Zack Greinke has fractured rib; Latest-- May miss more than 3 starts, possibly all of April

[brewers19]

I'm just a little worried right now that he will have some lingering going on that could effect him longer. I really hope this is as minor as they say.

It's just a cracked rib. All it does is hurt like hell. It'll heal on its own in a month or so and will have had zero effect on his ability to pitch.

[RobDeer 45]

Ya, I just get so worried about little injuries. Got to get this dang team healthy here!

[Fear The Chorizo]

I think it's hilarious that people think Grienke was stupid for playing basketball.

 

I look at it from a different angle - had I been caught playing basketball, racquetball, or any other sport than baseball during spring practices I would have lost my scholarship. Dude's getting paid 13.5 million dollars to pitch every fifth day - if something he does outside of baseball threatens his ability to do so I see it as a problem. I wouldn't have as big an issue with it had he injured himself playing hoops during the offseason, as I'm sure many pro athletes participate in other sports for conditioning/entertainment value. Getting hurt playing a different sport you're not paid to play during your sport's main training leading up to the season isn't smart.

 

Sure, it's just a cracked rib, but it could just as easily have been a broken wrist or a torn knee from a bad fall or "freak" occurence - what would everyone saying they don't have an issue with Greinke's actions think in those circumstances? Brewers would have to pay 13.5 million for a guy that wouldn't pitch in 2011 and have to deal with losing 4 prospects and picking up a bad shortstop just to do so. I think the overreaction to what this specific injury will do to the Brewers chances is silly (2-3 missed starts to build up arm strength is very minimal), but the criticism on Greinke for choosing to risk himself playing basketball this time of year is valid.

[greeg35]

http://brewersbeat.mlblogs.com/archives/2011/03/teammates_react_to_greinke_new.html

[Roderick]

The difference between Greinke and a replacement level player over 3 starts isn't that great, probably less than a win. It is certainly not insurmountable. If it goes much beyond 3 missed, the much steeper the impact.

 

The Reds ...

In my mind you can double the value of games versus Cincy since I think they are clearly the team to beat for the division. So it does hurt to have Greinke miss a game versus the Reds.

[GormanHarvey]

I think it's hilarious that people think Grienke was stupid for playing basketball.

 

I look at it from a different angle - had I been caught playing basketball, racquetball, or any other sport than baseball during spring practices I would have lost my scholarship. Dude's getting paid 13.5 million dollars to pitch every fifth day - if something he does outside of baseball threatens his ability to do so I see it as a problem. I wouldn't have as big an issue with it had he injured himself playing hoops during the offseason, as I'm sure many pro athletes participate in other sports for conditioning/entertainment value. Getting hurt playing a different sport you're not paid to play during your sport's main training leading up to the season isn't smart.

 

Sure, it's just a cracked rib, but it could just as easily have been a broken wrist or a torn knee from a bad fall or "freak" occurence - what would everyone saying they don't have an issue with Greinke's actions think in those circumstances? Brewers would have to pay 13.5 million for a guy that wouldn't pitch in 2011 and have to deal with losing 4 prospects and picking up a bad shortstop just to do so.

 

 

Couldn't have said it better myself. DM himself said had this been a more serious injury, there would have been consequences.

[PrinceEatMeat]

http://brewersbeat.mlblogs.com/archives/2011/03/teammates_react_to_greinke_new.html

Love Braun's last comment in there. "There's no doubt we already had a No. 1." He's right, we still have Gallardo and that is a very good thing.

[monty57]

IIRC, Aaron Boone hurt his knee playing basketball, which allowed the Yankees to void his contract, leading to the A-Rod trade. The odds of getting hurt playing basketball are significantly higher than most other things he could've been doing, so I think it's valid to criticize him for playing hoops. That said, it would be dumb for the Brewers to pursue not paying him if they have any hopes of extending him in the future.

