Astacio likely done for season

Astacio likely lost for rest of season

Shoulder pain still bothers righthander

By JOSEPH DUARTE
Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle


After expecting Pedro Astacio to be the final piece of the starting pitching puzzle, the Astros now are preparing to be without the righthander for the final three weeks of the regular season.

Astacio, nursing a tender right shoulder that has sidelined him the past three weeks, felt discomfort in his throwing shoulder during a 15-minute session Sunday morning.

The latest setback has his status for the season's final 19 games in serious doubt.

"He just doesn't seem to be making any progress," general manager Gerry Hunsicker said. "I just don't think we can say with any certainty where we are headed.

"Obviously, we are a better pitching staff with him in the rotation. We'll keep working with him to try and get him ready to pitch. If he does (pitch), it's a bonus for us. If he doesn't, we'll just have to make it without him."

Astacio, acquired from Colorado for righthander Scott Elarton and a player to be named before the trading deadline to bolster the Astros' playoff chances, hasn't pitched since Aug. 21 at Philadelphia.

Since then, a series of throwing sessions have produced mixed results. Astacio threw fastballs exclusively during Sunday's session, experiencing discomfort as he increased his velocity, Hunsicker said.

"When he starts to increase his velocity, he starts feeling the pain in his shoulder," Hunsicker said.

Astacio, frustrated by his first stint on the disabled list in his nine-year career, said he has no explanation for his continuing shoulder problems.

After his first start with the Astros on Aug. 2, the 31-year-old Astacio complained of shoulder stiffness and didn't start again until Aug. 10. He felt tightness after beating the Phillies on Aug. 21 and was forced to miss his next scheduled start. A magnetic resonance imaging test Aug. 27 revealed no structural damage in the shoulder.

"It's the same thing," said Astacio, who has been taking anti-inflammatory medicine.

"There's still something bothering me in my shoulder. It bothers me at the beginning and lessens as I warm up."

Astacio is 2-1 with a 3.14 ERA in four starts for the Astros. In that span, he has allowed 10 earned runs in 28 2/3 innings while pitching into the seventh inning of all four starts. Overall, he is 8-14 with a 5.09 ERA in 26 starts.

Hunsicker did not rule out Astacio's returning before the end of the season, but that is appearing increasingly unlikely. To help strengthen the pitching staff for the Astros' upcoming stretch against playoff hopefuls San Francisco, St. Louis and Chicago, the Astros recalled righthanded reliever Scott Linebrink from Class AAA New Orleans.

The Astros already are short-handed in the rotation. Earlier this week, rookie Carlos Hernandez was lost for the remainder of the season with a slight tear in his left rotator cuff.

"It's been frustrating, because with injuries, you just never know," Hunsicker said. "I think the good news with Pedro is there is nothing really serious going on in his shoulder. You've got to react to the symptoms.

"When there is pain preventing somebody from pitching, that's really the long and short of it. It doesn't really matter what an MRI or anybody else says. Bottom line is in this case, he has discomfort in the shoulder, and until that's eliminated, there's nowhere to go."

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