Harang to have MRI on right forearm

[redlegsfan21]

CHICAGO -- This could be a big uh-oh for the Reds.
Starting pitcher Aaron Harang was sent back to Cincinnati on Wednesday to undergo an MRI on his sore right forearm. The development came one day after Harang struggled on the mound during a 7-3 loss to the Cubs.

In only 4 1/3 innings on Wednesday, Harang gave up six earned runs with five hits and set a career high with seven walks. His velocity seemed lower than normal, mainly in the high 80s.

Harang was originally slated to start vs. the Nationals on Saturday, but he was pushed back to Tuesday in Chicago after he complained that his forearm was stiff. The 30-year-old reported that his forearm wasn't bothering him while was he pitching against the Cubs.

It's already been a trying season for Harang, a 16-game winner in both 2006 and '07. This season, he is 3-11 with a 4.76 ERA in 20 games, including 19 starts.

The one non-start could have played a part in Harang's struggles. During an 18-inning game in San Diego on May 25, Harang came back on short rest and threw four innings (63 pitches) in emergency relief when the bullpen was used up. At one point, he pitched three times in eight days.

Before the relief outing, Harang was 2-6 with a 3.50 ERA in 11 starts. In the eight starts since, he is 1-5 with a 7.31 ERA.

Harang's next scheduled start is on Sunday in Milwaukee.


Mark Sheldon is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080709&content_id=3099754&vkey=news_cin&fext=.jsp&c_id=cin

[redlegsfan21]

CHICAGO (AP) -The Cincinnati Reds got some good news Thursday when MRI results on two-time 16-game winner Aaron Harang showed only a strain of his right forearm.
The 6-foot-7 right-hander, who allowed a career-high seven walks and six runs in 4 1-3 innings in Tuesday's 7-3 loss to the Cubs, complained of pain in his forearm the next morning and went back to Cincinnati to have his arm examined.

Harang has been instructed to not pick up a baseball for a week. Reds general manager Walt Jocketty said Thursday that Harang would be placed on the 15-day disabled list.

"We just wanted to make sure to take the time to let it heal so that when he comes back he's 100 percent," Jocketty said. "I would expect at the end of the two-week period he'll be ready to go."

Manager Dusty Baker was happy with the news and pointed out that Harang will only miss 12 days with the three-day All-Star break starting Monday.

"Yeah, great news on Aaron," Baker said. "This was what the doctor thought. It's a strained muscle. That's huge. I guess they instructed him to not pick up a ball for a week and get rested and treated. Hopefully, he'll come back smoking."

Harang, a 16-game winner in each of the previous two seasons, is 3-11 with a 4.76 ERA this year. Harang, who pitched four innings in relief on May 25 on two days' rest, has gone 1-5 with a 7.31 ERA since.

http://sports.myway.com/news/07102008/v6181.html

[timothy]

In the meantime, here comes Homer Bailey... I hope he'd do good here...

[Brad Harris]

Harang is almost certainly going to be the recipient of the 2008 Turk Farrell Award.

Any word on when he's off the DL?

[redlegsfan21]

CINCINNATI -- Aaron Harang appeared to have made it safely through the first test of his strained right forearm. One day after throwing at a distance of 70 feet, the Reds starting pitcher reported no soreness.
"I feel different because I hadn't thrown in two weeks," Harang said on Wednesday. "It's normal stiffness from starting to throw again, but nothing in my forearm."

Wednesday was the first day Harang was eligible to come off the 15-day disabled list, but there was no chance that would happen. The process towards his activation has been a deliberate one.

Shut down from throwing since his arm stiffened up following his July 8 start vs. the Cubs, Harang was limited to cardio fitness activities until Tuesday. Every day, he does an hour on the treadmill and another hour on a bike.

The Reds medical staff ruled out a ligament or tendon injury and said Harang's injury was muscular.

"They wanted to make sure it was all gone before I did throw," Harang said of the forearm stiffness. "I was still a little tentative yesterday starting to throw just because I was making sure there wasn't something there. Once I realized there wasn't anything there, I started letting it go more and it felt good."

Harang, a 16-game winner the past two seasons, was already having a tough year before being injured. He is 3-11 with a 4.76 ERA in 20 games.

It is not known when Harang will throw again, or if a rehab assignment in the Minors will be needed. The right-hander didn't even know if he would be making the next road trip with the club, which starts on Monday.

"It's all going to be day to day. I can't give you any answers," Harang said. "It's all going to go on how it feels. We're going to keep working on it, stretching it out and strengthening it up.

"It's driving me crazy right now. I want to be back out there but I just have to make sure this is 100 percent so this doesn't flare back up and shut me back down again. We're making sure everything is ready to go so I can finish out the season strong."

http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080723&content_id=3180636&vkey=news_cin&fext=.jsp&c_id=cin