Has anyone heard this? Several people have mentioned to me that Lane Mestepey twisted his ankle running on Wednesday, but that he will be fine to pitch Saturday. Can anyone confirm this? How bad is a twisted ankle for a pitcher? I guess it depends on which ankle. Anyone have any input / insight?
If its his left ankle that would be worse than the right because a lefthander uses his left leg to push off on the rubber while pitching.
The other ankle would be just as bad, as a pitcher shifts all of his body weight to the other leg as he releases the ball towards home plate. That's a lot of weight to go on a gimpy ankle (if he is indeed injured bad enough).
There was a write-up in the Advocate this morning and he is questionable for Saturday's game. It was his left ankle so it is the weight bearing ankle he uses to push off the rubber. http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/060404/lsu_regnotes001.shtml Regional Notebook: Mestepey's status unclear By CARL DUBOIS and JOSEPH SCHIEFELBEIN Advocate sportswriters LSU baseball coach Smoke Laval said Thursday junior pitcher Lane Mestepey might miss this weekend's regional at Alex Box Stadium because of a sprained left ankle, the one the left-hander uses to push off from the rubber. Laval said Wednesday the injury didn't seem serious, but Thursday he said there was more swelling. Trainer Shawn Eddy said Mestepey's status is day-to-day. Laval said Mestepey turned the ankle Wednesday morning while running and was limping more Thursday than the day before. "He jogged that course probably 300 times in three years," Laval said. "He just turned it running his daily 3-mile jog." Mestepey was originally scheduled to start LSU's second game of the regional. Laval said that role could belong to senior right-hander Nate Bumstead if Mestepey isn't ready Saturday. Laval said he plans to make a decision today.
