What timing: Todd Coffey suddenly injured, heads to DL

Right when the Dodgers had to clear a roster spot for left-handed starter Ted Lilly, someone conveniently turned up injured.

And it so happened that the injured player was the reliever with the highest earned-run average on the team.

Funny how that happens, no?

Todd Coffey, with a bloated 36.00 ERA, was placed on the disabled list Saturday. Lilly was activated to start the game on this night against the Padres.

Mattingly insisted that the right-handed reliever’s right knee is inflamed, as did Coffey himself. Coffey said his knee started bothering him a few days ago.

Mattingly acknowledged the injury isn’t particularly severe and described the move as a precautionary measure.

“If we were later in the year, I don’t know if we’d be DLing him,” Mattingly said. “It’s too early to be messing around and turning into something bigger.”

Coffey initially protested the move.

Did Mattingly have to threaten him with the possibility of release to get him to agree to it?

“No,” Mattingly said.

Coffey appeared to be reading from the same script as Mattingly.

“If it was August, I’d be pushing through this,” Coffey said.

Coffey said his knee affected his pitching enough to affect his results.

“The velocity is there,” he said. “The movement is there. It’s just that little movement at the end.”

Coffey said he doesn’t think there’s any correlation between his injury and weight. He is listed at 280 pounds in the Dodgers media guide.

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What timing: Todd Coffey suddenly injured, heads to DL