News
Bush not likely to pitch on Saturday
Brewers decide it may be best for right-hander to skip start
By Adam McCalvy / MLB.com
09/30/09 9:48 PM ET
DENVER -- Dave Bush has probably thrown his final 2009 pitch for the Brewers, who are suddenly scrambling to fill the final innings of the season. Bush and the team changed course on Wednesday and decided it might be best for the right-hander to skip his scheduled start on Saturday in St. Louis and call it a season. Bush spent about two months on the disabled list earlier this season with a right triceps injury and has struggled with fatigue since his return. "It's been a challenge," Bush said. "What you don't want to do is go out and do something stupid on Saturday and get myself in a position where it could affect me beyond that." For now, manager Ken Macha is not listing a probable starter for Saturday or Sunday, when the Brewers close their season against the Cardinals. Bush had not been formally ruled out. "I'm obviously not trying to sit on my stats," said Bush, who is 5-9 this season with a 6.38 ERA, second-highest of any Major League pitcher with at least 100 innings of work. Baltimore's Jason Berken has a 6.51 ERA. "I want to go into the offseason feeling healthy and feeling confident about how I am on the mound," Bush said. "If I can accomplish that [in bullpen sessions instead of one more start], I can take something into the offseason. ... We've tested the shoulder, rotator [cuff], labrum, elbow -- everything is sound and solid. So I don't have any concerns about how I am right now. The biggest thing is my arm is just tired. There's been a lot of unusual stress on it this year." Bush worked with pitching coach Chris Bosio in a long bullpen session on Wednesday afternoon. If Bush cannot start for the Brewers on Saturday, who will? Macha found himself asking that question on Wednesday, and he called general manager Doug Melvin to see if reinforcements were available. They aren't. "We don't really have anybody who's throwing," said Melvin, who was visiting the Brewers' instructional-league squad in Phoenix. "We're trying to get by right now with what we have. If we play a long extra-inning game, we'll have to look at it again." The Brewers are short, even with expanded September rosters, because Yovani Gallardo has been shut down for the year as a precaution (he is not an option to come back, Macha said firmly) and Mike Burns has been shut down with a shoulder injury. Rookie Josh Butler might have been an option, but the Brewers sent him home after Sunday's home finale and he's driving cross-country this week from Huntsville, Ala., to San Diego before reporting for the Arizona Fall League. Carlos Villanueva could be called upon to make an emergency start. Other healthy pitchers on the 40-man roster but not currently in the big leagues include Omar Aguilar, Tim Dillard, Mark Rogers and Cody Scarpetta. Aguilar and Rogers are both slated for the AFL. The Brewers are leaving open the possibility that Chris Narveson, who was previously scheduled to start Sunday, could pitch a day early on Saturday. Macha could also cobble together a "bullpen day," using Villanueva for a few innings at the start and then filling in relievers behind him, but even that could be difficult, Macha said, because a number of relievers were "dragging." He wouldn't identify any of those pitchers. "We've got a couple of things we're thinking about," Macha said. "What we need to do is get through these next few days, and then we'll let you know." Melvin is to rejoin the big league team in St. Louis on Friday.Adam McCalvy is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
