2009 INJURIES: TB's Pena done for the season (broken fingers)

[Brewtacular]

If only Iwamura hadn't played in the WBC.

[TooLiveBrew]

Hahaha http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif Brewtacular, I think you should apply for the next ESPN baseball analyst opening.

 

That Iwamura injury sure does sound brutally painful.

[TooLiveBrew]

Carlos Quentin was placed on the 15-day DL with a bout of plantar fasciitis, which is an inflammation of the connective tissue in the arch of the foot. Although it often presents as pain that runs along the arch, the hallmark is pain originating at the base of the heel. This is exactly what Quentin was feeling. He couldn't avoid the DL while receiving conservative treatment, so the time off should certainly provide relief for what is likely a nasty case of inflammation. In many cases, a foot posture issue is involved, so this should be looked at. Full contact custom orthotics usually provide immense relief in short order.
...
Hiroki Kuroda should be back in the Dodgers rotation very soon - probably early next week - so if he was dropped in your league, he should be someone to add right away. All reports recently have been positive as he works back from what had become a terribly nagging left oblique strain.
...
Jorge Posada returned to the Yankees lineup tonight after successfully undergoing rehab for his strained left hamstring. He also took the DL time to continue working on strengthening his surgically repaired right shoulder.

[areacodes]

I wonder how similar Votto's problem is to the one Ben Sheets experienced a couple of springs earlier this decade.

Votto better watch out, he doesn't want to be labeled as injury-prone.

[TooLiveBrew]

Well his DL-ing certainly seems very significant, and unfortunately for Joey, quite similar. It'll be interesting to see what happens.

[TooLiveBrew]

Brett Myers is more than likely out for the remainder of the season, as he will miss at least the next three months following a soon-to-be-scheduled right hip surgery. He is dealing with a torn labrum and bone spur formation in the hip, and will require trimming of the bone in addition to the actual repair of the labral cartilage. The pain in his hip was causing him to overstress his pitching shoulder, so this is a situation where he's getting the surgery done now to avoid even more troubles in another joint. He probably could have had a Cortisone injection and continued to pitch, but the Phillies are doing the right thing by shutting him down. There are many internal options to replace Myers, the most likely being either Kyle Kendrick or Carlos Carrasco. They may also decide to swing a deal for a pitcher.
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Edinson Volquez will return to the mound on Monday, after spending time on the DL with a lower back strain. He partially credits his speedy recovery to intense pool workouts. Hopefully, the time off and a pain-free lower back will elevate his game so that he can become the pitcher that we all came to know and love in 2008.
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Melky Cabrera's right shoulder pain turned out to be nothing more than a mild subluxation and contusion (bruise), and he will back in the lineup as soon as he is comfortable enough. We could see him this weekend as a pinch runner or pinch hitter, but I wouldn't expect him to start until early next week.
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Xavier Nady is set to begin a short-distance throwing program early next week - an indication that he may try to return to the outfield after all. Tentatively speaking, he is going to be a DH early on upon returning. Remember, this is a guy who has to make very long, hard throws from right field, and that was the exact mechanism of his re-injury. Also remember that after the injury, it was felt that he may need surgery to fix the tear. I am not sold that he will be healthy enough to play right field regularly.
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The good news for Ryan Church is that he isn't on the DL for any sort of concussion-like symptoms. A hamstring strain has him sidelined currently, but he should be back at the minimum.
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Carlos Delgado is feeling pretty good thus far, after undergoing right hip surgery on May 19. While it has been reported that he could be back in 8-10 weeks, you really have to take into account the fact that he is an aging first baseman, and his recent comments were guarded. When asked if he would be able to return this year, he said, "I think that's going to happen sometime this year, but I can't guarantee nothing." As it stands now, his rehab seems more conservative than that of Alex Rodriguez, so you can probably take A-Rod's return time and add a month-plus to it.
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Kenji Johjima is expected to miss the next 6-8 weeks with a significantly broken left great toe. He was spiked by Adam Kennedy during a play at home plate. The fracture was pretty bad, too, as it was broken in three separate places. For a catcher, being able to crouch is an obvious need, and the great toe bears a large brunt of this force. I haven't heard whether or not he will need surgery to fixate the fractures, but given the time frame, I would guess that some pins or wires might be needed.

[TooLiveBrew]

Ugh. "Irritation in his left knee" (BA on the broadcast tonight) is NOT what you want to hear about a 36-y-o like Cameron. Hoping for the best with both Cam & Braun...

