Reds' Bailey on 60-day DL, philosophical about road to recovery
CINCINNATI -- Homer Bailey sat quietly in front of his locker in street clothes, his beloved cowboys boots on his feet, as he thumbed a book.
"Found it in my truck," he said. "It's 'American Gun,' by Chris Kyle, the guy who wrote 'American Sniper.'"
Bailey will have an abundance of time to catch up on his reading for the rest of the season in between rehabbing his right elbow.
The Cincinnati Reds pitcher, owner of two no-hitters, was placed on the 60-day disabled list Wednesday with a sprained right ligament in his elbow.
While neither the Reds nor Bailey would say, it is likely Tommy John surgery is in Bailey's near future, which means his season is done and perhaps half of next season, too.
Bailey underwent season-ending forearm surgery early last September and spent the winter rehabbing, forcing him to miss spring training games, although he pitched in a couple of minor-league games late in the spring.
"After all that work, now I'll have to start all over again," said the 28-year-old righthander from LaGrange, Texas.
Bailey started his first game this season April 17 in St. Louis and said, "I didn't feel a thing. Nothing snapped, nothing felt amiss. But there was soreness and I thought it was the usual stiffness after you pitch."
But the soreness was still there five days later in Milwaukee when he was due to pitch again. "It was stiff, but not sore," he said. "I knew I could go out there and throw 91 or 92 with no problem. No big deal."
Bailey took ultrasound treatments after his second start and nothing surfaced, but when the soreness persisted he underwent an MRI. Results have not been released but most likely there is a tear in the ligament and Tommy John is imminent.
Bailey is taking a philosophical approach to what lies ahead.
"I'm not going to cry about it or moan about it or feel sorry for myself," he said. "What good would that do? That won't help anything. Hey, there are people out there dying every day. There are people a lot worse off than I am. I'll get through this just fine."
Of the movement of Bailey from the 15-day DL to the 60-day DL, manager Bryan Price said, "We haven't made a decision on what is going to happen, which route we will take as to getting him back on the mound.
"We aren't going to be talking about this in a week or two weeks because it is a decision that will be needed to be made so we can focus on that option."
Price said one option, of course, is Tommy John surgery but also said there are other avenues based on exercise, rehab and medications.
The Reds also placed lefthanded relief pitcher Manny Parra on the disabled list Wednesday with neck issues.
"He hasn't pitched since April 23, so it is so ambiguous, no way to know when he is going to get some relief from the neck issue. We have Carlos Contreras (a right hander) here and he has been throwing well in Triple-A. We really want to get Parra to 100 percent rather than gimp his way through the season like he did last year."