 

I'm just glad he probably won't miss much time. It will have a negative effect on the season, but not that bad. Here's to hoping that whoever fills in for the game(s) will pitch well. If Rogers is back pitching this week, as a poster mentioned, then I'd guess that he would be first in line for filling the spot until Greinke's back. This might even have an added benefit of limiting Rogers' innings early in the season.

[PrinceEatMeat]

Melvin already said that Greinke wasn't in violation of his contract, so all that talk is not really relevant at this point.

[monty57]

Melvin said exactly what he should've said to keep everyone off Greinke's back and put out any fires. That doesn't mean that participating in an activity which has a decent chance of leading to an injury is smart, even if it doesn't violate the contract. It's really easy to get minor injuries (jammed fingers, twisted ankles, etc) playing basketball, and there is a decent chance of major injuries like blown knees.

 

The Brewers expect to pay Greinke around 1/2 million per start, and their playoff hopes ride pretty heavily on his shoulders, so I hope this incident opens his eyes a bit so that he doesn't do anymore dumb-but-not-in-violation-of-his-contract moves.

[brewers19]

if something he does outside of baseball threatens his ability to do so I see it as a problem.

Everything he does outside of baseball has the potential to threaten his ability to pitch. Heck, getting into a car is probably one of the most dangerous things that he could do, yet no one is chastising him for doing that multiple times a day. The risk of serious injury from playing pick-up basketball with friends is so low that it's really not worth even considering, hence the fact that it's not prohibited by his contract. But the fact that he did get injured (and an incredibly minor one, at that) suddenly everyone becomes an armchair actuary and acts like it was an incredibly dangerous and high-risk activity to have even considered engaging in in the first place. He's a professional athlete in better physical shape than any of us probably ever will be, I think the fact that he isn't allowed to shoot some hoops with friends in his driveway without everyone wringing their hands over it is pretty ridiculous.

[GormanHarvey]

Melvin already said that Greinke wasn't in violation of his contract, so all that talk is not really relevant at this point.

I can only speak for myself, but I wasn't saying that he was in violation of his contract. I had read too that DM already said he wasn't. I was just saying that getting injured playing pick-up basketball during the first week of ST isn't the brightest thing to do. He has all off season to play basketball. I know that he could get hurt then too, but if it were a somewhat minor injury such as this he would hopefully have plenty of time to recover as opposed to getting hurt once ST had already begun. For a guy that seems to hate any and all things that distract him from what he loves doing the most, playing baseball, I can't imagine he is real happy with himself. Melvin also said that had this happened in a men's league as opposed to a "pick-up" game and the injury had been more severe there would have been repercussions:

 

From jsonline blog-

 

I just spoke with Brewers general manager Doug Melvin about the manner in which right-hander Zack Greinke suffered a cracked rib, which will put him on the DL to start the season.

Melvin said Greinke did not violate his contract by playing a game of pick-up basketball, which is how he was injured near the start of camp.

"The contract stipulates against playing 'competitive' basketball," said Melvin. "They don't want you playing in men's leagues or things like that. If he had suffered a severe injury playing in a men's league, there probably would be repercussions with his salary.

 

 

[GormanHarvey]

Some very interesting comments from Roenicke on Greinke's injury and a few other tidbits-

 

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/117662418.html

[Fear The Chorizo]

big difference between just 'shooting some hoops' in a backyard with friends and actually playing a game of basketball competitively enough to crack a rib (although I'm not sure how you play horse in your neck of the woods). I'm not arguing the fact that this particular injury is minor, especially when considering other common injuries people get when playing basketball. My point is that Greinke made a mistake in even risking injury by playing a game of basketball during spring training or very shortly before it started. Fortunate that it is a minor injury, but everyone would agree that the Brewers and Greinke would be better off if he didn't currently have a cracked rib caused by something outside of baseball activities that he easily could have prevented by just choosing not to play basketball. He may be in great shape and probably has a sick turnaround jumper, but he's not going to be pitching opening day for the Brewers because he's injured due to something Greinke himself classified as stupid.

