Russell Branyan’s back problems continue, and before today’s game he was placed on the 15-day DL with a herniated disk.  Chris Jakubauskas was recalled to take his roster spot.

As someone who has dealt with back issues for the past five years or so, I really feel for Branyan.  It’s a pretty helpless feeling.  One minute you feel great, the next you throw your back out doing something completely routine.  In Branyan’s case, a check swing a couple days ago did him in.

Branyan hopes to come back after 15 days, but if he doesn’t make progress he could have a hard time making it back into the lineup this season.

Branyan’s season has already been a massive success, but it would have been great to see him finish out the year.  I know fan obsession over round numbers is a little ridiculous, but for a guy that has scuffled for a decade to gain some traction in the big leagues, I would have loved to see 35 or 40 homers on the back of his baseball card.

Jack Hannahan will probably man the position for the next couple of days, then we’ll probably see Mike Carp (among others) once rosters expand.

Kirby Arnold – Geoff Baker – Larry LaRue