Hart and Marcum Recovering from Injuries

By JB Brewers Tickets Fan | Posted Wednesday, March 21

The Brewers are hoping to bring two of last year's star players back to the active roster by opening day. Outfielder Corey Hart and starter Shaun Marcum suffered injuries during spring training. Both players have been sidelined for most of cactus league play, though Marcum's prospects for a few appearances before the end of the month are pretty good.

Hart is making a swift recovery but will most likely miss any chance to prepare for the regular season. The right fielder was forced to undergo surgery on March 6. Doctors worked to remove torn cartilage from his knee. So far, he has managed to jog on a treadmill, take a few at-bats from a tee, and work on some short distance throwing. While he may be ahead a schedule as far as a recovery, manager Ron Roenicke is proceeding with caution.

Roenicke’s main concern is to avoid a repeat of last spring, when an injury to Nyjer Morgan forced Hart to return to action prematurely. While the untimely call back to the field wasn't detrimental to the team's season, Hart's sub-par performance for the few games that he needed to get back into a groove contributed to the team’s early losses. This year, Roenicke wants to take the time to make sure that Hart is in tip-top shape before going back out.

Shaun Marcum Making Quick Recovery

Shaun Marcum could be back in the lineup by next week. Rick Kranitz, the team's pitching coach, oversaw a simulated game practice for the starter on Sunday. Kranitz wouldn't give a definitive yes or no answer to weather or not Marcum would be ready for his place in the rotation by April, but he was confident that he would play games during this cactus league season.

Marcum has been held in check with shoulder inflammation. It began to hinder his performance in camp. A series of injections has reduced the swelling, allowing him to comfortably throw thirty pitches in this latest round of practice.