[crewcrazy]

Volquez left his start in the first inning back tonight with "numbness" in his hand...I imagine that can't be good and could be a sign of a more serious injury. Didn't Tim Hudson have that kind of sensation before eventually finding out he needed TJ surgery? Did Dusty just kill another promising young pitcher?

 

Rotoworld says that Cincy's medical staff will look him over on Tuesday, but this has to be scary news for the Reds.

[gobrew23]

Didn't see this one talked about yet.

 

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Cubs outfielder Milton Bradley hobbled off the field and most likely onto the disabled list Tuesday suffered a righth calf strain.

 

EDIT: Yahoo suspects he may be headed to the disabled list, while ESPN says its day-to-day.

 

Cubs website says "Milton Bradley had to leave Tuesday night's 6-5, 12-inning loss after coming up lame in the fourth inning. He is questionable for the rest of the series and could be out much longer."

[craigharmann]

and could be out much longer."

Like the rest of the season and questionable for next?

[Marc Newfield of Dreams]

Volquez left his start in the first inning back tonight with "numbness" in his hand...I imagine that can't be good and could be a sign of a more serious injury. Didn't Tim Hudson have that kind of sensation before eventually finding out he needed TJ surgery? Did Dusty just kill another promising young pitcher?

 

Rotoworld says that Cincy's medical staff will look him over on Tuesday, but this has to be scary news for the Reds.

I have a bit of experience in this area. When you get numbness like that, its likely a torn ulnar collateral ligament. I partially tore mine in college (playing softball, go figure) and would get that sensation whenever I threw remotely hard. Apparently when that ligament is compromised something hits a nerve in the elbow that sends that feeling down to the hands.

 

I was told by the doctor that if I was a big league pitcher, I would have probably needed TJ surgery.

[The Mexican Weez]

I wasn't sure to start a thread on this or not, but it seems pretty relevant so I figured to stick it here, but someone put some quantitative analysis on injuries on MLB teams of the past few years. Apparently the White Sox have done good job of avoiding injuries and not too shabby is the Brewers.

 

Take a look:

http://www.beyondtheboxsc...ing-the-disabled-list-by

[The Heartbreak Yid]

and could be out much longer."

Like the rest of the season and questionable for next?

Too bad our brilliant GM hadnt signed Adam Dunn and let Milton be Tamba Bay or Washingtons problem. I dont understand the logic behind signing a guy who they new at the start would be luckt to get 100 games in over the guy who hit a home run every time he comes to bat at Wrigley.

[crewcrazy]

Some good news for the Reds -- Volquez is back on the DL, but it's with tendonitis and not something more serious.

 

I got a kick out of Dusty Baker playing doctor, though:

"He's not supposed to pick up a ball for a week to 10 days.," Baker said. "He's got some inflammation in there. The reason he had the tingling is the inflammation crowds the ulna nerve. He's going to be fine."

Definitely didn't see that quote coming from him.

[TooLiveBrew]

Ha... that kinda reminds me of Dave Chappelle's portrayal of Lil' Jon (a rapper, for those unfamiliar).

 

 

Thanks for sharing that story/study, MexicanWeez. I'm not sure if the methodology used is 'good' or not, but certainly worth perusing the charts & data.

 

 

EDIT: The more I read it/think about it, the more ominous Baker's quote seems. Did he think Prior & Wood were going to be fine? Is his attitude a good one to have regarding the injury, or is it a lackadaisical approach? At this point I'd have to think that he's going to be a lot more careful with young pitching, but who knows.

[Thurston Fluff]

Not to go too far off topic but Baker gets criticized for overworking Prior but the Brewers did the exact same thing to Parra last year for the exact same reason. Melvin was asked about the added workload to Parra and he pretty much said it's a special circumstance. Meaning the Brewers needed to use him that way to make the playoffs. If we don't criticize Melvin and the brewers for doing it we shouldn't do so for Baker and the Cubs.

[Ennder]

There is a pretty significant difference in the jump in pitches Prior made and the jump in pitches that Parra made. The Brewers have been far from perfect with pitchers though, they abused the heck out of Sheets in his breakout year and then they abused Capuano in his best season to try to get him to 20 wins, starting him on 3 days rest multiple times late in the season. These were both seasons where we had no chance at the post season so really weren't special circumstances at all.

