Cliff Lee's Foot Surgery
Cliff Lee has yet to pitch a game for the Mariners and already he's on the injury list. According to the official report from the Mariners, Lee had a floating bone spur in his left foot removed on Friday 5 February 2010. The report indicates that no cast is required with a full recovery within three weeks, but what it doesn't say is how the surgery will impact his pitching. This isn't surgery on his pitching arm, so maybe it truly won't impact performance, but as a left-handed pitcher, Lee pushes off with his left foot during delivery. Depending on how long the spur was present prior to breaking off, Lee may have altered the way he pushes off to compensate for it over past seasons. Obviously having him pitching with pain makes no sense, but lets hope the spur wasn't his Achilles' heel.
