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

[TooLiveBrew]

Some more overdue injury updates...

 

Erik Bedard had exploratory surgery on his left shoulder on Friday, and it turned out to be a bigger fix than Seattle was hoping for. A torn labrum was repaired, as well as further debridement in the joint. This ends his season, though there is an outside chance that he may be ready for Spring Training. The word out there is a 4 to 6 month recovery, but this is simply to return to throwing - not to pitching at the MLB level. The timeframe for a return to a starting rotation could be 9 to 12 months. The question is, where will Bedard be in 2010? Chances are, it will not be in Seattle. Because he was on one of my fantasy teams, I was hoping that this was a case of mechanical shoulder pain, though I had a feeling all along that something like this would be the actual culprit. Just goes to show that you simply cannot trust negative MRIs, especially in the case of persisting pain and dysfunction.

...

Well, looks like Francisco Liriano 's elbow problem is a bigger concern than we were initially led to believe. I told you back a few weeks ago that swelling in the absence of pain indicates a larger problem than meets the eye. We'll see what the definitive diagnosis is, hopefully in the near future. In the meanwhile, you can take the "diagnosis" of "left arm fatigue" and put zero worth with it (fatigue is not a diagnosis). Owners of Liriano should be making long-term plans for his replacement, as this has the feel of a season-ender, even though we have not heard anything to that effect.

[logan82]

Bush looked pretty good. He didn't give up a hit, walked one and only had one hard hit ball in 3 innings

That's logan's short, short version (nod to the fellow Spaceballs fans out there) on how Bush looked tonight from seeing him firsthand in Appleton.

 

Regardless of how this season winds up, the Brewers definitely need a healthy & effective Dave Bush to return.

The guy Bush walked was on 4 straight pitches. The hard hit ball was to deep CF in the first inning.

[brewmann04]

glad we didn't trade for Bedard

[TooLiveBrew]

Sorry... the Brewers' collapse this season has definitely impacted my overall interest, and I certainly haven't kept this thread updated like I'd wanted to...

 

 

Johan Santana is reportedly done for the year, as Dr. David Altchek has diagnosed him with bone spurs in his left elbow. He will need surgery to debride (clean out) the elbow and to smooth it out. If this is all it turns out to be, then Santana has dodged a major bullet. Unless the surgery turns up something more major like ligament or tendon damage, then you can expect Santana to be back next season from the get go.

...

Justin Morneau was battling some dizziness as a result of an inner ear infection, but it seems as though it is under control now.

[TooLiveBrew]

Oliver Perez will have arthroscopic surgery on his right (planting) knee in an attempt to alleviate painful symptoms arising from chronic Patellar tendonitis that is likely a result of bone spur or calcific tendinopathy. This clearly affected the way he threw, and was almost certainly something he had to think about during the course of his outings. Relatively minor, this surgery still takes a good 2 to 3 months to fully heal, followed by a progression back to throwing. He should be all set for Spring Training, and if pain-free, could return to being effectively wild while also compiling gaudy strikeout totals.

...

Jake Peavy is going to make one more rehab start in the minors before possibly being activated by the White Sox. Everyone was hoping that he would make a start this weekend against the Yankees, but that isn't going to happen. It isn't his ankle that's giving him the trouble, however. He took a batted ball off the right elbow in his last rehab appearance on Monday, and it seems like just a contusion. He should be back next week. For those wondering if his ankle is going to hold up, its anyone's guess, but the film of his rehab outings looked quite good.

...

Tim Hudson is scheduled to start for the Braves on Monday. This will be his first start since undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow last year. I would not expect much out of Hudson except about 5 innings and a few strikeouts each start. He is a much better bet for success next season. Everything about his return seems rushed, and he did not really show much during his rehab outings.

...

Nyjer Morgan jammed his left hand while stealing two bases in the first inning of yesterday's game, and had to exit the game. As it turns out, Morgan broke his hand and is effectively done for the year. No word yet on if this is a surgical case or even to what bone, but it doesn't really matter for fantasy purposes this year.

...

Justin Upton has returned from the DL after sustaining a left oblique strain. He is going to play every day... [and] there should be no repercussions from the previous injury - unless, of course, he re-strains it - which is always a possibility that is unavoidable.

...

Jeff Francoeur is having surgery to repair a torn left thumb ligament, as was expected. He should be good to go for the 2010 season without any issues.

 

Geez -- don't complain to the Mets about injuries this season. Ouch.

[sgtcluels]

Branyan is on the 15 Day DL with Herniated Discs in his back. Hope he can avoid surgery if he can.

[TooLiveBrew]

3TO DL linkage

 

Mariners first baseman Russell Branyan, who leads the team with 31 home runs, was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Saturday with a herniated disk in his back.

 

The 33-year-old has been bothered periodically with lower back spasms this season. He left Friday night's game against the Royals after experiencing pain on a swing and underwent an MRI exam on Saturday morning.

 

The exam revealed the injury. There were no further details available as to when Branyan might be able to return to action

I really hope this isn't the end of Russell's 2009.

[sheethead]

Who didn't see this coming with Branyan? The answer should be nobody.

