Tag: injury

HEY BUCCO, NEED AN EYE PATCH?

I know it’s been about one month ago since Pirates hitting coach Don Long was injured when a piece of a shattered bat hit him in the face while he was sitting in the dugout, but the situation of exploding bats has gotten out of control. Check out the full story of Long getting hit, here.

Even though the White Sox are out of town and I will not go to the Unfriendly Confines on the Northside of Chicago, I’ve been watching alot of MLB on Direct-TV’s MLB package. It seems as though three or four times per game, at least, bats are shattering. They are exploding! The barrel end is flying onto the field, causing fielders and pitchers to have to avoid the flying projectile while attempting to field the ball. In many cases the barrel end has a sharp, jagged end, that is seriously dangerous. It’s only fun until somebody gets impaled, or in the case of Don Long, loses an eye, which almost happened.

Last night Brian Roberts was left with only the knob of his bat, after his bat exploded, and the dangerous part flew into the stands, where it almost hit several shocked fans. We all know, when attending a game in person, to be on the lookout for foul balls screaming into the stands, but this is even more dangerous. It used to be that every once in awhile, especially on a rainy day, a player would lose his grip on his bat and it would fly into the stands. In those rare instances, fans would be allowed to keep the bat, or negotiate with the batter for a replacement bat. But who wants to be skewered?

MLB needs to wake up to the fact that somebody is going to be seriously injured or killed and do something fast. What to do, you might ask? Well the problem seems to be in the bats that are used today, in particular maple bats. Before Barry Bonds went on his home run tear, or tearoid as the case may be, nobody except Barry used maple bats. Now everybody uses them. There’s even a bat company called Old Hickory, you guessed it, they make maple bats.

I’m not saying we need to go back to the days of hickory bats. But we need to wake up to the reality that maple bats are lethal weapons and outlaw them, before it’s too late.

THAT’S TWISTED

Felix Pie Cubs outfielder Felix Pie is missing today’s game with the Milwaukee Brewers with a twisted testicle. OUCH! We’ve all heard the term, “Play Ball”, but this gives it all a new meaning.

Pie is having a procedure today to straighten things out down there and should be back with the ballclub later in the week. Felix has been having a pretty good spring so far and looks to have the inside track on the starting centerfield job with Chicago. The fans in the bleachers at Wrigley Field yell out different types of pie when Pie (pronounced pee-AY) is in center.

Prior "on track" for a comeback?

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.

In the first week of spring training, word has it this will be Mark Prior’s year.  He is “free of pain” in his workout according to the NY Times.  He is “pain-free” according to SI. 

The Canadian Press goes as far as to say that Prior is “on track for a comeback”.

Well, the expectations have been set.  But as a Cub fan, I’ve been through this before. 

If the Padres were smart, they would steer the press away from Mark Prior.  When one workout without pain makes the headlines, it only adds to the pressure.  And while baseball players should be able to focus and get that out their head, I get the idea that this kind of thing really affects Prior. 

But hey, he’s not our problem anymore. 

Pujols’ elbow: Leaving it to God

This MLB report that just came out about Albert Pujols’ nagging elbow injury attempts to paint a rosy picture on his prospects for 2008. 

As a Cub fan who has dealt with many reports of “rosy pictures” in past years, I’m dubious.  And Cub fans, don’t hate me but I’m hopeful too.  Phat Albert is the cornerstone of my APBA team. 

Maybe it’s the cynic in me, but this kind of spin from MLB is reminiscent of politicians who one week say “We have no plans to (fill in unpopular action).”, then the next week do exactly that.  When they come out to say to the baseball fans that a baseball injury is not THAT bad (the article is entitled Pujols’ Elbow Feeling Good), they may be just preparing us for the worst. 

This snippet from Pujols was a little disconcerting.

“Do I need to be concerned? No. I don’t have any concerns, because it’s going to affect me thinking about it — I can’t do this or that. If it blows out, it’s going to blow out. You can’t control that. When God says it’s going to blow out, its going to blow out.”

Pujols opted against surgery on the elbow this off-season with the thinking that the benefit wouldn’t outweigh the downtime. 