 

kind of silly bringing up car wrecks in a discussion like this - when considering the sheer number of times people get in a car to drive with the rate of getting injured enough to cause a DL stint (not exactly comparing for fatality rates), playing pickup basketball is far more risky than driving.

[TooLiveBrew]

Yeah, did anyone else catch this line? -- "Amaury Rivas, who hasn't pitched because of an infected tooth, is another candidate."

 

 

An infected tooth? What a crummy ST, in terms of injuries & ailments.

[PrinceEatMeat]

I think it was stupid to be playing basketball just like almost everyone else does. There's no doubt about that, because it was once spring training had already started. I was just saying that it shouldn't affect his contract if playing pickup basketball doesn't violate it. Really, it should be in any player's contract that they can't play pickup once spring training starts, but I don't think teams really expect things like this to happen. It's just an unfortunate occurrence, and could've been worse, so I'm not too worried about it. I'd be a lot more mad if it was a serious injury that kept him out for a good part of the season. This only causes him to miss a few starts.

[GormanHarvey]

big difference between just 'shooting some hoops' in a backyard with friends and actually playing a game of basketball competitively enough to crack a rib (although I'm not sure how you play horse in your neck of the woods). I'm not arguing the fact that this particular injury is minor, especially when considering other common injuries people get when playing basketball. My point is that Greinke made a mistake in even risking injury by playing a game of basketball during spring training or very shortly before it started. Fortunate that it is a minor injury, but everyone would agree that the Brewers and Greinke would be better off if he didn't currently have a cracked rib caused by something outside of baseball activities that he easily could have prevented by just choosing not to play basketball. He may be in great shape and probably has a sick turnaround jumper, but he's not going to be pitching opening day for the Brewers because he's injured due to something Greinke himself classified as stupid.

 

kind of silly bringing up car wrecks in a discussion like this - when considering the sheer number of times people get in a car to drive with the rate of getting injured enough to cause a DL stint (not exactly comparing for fatality rates), playing pickup basketball is far more risky than driving.

Exactly. At no point did anyone say he was playing horse or anything as docile in nature. Sounds to me like it was a full on game of some sort - and knowing Greinke's competitive nature I'm guessing he doesn't play many sports half-butt; pick up game or not.

 

As far as getting into a car goes, that to me seems like a necessity if he wants to get to and from Maryvale or anywhere else for that matter. If he got in a car accident that would be very unfortunate and just bad luck. Involving yourself in a game of basketball as ST starts is completely extra-curricular and unnecessary and something that should have just plain been avoided.

 

 

[xisxisxis]

Some very interesting comments from Roenicke on Greinke's injury and a few other tidbits

 

 

 

My main reaction to the injury was to be irritated at Zack for not being upfront and reporting the injury right away. I can forgive him for playing basketball, but not coming clean. Now it's clear that the brewers knew right away, but didn't think it needed to be investigated further or shut him down as a precaution until 2 weeks later and he wasn't getting better. How incompetent. I was going to give roenecke the benefit of the doubt on some of his stupid comments until I saw what he put into action, but clearly the fact douggie picked him and his stupid comments indicate he is as bad as suspected. Now the handling of Grienke makes it clear the we have another stoopid manager. There's a reason this team has only been to the playoffs twice in 41 seasons - crappy management....

[wisconsinfan47]

Get your injuries out of the way early.

 

Signed, 2010 Green Bay Packers.

 

BTW, how is Zack rehabbing this? I imagine he won't be able to pick up a ball for a while...how long until his pitching stamina gets to 100%? I'm late to this thread - apologies if already discussed...

[hurricanecrush]

Injured players can't seem to win around here; Sheets and Gamel get/got criticized all the time for getting hurt because they aren't/weren't in shape. He could have hurt himself lifting, doing wind sprints, playing catch, etc. He plays basketball to stay in shape, it's not like he was out racing cars or motorcycles or jumping out of airplanes. The fact is, to get or stay in shape, you have to perform activities that can potentially cause injury.

