How Bad Is It?

There's a great article on the HardballTimes looking at Erik Bedard's hip injury. Bedard has already missed a couple of starts (including one against the O's), and he has recently been placed on the DL by Seattle. Chris Neault analyzed Bedard's pitching motion, and found that it may be why he is experiencing the pain.

"Notice how Bedard plants the left leg, then twists his trunk, pelvis, and right knee towards the left hip—past the left hip—then returns towards home plate. In essence, this is a functional scouring test for the hip. The weight of the body is placed through the left hip, so the joint surfaces are abutting one another. The rotation of the upper body over the left hip then "scours" the joint. This can create a situation that is, for lack of better terms, awful for the cartilage surfaces of the hip....If Bedard has been pitching like this for a long time, which I can only figure he has been, the chance that he might have an early onset of degenerative changes of the left hip is likely...The fact that Bedard's hip did not respond to rest and medication can lead us to believe that perhaps something else is going on here...I would not be surprised in the least if we found that Bedard has a labral tear in the left hip, and/or an arthritic hip...If there is a labral tear, rehabilitation alone is rarely successful. Usually, arthroscopic surgery to either debride or repair the labrum and shave down the acetabular rim is performed. If it is arthritis, rehabilitation should provide some relief, though he will likely struggle with bouts of increased pain with periods of relief."

Wow. I'm still a fan of Bedard's, and I was hoping that he would have good season (though with few wins to show for it). I hope this doesn't turn out to be as severe as it sounds. This does make the trade look even worse for the Mariners though. That's the risk you take when you trade 5 players for 1 pitcher.