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

[crewcrazy]

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....

If the Brewers fall a game or two short of the playoffs, chances are there were more than a few games than had a bullpen meltdown, a slumping offense, or a bad start. It would be overly simplistic to blame it on this.

 

It almost seems like those who are most worried about this injury are almost assuming the Brewers are going to lose these games. Like And That said, on a game-to-game basis, the difference isn't all that noticeable. Hell, the 2009 Brewers went 20-14 in games started by Braden Looper, and he was terrible that year. The offense is good enough to win a few games on their own this year. The games Greinke will miss are far from already being lost.

[GormanHarvey]

brewers19[/b]]

GormanHarvey[/b]]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.

 

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.

 

What you said sounds very speculative to me. No one said this happened "shooting some hoops with friends in his driveway". I would like to think that an athlete of Greinke's caliber can go up for a rebound and come down on his own 2 feet so long as he isn't interfered with. The fact that he went up for a rebound and landed on his side fracturing a rib suggests to me he was undercut or pushed or contacted by someone. Sounds fairly competitive to me.

[Mike2k33]

He'll be back before April ends and it's not an injury to his arm(yeah yeah, any injury can throw off mechanics, we all know this) so to me this isn't the biggest deal in the world.

 

Do I think they should have investigated further when he was complaining about soreness? Yep, 100%. Do I think that this kind of mismanagement of one relatively minor injury is an excuse to slag off the manager and general manager? No. I wasn't there, I wasn't in on the conversations between Zack and the Brewers staff. It's disappointing and slightly frustrating but it's not a precursor to imminent failure.

 

Just hope Zack makes a full and speedy recovery and let's get on with the show.

[davemakovec]

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....

Those are two completely different things.

[logan82]

I think we are a couple games short right now and think this is nothing more than a fluke injury. None of my friends or myself ever broke a rib playing basketball and we had a lot of hip checking into walls during our games.

[PrinceEatMeat]

I think we are a couple games short right now and think this is nothing more than a fluke injury. None of my friends or myself ever broke a rib playing basketball and we had a lot of hip checking into walls during our games.

I agree. These guys could probably play basketball all of spring training and have no one get hurt. It's really just a freak injury either way. Like falling down the stairs, cutting yourself with salad tongs, and getting hurt lifting suitcases, lol.

[The Truth]

definitely a freak injury. I grew up part of the time on the East Coast playing basketball, and the kids from the Bronx would literally throw me around on the court and I never hurt my ribs let alone broke one

[brewers19]

What you said sounds very speculative to me. No one said this happened "shooting some hoops with friends in his driveway".

It wasn't speculative. It was in response to the comments about how he shouldn't be playing any basketball at all. I didn't say that's what he was doing when he got injured.

 

 

I agree. These guys could probably play basketball all of spring training and have no one get hurt. It's really just a freak injury either way. Like falling down the stairs, cutting yourself with salad tongs, and getting hurt lifting suitcases, lol.

Don't forget 'dreaming about spiders.'

[The Truth]

Wasn't there some pitcher who ended up on the Disabled list after sneezing? And then there's Milton Bradley, messing up his knee arguing with an Umpire

[xisxisxis]

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

From the article:

Raasch: "He's got a sore rib because he fell on it, and unfortunately you stress your ribs when you throw baseballs hard."

 

So obviously he understands that sore ribs aren't good for a pitcher, yet he didn't shut Zack down at the very beginning as a precaution when they are 4-5 weeks out from opening day so that Zack could continue putting "stress" on ribs that are "sore" (at the least). A good journalist might ask, "Did you ask him how his ribs felt after each of his starts?" That, unfortunately, would probably reveal that yeah they did and the discomfort was still there and they still didn't shut him down. So they wait another week..... Maybe Raasch is the problem. Maybe the GM asked him in a way that his answer wouldn't be to shut him down (DM: Does he have any verifiable injury that requires us to shut him down; Raasch: Well, not verifiable, no.). It's RR's job to make sure that a player is able to go no matter what the doctor/trainer and player says. As an organization the Brewers have had multiple failures when players weren't totally honest about their health condition. The managers role is to make sure the player is telling everything he knows based on what the player says and what the manager observes. If Zack was still having pain and problems after the first start in ST RR could easily have shut him down for a few days to see how he progressed (like skip a turn and limit the "stress to his ribs" that are "sore"). Instead the brewer brain-trust decides, hey we're all in, no point of holding back our top starter for a few meaningless ST games, pedal to the metal.....

