Angels’ Scott Kazmir goes on the disabled list
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A few hours before the Angels played Seattle on Sunday, Scott Kazmir said he was ‘definitely looking forward’ to putting an awful first half of the season behind him when he made his first start after the All-Star break Tuesday against the New York Yankees.
So much for that.
The Angels placed Kazmir on the disabled list after their 2-1 loss to the Mariners at Angel Stadium with what they described as fatigue in his left shoulder, something Kazmir made no mention of during a pregame interview. The move was made retroactive to July 11, meaning Kazmir could return as soon as July 26 when the Angels return home to play Boston.
Manager Mike Scioscia said one of the Angels’ minor league pitchers would take Kazmir’s turn in the rotation against the Yankees. The candidates include Trevor Bell and Sean O’Sullivan, who have eached pitched for the Angels this season.
The Angels also designated first baseman Paul McAnulty for assignment to clear a roster spot for infielder Maicer Izturis, who was activated from the disabled list.
Kazmir was rocked for a career-high 13 runs in his last outing against Oakland in what he called his worst start ‘by far’ and had been a disappointment over the season’s first half, going 7-9 with a 6.92 earned-run average.
‘It kind of feels like I’m thinking too much about where I’m throwing the ball and things start snowballing, and the next thing you know you don’t really know what’s going on,’ Kazmir said before being placed on the disabled list. ‘You’re just out there trying to throw to a spot, but then you look at your video the next day and you’re like, who is this guy?
‘It just doesn’t feel like you’re really just getting after it and just being the pitcher that you are.’
There is reason for optimism with the two-time All-Star once he comes off the disabled list, however. According to STATS LLC, since 2006 Kazmir has the biggest improvement in ERA from the first half of the season to the second half among pitchers who have worked at least 600 innings. Kazmir’s 3.14 ERA in the second half is 1.60 lower than his 4.74 ERA in the first half.
‘It feels like I get stronger throughout the year, that’s for sure,’ Kazmir said. ‘I feel like my velocity, everything gets a little bit better.’
--Ben Bolch