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September 25, 2007
BY STEVEN KRASNER
Journal Sports Writer
BOSTON -- Hideki Okajima, who had been shut down by the Sox because of arm fatigue, threw a 40-pitch bullpen session Tuesday afternoon and, according to pitching coach John Farrell, should be ready to pitch an inning on Thursday night against Minnesota.
Okajima, who boasted an 0.83 earned-run average at the All-Star break in exceeding expectations as the eighth-inning setup man to closer Jonathan Papelbon, had been roughed up recently.
The latest carnage was a four-run meltdown against the Yankees on Sept. 14 that helped cost Boston a game to New York. That continued a string of mostly mediocre outings. From Aug. 10 to Sept. 14, Okajima had been cuffed for 11 earned runs in 11 1/3 innings over a 13-game stretch, inflating his E.R.A. from 0.98 to 2.28.
And while manager Terry Francona chided the media for saying that Okajima's main problem was fatigue, the Sox ultimately shut him down after the Sept. 14 outing.
This afternoon was his first bullpen work since then. Farrell was pleased with what he saw, and even used the "f" word -- fatigue -- that Francona has steadfastly refused to use.
"His stuff was crisp," said Farrell, who stood in the batter's boxes, simulating a hitter, as Okajima went through his workout, giving him a better look at the left-hander's stuff.
"He had no problem with his long toss or getting loose. We don't anticipate any setbacks. There was some fatigue we dealt with like we did with some other guys (on the staff) who got breaks during the season. He (Okajima) had some successive appearances where it was clear he needed some down time and we were fortunate (with a lead in the division) to be able to give him the time," said Farrell.
Posted by Steven Krasner 
at 4:48 PM | Permalink