 

Obviously you can never be 100% sure what causes injuries in baseball but both Sheets and Capuano followed with injuries.

[TooLiveBrew]

Here's what Chris Neault had to say on Volquez

 

Edinson Volquez is sent back to the DL with what is being called "tendonitis", though I am skeptical, given the symptoms. Numbness and tingling in the pinky and ring fingers are a clear indication of inflammation or irritation of the Ulnar Nerve - likely at the medial elbow. Volquez said it was "tingling from my elbow down to my fingers." Numbness is not a symptom of tendonitis. Combine this with his terrible control this season, and the recent low back strain (that was probably as a result of his elbow bothering him, causing him to change the force or mechanics of his delivery), and you have a perfect recipe for something more at the elbow.

 

I won't go as far as saying he has a ligament problem at the elbow, because it is probably just a neuritis (nerve inflammation) that pitchers sometimes get from time to time, but it also would not surprise me if there is eventually something more found here. It was certainly alarming enough to Volquez that it made him change his pitch repertoire during his last outing (he felt it on a hard fastball, then proceeded to throw a bunch of slow curveballs). Dr. Kremchek - the Reds team Doctor - said that his elbow was "fine, big time." I don't know about you, but when your fingers start turning numb, I don't think that means you're fine - unless fine means 'you don't need surgery.'

[TooLiveBrew]

More from Neault...

 

Josh Hamilton may miss up to two months due to abdominal pain related to a sports hernia. He looks more than likely to need surgery, so his owners will want to shore up the outfield spot. Good alternatives that are widely available include: Ryan Spilborghs, Elijiah Dukes, Michael Cuddyer, and Marlon Byrd. For those brave owners, you might consider Andruw Jones.

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Grady Sizemore is on the DL with a "hot elbow." Translation: inflamed, swollen elbow, which could be as a result of a multitude of things, though we do know that his elbow was initially injured on a swing where the elbow hyperextended. There is likely a bursitis present, which is minor, but can last for multiple weeks unless aspirated first, then allowed rest and medication. The other possibility is a synovitis (joint lining inflammation) that may have occurred due to the synovium becoming overstretched. For someone who has to make long, hard throws from the outfield with forceful elbow extension, this is not a good recipe as the continued throwing will create more irritation. Since there are no bony anomalies, fractures, or structural damage in the joint, there is a possible scenario where he might not need surgery for this. Aaron Laffey had a similar problem last year, and it responded well to rest and medication. If the symptoms persist despite further rest and conservative treatment, an arthroscopy would be performed to do a debridement of the inflamed synovium (which could be causing impingement and subsequent swelling). Recovery time for such a procedure can be anywhere from 6-8 weeks. Basically, hope that this is Bursitis and lets move on.

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Evan Longoria injured his left hamstring during tonight's game as he ran out a grounder. No word yet as to the severity, though you can be certain he will miss the next 1-3 games at the least.

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Joakim Soria was activated from the DL and is safe to use in all fantasy leagues, obviously. It is no guarantee that he will remain healthy, but the rehabilitation and time off certainly helped his cause. As we all well know, strained rotator cuffs are commonplace for pitchers and can be very unpredicatable.

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Ryan Doumit received some good news when he was cleared to begin some light strengthening exercises for his broken right wrist. He is still facing an uphill battle, however, as a recent CT scan showed the beginnings of some healing. The Scaphoid bone is one of the worst-healing bones in the human body, so you almost have to figure that the late-June timetable could easily be pushed back well into July - or later.

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Elijah Dukes returned to the Nationals lineup today after missing the past two-plus weeks with a left hamstring strain. He was off to a pretty good start before the injury sidelined him, so those of you who just lost Josh Hamilton may want to take a flier on Dukes.

[Brawndo the Thirst Mutilat]

There is a pretty significant difference in the jump in pitches Prior made and the jump in pitches that Parra made.

To quantify this difference a bit --

 

Of Parra's 32 starts last year, he threw more than 100 pitches just 9 times and more than 110 just twice, with a high of 116 pitches. All told, he averaged 93 pitches per start.

 

Of Prior's 30 starts in '03, he threw more than 100 pitches 17 times and more than 120 pitches 9 times, with a high of 133 pitches (in his very last start of the season, no less). Perhaps worst of all, in September he threw over 100 pitches in every start and was over 120 pitches 5 of 6 consecutive starts (perhaps, in this respect, it was fortunate for Parra that his performance meltdown at the end of the year prevented the Brewers from piling mileage on an already tired arm). He averaged 113 pitches per start, a figure Parra exceeded a grand total of one time last year.