[TooLiveBrew]

Well, looks like we found our answer as to how severe the tissue damage was in Chad Qualls ' left knee. He is going to have surgery on the left knee. In these cases, the dislocation usually has ruptured the Medial Patellofemoral Ligament, which is the most important static stabilizer against lateral translation of the kneecap.

 

There are pretty much two procedures to fix this. The first is a repair of the ligament, which is basically a 4-centimeter incision on the inner part of the kneecap, and then the ligament is reattached (usually back to the Femur) with anchors that are drilled into the bone. Recovery for this is typically about 3 to 4 months.

 

The second option is a ligament reconstruction, and this is performed when the ligament is obliterated to the point where a repair won't hold. A small portion of the Gracilis (a muscle in the inner thigh) is taken and is then set in place of the torn ligament. The recovery for this is typically 4 months-plus.

Ouch.

[TooLiveBrew]

Johan Santana underwent successful surgery..., having multiple bone fragments removed from his ailing pitching elbow. With no signs of ligament or tendon damage, this is certainly a best case scenario for owners in keeper leagues who wish to hold onto Santana for next year. The removal of bone fragments will allow for a more mobile joint with less painful motion, though there is some chance that this type of trauma happens again in the future - though not likely to be next season.

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David Wright was activated from the disabled list..., but this is more just a sigh of relief for Mets fans than anything else. It is great that Wright is returning and is seemingly healthy, but as we are all becoming too familiar with the occurrence of concussions, we also understand that the brain has a mind of its' own - no pun intended. Symptoms can crop up here and there, sometimes with very little or no aggravating factors. Because of this, the Mets should take the conservative route with their star third baseman and give him much more frequent rests down the stretch as they are well out of contention for the postseason. Said Wright, "I'm probably too rested. I feel good. I didn't want 14 or 15 days off, so I feel good and I'm excited about playing." We're just thankful that you're alright, David - take all the time you need.

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Carlos Beltran has been cleared to begin a rehab assignment..., as Dr. David Altchek apparently feels that he is ready and won't risk further major damage to the "bone bruise" in his right knee. He had been scheduled to have another MRI, but I haven't seen anything yet that says what the result of that was. He has been running the bases, but the question is how well is running them? Well, the answer isn't too easy, as Beltran has basically taken it upon himself to push the envelope with his rehab, and there is no way to truly tell how he is feeling other than what he tells the trainers. Apparently, his mechanics look pretty good, because with a painful knee such as what he presents with, an obvious antalgic running pattern is usually quite evident. It looks like Beltran will make his return, most likely, towards the end of next week - perhaps the beginning of the following week.

...

The writing on the wall seems to be more apparent now - that Jose Reyes may need surgery that will effectively end his 2009 season. He has said as much, though he continues with conservative Physical Therapy treatment in the meanwhile. It has been reported that the procedure - if it happens at all - would be focusing mostly on debridement of some small tearing of the tendon sheath of one of the tendons used for reconstruction of the Ulnar Collateral Ligament of the elbow (this would be the Gracilis - a hip adductor/knee flexor).

[TooLiveBrew]

Cincinnati Reds second baseman, Brandon Phillips , continues to play after missing some time following a hit-by-pitch on August 15. He was initially diagnosed with a deep bone bruise in his left wrist, but apparently it was a hairline fracture. Back in May, he also had a slight hairline fracture in his left thumb that he opted to play through as well. This is nothing that will require surgery or lengthy time on the DL, and is largely up to Phillips based on how he feels. You can think of this tiny hairline fracture almost like a bone bruise - something that can hurt an awful lot, and can continue to linger for weeks on end if not allowed some rest. If the pain worsens, the Reds management should just force his hand and shut him down, but if he can tolerate it, there's no reason to bench him. Needless to say, it will be interesting to see what happens when Phillips faces J.D. Martin again next year.

Some pretty absurd comments from Phillips in that linked story.

[TooLiveBrew]

The Rays' Carlos Pena was hit by a pitch on his left hand yesterday in the first game of the doubleheader at Yankee stadium. Both his middle & index fingers were broken, and he's done for the year. He had some pretty emotional comments about it:

 

"I was crushed," Peña said. "I felt like if you took my heart and threw it around and stepped on it a million times, that's how bad it felt. … That hurt more than the hit by pitch itself. I know I'm going to be on some medication and the pain in my hand can be controlled, but the pain I feel in my heart and in my soul right now, that's the one that's going to be tough to get over.

 

"I really was very much looking forward to the next three weeks, not only for myself but for my team. Even though it was going to take a lot of winning, I felt like we were poised for that. So I'm just bummed out that I won't be able to be part of that."

Pena said his middle finger took the most damage, and that it looked like "a pencil snapped in half" on the X-rays. He also mentioned that the pain was so bad after being hit by Sabathia's 93mph fastball that he wonders how he didn't pass out.

[Invader3K]

Too bad for him. Too bad for me too, as he's on my fantasy team (not that it matters with how bad I've done there).

 

I was hoping the Rays would make a playoff run again, but that is not looking possible at this point.