[Schlitz001]

The most frustrating part for me is Roenicke knowing that Greinke was hurt and not looking into it further. Greinke was probably embarrassed about the injury and tried to blow it off as something minor, but it should have been the team's responsibility to limit Greinke's pitching until it was confirmed exactly what the injury was. Those 2 weeks where this went unreported are 2 weeks Greinke should have been on the mend.

[owbc]

Now the handling of Grienke makes it clear the we have another stoopid

manager. There's a reason this team has only been to the playoffs twice

in 41 seasons - crappy management....

Ok, that is going about 10 steps too far. Roenicke is not a doctor and it is not up to him to decide whether Grienke's injury required further investigation or not.

 

This definitely hurts the Brewers' chances since he could easily miss 1/6 of the season if the recovery is slow. If he waits for the pain to be gone before he starts throwing, the season will have already started. It will probably be wise to give him a rehab start or two in the minors as well. In the meantime, they open the season with few off days and a mediocre rotation that doesn't look much better than 2010. But it's not like he's done for the season or will have some sort of lingering arm problem.

 

The main point is that I really hope you haven't already passed judgement on Roenicke. If you've already decided that he's a bad manager after 2 weeks, what's the point of even being a Brewers fan? Even Pirates fans are optimistic about the season in Spring Training.

[GormanHarvey]

Injured players can't seem to win around here; Sheets and Gamel get/got criticized all the time for getting hurt because they aren't/weren't in shape. He could have hurt himself lifting, doing wind sprints, playing catch, etc. He plays basketball to stay in shape, it's not like he was out racing cars or motorcycles or jumping out of airplanes. The fact is, to get or stay in shape, you have to perform activities that can potentially cause injury.

Sure, during the off season. It would seem that a season consisting of nearly 200 games and everything that entails would be enought to keep him busy and in shape once it has begun.

 

 

 

[brewers19]

At no point did anyone say he was playing horse or anything as docile in nature.

And at no point did anyone say that this was an incredibly aggressive game with elbows being thrown and the like. This is all speculation.

 

My main reaction to the injury was to be irritated at Zack for not being upfront and reporting the injury right away. I can forgive him for playing basketball, but not coming clean. Now it's clear that the brewers knew right away, but didn't think it needed to be investigated further or shut him down as a precaution until 2 weeks later and he wasn't getting better. How incompetent. I was going to give roenecke the benefit of the doubt on some of his stupid comments until I saw what he put into action, but clearly the fact douggie picked him and his stupid comments indicate he is as bad as suspected. Now the handling of Grienke makes it clear the we have another stoopid manager. There's a reason this team has only been to the playoffs twice in 41 seasons - crappy management....

The most frustrating part for me is Roenicke knowing that Greinke was hurt and not looking into it further. Greinke was probably embarrassed about the injury and tried to blow it off as something minor, but it should have been the team's responsibility to limit Greinke's pitching until it was confirmed exactly what the injury was. Those 2 weeks where this went unreported are 2 weeks Greinke should have been on the mend.

If I may point you folks in the direction of this fine article.

 

They did look into it. They did an x-ray initially but didn't find anything. When it still hadn't healed two weeks later, they went back and looked at it with an MRI and found the fracture. Nobody hid anything. And Roenicke is not the one making any sort of calls on the health of players; the organization has medical and training staff who take care of that.

 

I just wonder if the Brewers end up missing the playoffs by 1-2 games if people who are so forgiving of this injury will all of a sudden change course and reference this as a reason why we fell short....

I'll save you the wait and tell you right now that my opinion of the matter won't change one bit. It would also be the same if this had been a season-ending injury.

And if we end up missing the playoffs by 1-2 games, there will be any number of reasons that could have contributed to it (other injuries, losing streaks, underperforming offense, underperforming defense, crappy bullpen, poor team chemistry, blah, blah, blah...) To focus on this one thing as the single source of this season's failure would be utterly inane and pretty far beneath the intellect of this forum.

[bucksman4]

I just wonder if the Brewers end up missing the playoffs by 1-2 games if people who are so forgiving of this injury will all of a sudden change course and reference this as a reason why we fell short....