 

Prior was just 22 years old at the time -- not even old enough to have graduated from what is sometimes referred to as the "injury nexus". If you want to see the insanity of Prior's usage pattern that year summed up in microcosm, behold this game.

[datrain711]

reminds me of Sabathia last year coming out to pitch the ninth against the Astros when we were up by 7 runs or so.

 

At least Sabathia wasn't a rookie though.

[1992casey]

I wasn't sure to start a thread on this or not, but it seems pretty relevant so I figured to stick it here...

 

Use your discretion. If you think an injury to a particular player or an injury-related topic will generate a fair amount of discussion, feel free to start a new topic. If it doesn't produce a significant number of replies, mods can always merge it into this one. I've added this thread to the Designated Threads List with a similar explanation.

 

By the way, you're doing a great job with this thread, TooLive.

[homer]

Looks like the non-trade for Jake Peavy might be a blessing in disguise. Halladay not optimistic after injuring his groinal region.

 

Fantasy owners seen jumping from the US Bank building in downtown Milwaukee.

 

Peavy out one month - maybe as long as 12 weeks

 

Halladay not expecting injury to go away overnight

[hawing]

http://mediadownloads.mlb.com/mlbam/2009/06/12/mlbf_5020045_th_13.jpg

 

Call me silly, but I'd think twice before labeling an injury as "breaking news" (in the sense that some freaked out fans might think it was a broken ankle).

[TooLiveBrew]

Some long-overdue updates.

 

Troy Tulowitzki 's left hand checked out fine on the MRI, so this is likely a bony contusion (which can hurt as bad as a fracture in some instances). Fortunately, this is a scenario that is not season-ending, and is more about pain tolerance than anything. Once the swelling recedes in the next couple of days, his ability to grip the bat will improve steadily.
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Joey Votto is not due to return to the Reds lineup when his initial 15-day DL stint is complete. He is still dealing with stress-related anxiety. Manager Dusty Baker would only say that Votto is dealing with a "personal issue" and would not elaborate further.
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J.J. Putz had surgery on Tuesday to remove loose bodies from his elbow that were created when a bone spur broke apart, creating a situation where the pieces of floating bone in his joint created pain. The arthroscopic procedure removed these fragments and smoothed down the rough bony edges. While fairly minor, there is a definite period of about 4-6 weeks where the elbow remains tender and somewhat resistant to notable gains in mobility, hence the time frame of 10-12 weeks for Putz to return to the Mets. This seems feasible, and if the Mets make the postseason, it could be right in time
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Grady Sizemore is probably heading towards left elbow surgery, though the Indians are trying to say all the right things and make it seem like there is a chance he won't need it. The painful truth is that if his elbow were going to improve, it would have done so by now. Incremental gains in motion at this juncture aren't exactly ringing endorsements of a healthy elbow. With the Indians going nowhere this season, there is no reason to rush Sizemore back to the lineup, and with the recovery time frame being negligible, he could wait for a while before having it done (if needed at all), hence the lengthy rehab.
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Justin Duchscherer is an example of someone who had a "minor" procedure done on his pitching elbow, yet he is dealing with an abnormally long bout of postsurgical tenderness that I was speaking about above. If the "Duke" is able to return this season - and he should be able to - it will likely be in a relief role. The A's rotation has someone figured a way to stabilize itself with a bunch of young, effective hurlers, so this will be a way to keep him with the team and reduce the strain on his elbow so he can work during the offseason to regain the stamina needed to be a starter. Expect him back sometime around the 2nd to 3rd week in July
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Anthony Reyes has what Dr. Lewis Yocum calls, "long-standing ligament inefficiency" in his medial right elbow, which is just medical speak for "his ligament has had laxity in it for a long, long time and it finally gave out so now he needs an Ulnar nerve transposition and more than likely Tommy John surgery." In a nutshell.
Friday's surgery will determine how much needs to be done, and how long he will be out. Fantasy owners should not hold onto him in any event, as even the more minor procedure (transposition) will keep him out the rest of '09. Tommy John surgery would have Reyes back in early June 2010 - at the absolute earliest.

 

Some of this stuff isn't new... but just wanted to have it in this thread in case it could serve as a resource.