Carl Crawford, Red Sox disagree on whether he needs Tommy John surgery

Bobby Valentine announced yesterday that the Red Sox are going to put Carl Crawford on “a four-day program” to help his bum elbow. Meaning that Crawford can’t play more than four games in a row.

Crawford, however, is not happy with it and insisted again that at some point he’s going to need surgery:

“That’s what the doctor told me,” Crawford said of needing surgery. “I’ll try not to even think about it. I go out and play, try not to think about it. I figure one day it’ll blow out, and when that happens, time to go. “The later I wait to get it done, the more time I’m going to miss. I guess you guys can do the calculation on that and see how that works. I definitely know that at some point of my career I can’t keep playing with this ligament in my elbow like that.”

Then, after that Valentine chimed in:

“I heard what Carl said,” Valentine said. “I’ve never been told that he needs an operation. I don’t think that’s a definitive situation.”

It’s never easy in Boston.

In other news, I love that we have a left fielder and a manager discussing medical prognosis as if there weren’t some doctors around with greater insight on the manner.

Dodgers southpaw Clayton Kershaw is nearing his return to the mound, according to club manager Dave Roberts. Both Kershaw (left biceps tendinitis) and fellow lefty Rich Hill (left middle finger blister) are scheduled to toss simulated games on Saturday; depending on the outcome, Roberts says Kershaw could forgo a minor league assignment and slot back into the rotation by Thursday.

Kershaw, 30, was diagnosed with biceps tendinitis as the team closed out their Mexico Series at the start of the month. He has not made a start in several weeks, but was finally able to resume throwing on Sunday and managed to get through two successful bullpen sessions. Though Dodgers’ ace hasn’t been completely injury-free over his 11-year career in the majors, this is the first significant issue he’s had with his pitching arm so far. The team is expected to take every precaution with the lefty, and will likely limit him to just four innings during Saturday’s simulated game.

Prior to his injury, Kershaw was working on another dominant run with the club, sporting a 2.86 ERA, 2.0 BB/9 and 9.8 SO/9 through his first 44 innings of the season. While Kershaw, Hill and left-handed starter Hyun-Jin Ryu served their respective terms on the disabled list this month, the Dodgers utilized a combination of relievers Ross Stripling and Brock Stewart, both of whom impressed during their limited time in the rotation.