That said, as good as Pujols has been, he has shown a noticeable decline in offensive numbers in the last couple years.  At some point, elbow surgery may worth it. 

Divine intervention can only do so much. 

Keeping Pujols healthy

From the MLB.com St Louis Cardinals mailbag (emphasis mine):

The discussion of Pujols’ health was, in some places, lost amidst his other comments at the Winter Warm-Up, so this is a good time to take a look at the situation.

First, it’s worth noting that Pujols has played with this elbow problem for nearly five years now — so he knows how to manage it. But if he did in fact aggravate it and require surgery, it would be a major procedure.

Buh-buh-buh-buh…

As a lifetime owner of Pujols in my APBA league (drafted with my first pick in his rookie year), talk like this makes my eye tick come back and I start mumbling nonsensical words.

Unfortunately, Tim D from RotoAuthority sees a little room for concern, too.

In light of new information, I wonder if maybe we should bump Miguel Cabrera ahead of Pujols on our draft sheets.  It could be dangerous to underestimate Albert, but he admitted to playing through elbow pain in 2007.  It probably won’t be 100% again unless he has surgery, but he’s trying rest instead this winter.  He also had hamstring and calf maladies in ’07.

 

Buh-buh buh…

Padres take chance on Prior

The San Diego Padres have signed local product Mark Prior to a one-year contract worth $1 million plus incentives. 

Sure, I’d love to say that the Padres are crazy for signing the oft-injured right-hander who hasn’t given the Cubs any good output since 2003 but in reality the deal looks solid for both parties involved. 

One million dollars is chump change and the Padres won’t miss that.  If the incentives factor in (I don’t think the details are out) and they have to pony up, well, then Prior must have done something right.  Money aside, the most valuable thing that the Pads are giving up is a roster spot.  Assuming, they are lucky enough to use him. 

From Prior’s perspective, San Diego is the place to go.  He’s going to his boyhood home.  He pitched at University of San Diego High School.  Also, he’s going to pitch along with the best including former teammate Greg Maddux not to mention 2007 Cy Young unam Jake Peavy. 

That all said, I  don’t foresee another breakout year by him. The percentages are too much against him.  It’s said that he won’t be ready till May.  My bet is that it will be later than that. 

By the way, Baseball Musings’ David Pinto wrote an article for The Sporting News on the Prior acquisition by the Padres putting a historical spin on the signing.

GMs mandate helmets for coaches

At the GM meetings this week, it was decided that the wearing of helmets by first and third base coaches will be enforced.  This is in response to the death of AA coach Mike Coolbaugh who was hit by a line drive on July 22 this year.  The exact details of what they will be … Continue reading “GMs mandate helmets for coaches”

helmet

At the GM meetings this week, it was decided that the wearing of helmets by first and third base coaches will be enforced.  This is in response to the death of AA coach Mike Coolbaugh who was hit by a line drive on July 22 this year. 

The exact details of what they will be wearing has not been ironed out. 

Ron Kremer of the Herald News agrees with the ruling.  He makes his argument in his article entitled Baseball Gets With It:

The decision came four months after ex-major leaguer Mike Coolbaugh died. He was struck in the neck by a batted ball while coaching at first base during a minor league game. He was not wearing a helmet.

…except (as Kremer notes in the sentence before) Coolbaugh was hit in the neck and that helmet probably wouldn’t have saved his life. 

As for the issue itself, I’m not much for mandates in isolated situations like these.  If the coaches want to wear the protective devices, I’m all for it.  Joe Garagiola Jr, senior vice president for baseball operations, says that there was a “sentiment that as concept, this was a good idea.” Hopefully, this sentiment extends to those who will be wearing the helmets. 

 

6/21/07 Linescore of the Day: King Felix

Felix Hernandez: 8 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K (Win)

Felix had his way with a quiet Pirate offense. It was second game in a row Pittsburgh got shut out.

It’s Hernandez’ second win in seven starts since coming back from the DL but he’s showing improvement. His May ERA was a lofty 6.30 and so far, his June ERA is a much lower 3.86.