Izzy has my care & concern.
If I saw him in the grocery store, I think I’d have to hug him (as opposed to say, kicking him in the shins). He sounds extremely desperate, unique to any other time I have ever heard him speak about his performance or condition. I’m glad that Paletta found enough evidence to disable him for a few days and get him off the roster.
Otherwise, the options as I see them are 1) continue as-is: bad idea for obvious reasons or 2) DFA: ill-advised, for I’m sure another team would claim him. Worse closers than Jason Isringhausen not only exist but are paid handsomely. As poorly as he has been pitching lately, I feel like you don’t just give up on a guy nor do you send a guy to the gallows on a regular basis when he has consistently put out everything he has to offer and resultingly is the franchise save leader (eight away from 300 saves).
If Izzy wasn’t able to obtain a disability diagnosis, I would have been loudly screaming for a psychologist visit. Of course, it probably would have been like screaming in an anechoic chamber [aside, I think Liam would be the only one who wouldn't need to google that term], but that’s never stopped any of us from complaining about medical practices. [See: Mark Mulder's shoulder, Carpenter's elbow.] Zach Greinke of the Royals was placed on the DL officially for “personal reasons” a couple spring trainings ago; later, it came out that he had left spring training because of an anxiety disorder (social, to be specific). I suspect Rick Ankiel would have had a legitimate claim for similar treatment post-2000 postseason. And that is all we will speak of that even though we no longer have to weep at his downfall, for he is reborn as a damn fine centerfielder [even if he regrettably no longer wears the high socks].
That said, there’s nothing in the world wrong with having a psychological disorder… as long as you get treatment. Psychological issues carry such a stigma in our culture thanks to crazy ladies who drown their kids, pathological men who kill for sport, and suicidal students who tote guns to campus. Unfortunately “Lady Keeps Shit Together, Thanks Pharmaceutical Industry” never makes the six o’ clock news. The worst is generally suspected in someone who has a psych disorder, but with therapy and possibly medication, the impact of psych disorders can be reduced to a very manageable, normal to near-normal level.
I won’t lie, I’ve had my own trouble with psychological issues as I’ve progressed through school. So has half my department, and I suspect the other half isn’t being honest with themselves about their issues. Some events just take a toll on you and life is hard to handle on your own. It’s ok, it happens, don’t feel ashamed, just get treatment posthaste. I did, because I believe in Maslow’s hierarchy – basic needs must be satisfied in order to satisfy higher-level needs and function at a higher level.
What this means in terms of Izzy, if indeed he has some psychological issues now, [I'll keep away from the term disorder because 1) I don't diagnose psych disorders, I only refer and 2) I definitely don't have complete enough information to diagnose even if I were licensed for it] which I would suspect, seriously how would you not after recent events?, gratuitous comma, is that he has more important personal things to attend to before he can think about pitching which are completely independent of physical (hip/hand) health.
I really don’t fucking care if the infected hand is merely the public reason for getting Izzy out & away from here, as long as he’s getting the treatment he needs to get better. Kind of like the same thing with Spiezio: the guy has bigger things to take care of than baseball even though what we see is the impact that the problem has upon baseball.
I only write about this because in Izzy’s words I sense desperation that I’ve never before detected and that is completely out of character for him. The guy was willing to be DFA’d and sent to the minors just to get out of the current situation. He asked out of the closer role. That’s simply not the competitive, driven Izzy we know and love (and some boo, boo on them). Something has changed in him, something is not the same.
Clearly, Izzy needs some time off. Who knows how long? I’ll not claim to know. But I have reason to believe that he will fight to return and thus I anticipate seeing him back on the mound.
