Jay Gibbons’ eye problems give Tony Gwynn Jr. starting job

By Mar 29, 2011, 11:46 AM EDT
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Jay Gibbons will begin the season on the disabled list after new contact lenses failed to fix the ongoing vision problems he’s been having all spring, according to Tony Jackson of ESPNLA.com.

Gibbons told Jackson that the new lenses improved his vision off the field, but failed to improve his eyesight at the plate because he “had no depth perception.”

He’s scheduled to visit another specialist, but is having trouble finding lenses that work due to “flattening of his cornea that is a normal result of … surgery he underwent last fall as a follow-up to the lasik procedure he had in 2004.”

Gibbons’ season-opening stint on the DL opens the door for Tony Gwynn Jr. to be the Dodgers’ primary left fielder, with Marcus Thames taking his place in the lineup versus left-handed pitching. It’s an interesting platoon partnership, because Gwynn is a great defender with a sub par bat and Thames is a horrible defender who can crush lefties.

Dodgers place pitcher Noah Syndergaard on injured list with no timetable for return

Associated PressJun 8, 2023, 9:19 PM EDT
dodgers syndergaard
Katie Stratman/USA TODAY Sports
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CINCINNATI — The Los Angeles Dodgers placed pitcher Noah Syndergaard on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a blister on the index finger of his right throwing hand.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the timetable for Syndergaard’s return is unknown despite the 15-day designation.

“The physical, the mental, the emotional part, as he’s talked about, has taken a toll on him,” Roberts said. “So, the ability to get him away from this. He left today to go back to Los Angeles to kind of get back to normalcy.”

Syndergaard allowed six runs and seven hits in three innings against the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night, raising his ERA to 7.16.

Syndergaard (1-4) has surrendered at least five runs in three straight starts.

Syndergaard has been trying to return to the player he was before Tommy John surgery sidelined him for the better part of the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Roberts said Syndergaard will need at least “a few weeks” to both heal and get away from baseball and “reset.”

“I think searching and not being comfortable with where he was at in the moment is certainly evident in performance,” Roberts said. “So hopefully this time away will provide more clarity on who he is right now as a pitcher.

“Trying to perform when you’re searching at this level is extremely difficult. I applaud him from not running from it, but it’s still very difficult. Hopefully it can be a tale of two stories, two halves when he does come back.”