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fanforever wrote:http://www.unionleader.com/article/2012 ... /705139955

INJURY UPDATE: Carpenter has spent the past few weeks strengthening his shoulder and preparing for a throwing program. He said his neck and shoulder feel great, but the true test will come when he picks up a baseball.

“Just a lot of rehab right now. We're taking our time,” he said. “There was a neck issue that affected the nerves in my arm. With my past history, we're slowing everything down and getting everything working properly.”

In 2004, Carpenter was sidelined with a nerve-related injury late in the season and didn't pitch against the Red Sox in the World Series.

“To be honest with you, with everything that's gone on in my career, I'm playing with fire all the time. I'm OK with it. You deal with injuries in this business. You never want an injury to end your career, but you deal with it all the time in this business. Fortunately, we have great trainers and doctors that get you back on the field.”

Asked if he'll be ready to pitch in the 2012 postseason, he said, “I think I'll be back before that, to be honest with you. I just can't answer that question until I start throwing again.”

Felix The Cat wrote:Perhaps, it's bad karma to do so but let's face it, our division blows. We've played like absolute dog [expletive] in the past week and the Reds have made up what? 1 game in the standings? A team like the 2011 Brewers would have gained like 3, 4 games on us during this stretch.

Rangers Will Consider Roy Oswalt
By Zach Links [May 21 at 7:16pm CST]

Rangers General Manager Jon Daniels said the club will consider signing pitcher Roy Oswalt in the wake of Neftali Feliz’s elbow injury, writes T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com. The Rangers watched the veteran throw on Friday.

Texas has long been linked to Oswalt but there was no room for the 34-year-old in the starting rotation. Feliz's injury could create an opening for Oswalt as the club isn't ready to ready to promote Martin Perez or Neil Ramirez from Triple-A. Scott Feldman is set to replace Feliz in the rotation and while Alexi Ogando is also a candidate he is not stretched out like Feldman.

Oswalt wouldn't be ready to step in to the rotation immediately for the Rangers but could provide depth in the event of another injury.

This may sound familiar, but some things never change:

Two friends of Roy Oswalt say they still believe his preference is to play in Texas, Atlanta or St. Louis. But since there's no indication the Braves or Cardinals are interested, his challenge is likely to be trying to convince the Rangers to pay him the significant dollars he's hoping for.

An official of one club that looked into Oswalt reports: "He wants a ton of money to pitch half a season. But based on how he pitched last year, it wasn't like he was dominant. So he's not a guy who's going to wrap up the pennant for you. He'd be a nice guy to add to the bottom of the rotation. He's not a guy you're adding to the top of your rotation, at this stage. But [based on his asking price] he doesn't see it that way."

The big reasons Oswalt would love to be a Ranger, according to his friends: (A) Geography, (B) no worries about run support, (C) no state income tax, (D) his relationship with Nolan Ryan and (E) lots of storylines for the media to center on besides him. But both friends stressed that money is an important factor, so if the Rangers don't make it worth his while, it's not a lock that Oswalt pitches in Texas -- or anywhere.

Oswalt has been linked to the Phillies and Red Sox. But both of those teams are right up against the luxury-tax threshold. So they're highly unlikely to dangle the kind of dollars he's looking for.