It was not the clubhouse scene I expected to see. When Felix had to be helped off the field with an ankle injury we (media) speculated we were looking at a month before we saw him again. Ankle sprain sounded ominous, but with the way this season has gone, forgive us if we immediately jump to worst case scenario.

We spoke with the skipper first who seemed oblivious to the fact that we were ready for gloom and doom. He said they were encouraged by what they saw on the x-rays and with the off day and some juggling he felt that Felix wouldn’t miss more than one start. To clarify I asked if he thought they could avoid the DL and he said absolutely.

The pitcher himself told us several times with bravado that he would not miss a start. He was almost giddy, no doubt from his grand slam. His ankle was taped, but did not appear to be swollen. He was keeping his weight off it, but that did not keep him from traveling from person to person in the clubhouse while celebrating the victory. He was all talk about the slam which delighted his countrymen Lopez and Silva and drew amused looks from the more veteran Beltre and Batista.

When I finished with the group interview of Felix I headed over to the table where Lopez was sitting. He was all smiles after what he called a beautiful game. “It was special,” he said. “Two pitchers from Venezuela, especially with Felix, he got a grand slam and everybody laughed in the dugout. Opposite field too! It’s a good game. Good fans, everybody happy, Santana’s on the mound. Only Felix got hurt a little and didn’t win the game just one out from a win.”

Lopez went on to say that he actually told Riggleman that he though Felix would hit a grand slam. At this point of the interview, Felix ambled over and said, “Sorry about that Lopey!”

Carlos Silva was near by and he came over and took one of my microphones. At this point I knew the serious interview was over. I asked Felix if he had any hitting advice for Lopez and he laughed and said, “I tell him get this approach like I used, like what I did today, nice and easy, just put your hands in front.”

I then asked Carlos what was up with him, he was all power in batting practice and then didn’t even swing in his at bat. This set Felix and Lopez into fits of laughter.

“Buffalo (Silva’s nickname) is a bp hitter,” laughed Lopez.

“I told everyone not to expect anything.” Said Silva as he was reduced to laughter as well.

I then threw the question out to the group, “Who’s the best pitcher from Venezuela?”

“The King!” Silva said immediately as Lopez echoed with a “King Felix, el Rey!”

“Who’s the best hitter from Venezuela?” I followed with.

“Felix!” said Felix immediately with Lopez and Silva chiming in with more laughter and more “Kings!”

“Who’s the most handsome from Venezuela?”

This question slowed them down a little, there was a moment of silence, then, “Buffalo!” exclaimed Silva as the other two burst out in giggles. A fun moment to say the least, and one that I believe is archived on our myohmy.us page.

It was good to see, especially when there are so many questions about chemistry on this club. The guys love Felix. They love to play for him as well, and not just the Latin players. He has the ability to rally guys around him every time he takes the ball. They know he is going to give everything he has out on that field every time he takes the ball. They know he has heart. You saw him literally have to be dragged off that field tonight. It is an important quality that cannot be quantified, but guys get up to play behind Felix.

On a more serious note, the M’s may not be out of the woods. While things look good tonight, ankles can be tricky. He should not go out there until the ankle is absolutely 100% because if it is not, he may try to compensate with his arm or shoulder and that could be dangerous. The bravado was good to see tonight, but now it is his duty to recover responsibly and be honest with his trainers and coaches with where that ankle is.

While the team is not making a move tonight and there is an off day coming up Thursday, if Bedard is still a question mark, someone will have to go on the DL. You cannot have two question marks in your rotation, and your bullpen has been stretched the last few days.

I asked Lee Pelekoudas if he would be able to avoid having to make a roster move and he told me he hoped so. He seemed more concerned about the pen at this time. Want to see how thin the system is right now? Well try and figure out who you would bring up right now if you had to. Ryan Feierabend and Eric O’Flaherty are on the DL right now. If they were to have to DL both Bedard and Felix, I honestly do not know what they would do. We will see…