"We can't talk about specific cases," MLB's vice president for public relations, Pat Courtney, told Rumblings. "But what we can say is that each DL placement must be supported by sufficient medical evidence, and it has to come from a highly qualified physician."

In other words, the commissioner's office is reviewing every case. And doctors are signing every form. And the players in question, their agents and the union have to be on board with every trip to DL purgatory.

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Stark then goes on to dissect three specific cases: Chien-Ming Wang's hips, Oliver Perez's right knee, and Dontrelle Willis' anxiety disorder. There aren't a lot of definitely conclusions, although it's interesting how involved the commissioner's office is with the whole process. And might there be doctors for hire here?

Via Baseball Musings, via Peter Abraham.