeles Angels have been without outfielder Josh Hamilton for most of the month. Hamilton missed 11 straight games with an injury that began as shoulder stiffness and then traveled into parts of his neck and back.
It appeared the injury was only getting worse and manager Mike Scioscia even expressed his worry publicly about a week ago saying,
"“Guys play banged up when you’re in a pennant race, so for Josh to not play, you know he’s hurting. At first blush, it doesn’t look like it’s going in the right direction today.”"
The pain first started on September 4 when Hamilton left the game early with shoulder discomfort that was diagnosed as irritation of the acromioclavicular joint of his right (non-throwing) shoulder.
Over the course of the past two weeks since Hamilton’s initial diagnosis he undergone everything from cortisone shots to trigger point injections to chiropractic therapy.
Even though it it took ten games on Monday there was talk of Hamilton returning to the lineup soon. He worked out with the team Monday and began feeling discomfort near his chest and right rib cage and underneath his armpit, according to MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez.
In the lineup Tuesday for the first time in almost two weeks Hamilton’s symptoms began to worsen. Hamilton later described the feeling,
"“As I played, as I ran, as I swung, it got worse and worse, to the point where it hurt to breathe. It just felt like my shoulder blade and everything was pretty locked up.”"
That quote from Hamilton certainly makes it appear that the sharp pains near his chest could be related to whatever was causing the pain in this shoulder since he relates the pain to his shoulder blade locking up.
However, manager Mike Scioscia did not agree and seemed not to be concerned that Hamilton may have suffered a setback.
"“I consider it something new. Hopefully it’s a minor blip,” he said, “and we’ll see where we are in a day or two.”"
Hamilton has now been shutdown for what appears to be the remainder of the regular season, he was asked about the possibility of his being unavailable for the postseason.
"“You’re always concerned about it. If I woke up today and felt great, then I wouldn’t be concerned about it,” Hamilton replied. I don’t know what to tell you as far as long-term, short-term or whatever, but I’m going to do whatever I need to do to get back on the field.”"
Hamilton understandably wants to get back on the field and Scioscia seems convinced that the two issues are unrelated.
It’s concerning that the Angels don’t seem to be looking for a correlation between the shoulder pain and the chest pain especially considering that Hamilton mentioned his shoulder pain and inability to breathe in the same sentence.
Going into the postseason each team needs all hands on deck but it seems to me that Hamilton’s symptoms are more serious than they realize. Hopefully the Angels will be cautious with the 33-year-old outfielder’s health.
Perhaps they injuries are two un-related ailments that will dissipate but what if they are not and are precursors to something more serious.
If the problems end up being more serious and go untreated, Hamilton may miss more than just the postseason and that is a scary thought.