Brown Weakened by Mystery Illness
Still weakened by a mysterious illness, Dodger pitcher Kevin Brown on Saturday expressed frustration about his health and performance.
“I don’t know what it is, I really don’t, and I don’t think anybody knows exactly what’s going on,” said Brown, 1-1 with a 4.03 earned-run average after consecutive poor starts. “I don’t think it’s clear what it is.
“I don’t do anything normal anymore, all I do is lie around the house and rest. I’ve been to the doctor, had tests run on me and I don’t know what else to do. I’ve done what they wanted me to do. I don’t have any other ideas.”
The right-hander has suffered from flu-like symptoms and upper-respiratory problems since the beginning of the season and has been uncharacteristically ineffective after opening the season with back-to-back quality starts. Brown has an 8.10 ERA in his last two outings after a five-inning, five-run performance in Friday’s 5-1 loss to the San Francisco Giants.
Although experiencing velocity and command problems, Brown said the injuries that sidelined him much of the previous two seasons have not caused his current situation. For legal reasons, the Dodger medical staff is prohibited from discussing the health of players, but Manager Jim Tracy reiterated that Brown’s back and pitching elbow are fine.
“When you see a start like [Friday], the first question we want to ask is, ‘Is there something physically wrong?’ And the answer to that question is definitively no,” Tracy said. “Has he been dealing with a little bit of this upper-respiratory stuff that has kind of bombarded our club a little bit? Yes, he has.
“It’s left him a little weaker, obviously, than he would really like to feel. But the suggestion as to anything being wrong with him as far as elbow or back: non-issue.”
Brown, who will get five days off before his next start, said he has had mononucleosis, and his current illness “is the closest thing that I’ve felt like that. But I would imagine they ran all those tests and I haven’t heard anything.”
So is Brown headed to the disabled list again?
“I’ve gone out there before when I was sick, I just haven’t had something linger like this,” he said. “If I would have known 15 days ago that this was what would ... I don’t know. I just really don’t know.”
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Left-hander Odalis Perez, whose candor about his sprained right ankle irritated some team officials, played catch Saturday and is still scheduled for a bullpen session today, Tracy said. If all goes well, Perez would probably have another bullpen workout Tuesday and possibly return to the rotation Saturday against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.
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Dennis Gilbert, a Chicago White Sox executive, will be honored today for his philanthropic efforts in the Los Angeles baseball community.
“To be recognized in your hometown for helping people, what could be better?” said Gilbert, who is in a group bidding to purchase the Dodgers from News Corp.
Gilbert and his family will participate in an on-field pregame ceremony, then the former baseball agent will throw out the first pitch before the final game of the series against the Giants.
A supporter of Reviving Baseball in Inner cities-Los Angeles, Gilbert designed and constructed a baseball field complex for Southwest Community College. He is also a member of the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation, which provides financial assistance to scouts with at least 25 years service.
“It’s tremendous that he’s being recognized for everything he has done,” said Jerry Reinsdorf, chairman of the White Sox.
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Giant first baseman J.T. Snow left Saturday’s game in the third inning after fouling a ball off his right knee in the first. X-rays were negative.