[Thurston Fluff]

The Brewers had fewer injuries over the last decade than any team. In fact they just won an award for excellence. I highly doubt the medical staff or management are at fault. Judging from the articles I've read the x-ray was negative and sore ribs weren't going to effect him. When they didn't respond the way they should they rechecked with an MRI and found something. I don't remember seeing anything that his injury was exacerbated by the work he did so far.

[brewers19]

Stuff

Raasch is not saying that sore ribs aren't good for a pitcher; he's saying (somewhat poorly) that the stress on the ribcage caused by pitching makes it harder for the fracture to heal. Had it been just the bruising like they originally thought, it would've gone away on its own. The fact that it didn't go away led them to look closer at it, whereupon they found the fracture. It then became a decision between shutting him down now and letting the rib heal quicker without stressing it, or letting him pitch through pain and having it take longer to completely heal.

 

It would've been pointless to ask him how he felt after pitching. When you've got broken/bruised ribs it hurts to breathe, let alone pitch.

 

Everyone handled the situation correctly. Nobody is the problem.

[PrinceEatMeat]

Wasn't there some pitcher who ended up on the Disabled list after sneezing? And then there's Milton Bradley, messing up his knee arguing with an Umpire

Yep, Sammy Sosa. Hurt his back sneezing.

[TabbertBB]

I seem to remember a pitcher that cut his finger cutting food for cooking. And there was a pitcher that slipped in the shower.

So in reality no pitcher should be allowed to do anything. I guess that is why they seem so lazy and hate to run any time they hit the ball. And they act all winded if they were to move a little faster going from mound to dugout.

Give it up, it was a odd thing and things happen. Now if were motorcycling in the dunes or sword fighting then things might be different. Oooops, better not go near the pool, might slip.

[CheezWizHed]

I seem to remember a pitcher that cut his finger cutting food for cooking.

 

Matt Wise and the salad tongs?

 

Also make sure every pitcher has the correct pillow to sleep on when he travels!

[greeg35]

Who got hurt carrying meat up stairs?

[Mass Haas]

Who got hurt carrying meat up stairs?

Clint Barmes -- Yahoo just had a remembrance post this week via the Houston Chronicle.

 

 

[sbrylski]

And it was John Smoltz who burned his chest while ironing a shirt that he was wearing.

[davemakovec]

Jon Heyman now listing the Brewers as a team that is in serious trouble coming out of camp. "Serious issues" threatening to "derail their seasons" cries the tagline!

 

Zack Greinke's injury (expected to miss two starts) a "major blow" to the Brewers' chances!

 

I don't even know why I read what this moron writes.

[Invader3K]

So because Greinke's going to miss 2-3 starts, and Corey Hart has a slight rib injury, that derails the whole season?

[CheezWizHed]

Did someone hit him on the head with an acorn?

[Fear The Chorizo]

We are officially in the stage of spring training where baseball writers run out of useful stuff to write about - the regular season needs to start, so all the overreaction by national "experts" about minor injuries can stop. The only team that's sustained a critical blow to their chances in the NL Central this spring is the Cardinals by losing Wainwright for the whole season...Greinke missing a few starts early in the year to build his arm up after the silly rib injury is hardly a season-breaking disaster.

 

What these spring training injuries do show is that while the Brewers have a talented roster, it really does lack depth in key areas - a couple of significant injuries could occur during the regular season to derail their chances, but that has hardly happened yet. I think injuries are the only thing that could turn this season into a complete disappointment, this team is too talented to not contend in a winnable division. Hoping for all the walking wounded to get healthy and stay that way as much as possible during the whole season!

[endaround]

The Cardinals lost Wainwright for the season and the Phillies don't know how much Utley will be able to play and how good he will be if he can play. Losing Grienke for 2-3 starts doesn't really compare.

[MJLiverock]

I would imagine a team like the Brewers will always be lacking in depth if they are fielding a good team since they lack the payroll ability to pay good everyday players and have a talented deep bench. Fielding a playoff calibler team takes just about all of the team's payroll resources. Sort of that roll of the dice that small market teams have to take to have that dream season, can't suffer injuries and need a few role players to step up.

[davemakovec]

Another factor harming the Brewers' depth is the lack of viable options at the higher levels in the minors. Most of their prospects (past and present) are either on the major league roster or have been shipped out to other teams.