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April 8, 2009

Under The Knife

Staying in Control

by Will Carroll

I was watching MLB Network last night when one of the analysts talked about Mark Teahen's shift to second base. One of their points against the move was that he was "too tall." This reminded me of something I heard last year just before the NFL draft; an NFL front-office type made the statement about a tall cornerback not being able to make it in pro football. I asked why, and he explained (in far more detail) that when changing directions, a player had to 'break down,' bending their knees and back. They'd done enough film study on it that they had figured out that a player needed to drop between 15-25 percent of their normal height in order to make the necessary move. While the percentage was the same for a shorter or taller player, the taller player had to move more inches at the same speed. "It's just slower, period," he said. Football really is a game of inches, but I'm not sure the same skills are necessary at second base as at cornerback. The NFL team had analyzed film, measured athletes, and figured out the exact set of skills needed. An ex-pitcher says that it's never been done, and everyone nods, but that's simply not good enough, especially if you're a team like the Royals.

Powered by the CBS Sports iPhone app that lets me check my Tout Wars team and really obsess over it from anywhere at anytime, on to the injuries:

Felix Hernandez (0 DXL)
Hernandez looked normal in the highlights I saw, but then watching the game this morning, it was anything but... though it looked normal. That's impressive given that Hernandez turned his push ankle in the first inning. After the game he admitted that he was in a lot of pain, and he not only stayed on the mound, but he kept his mechanics under control. He had his usual flaws, but since an injury often causes a change in mechanics, I'm surprised at how little of an effect Hernandez showed. I didn't see him having it taped or treated, though that would be difficult to pick up on TV. In basketball, players' ankles often swell up if they come out of the game, something that would have happened every inning for Hernandez. One theory that an ATC I spoke with today had is that his ankle had already been taped as a matter of course, though if so, it wasn't that tight given the sprain. We'll have to see what, if any effect this has on his next start. I'm surprised that Don Wakamatsu and Rick Griffin were this willing to risk their ace on Opening Night. Maybe they were just watching the highlights.

Chris Carpenter
The Cardinals' potential ace in the hole this season is the return of their former ace. Carpenter has come back from missing nearly two seasons and he's had very little trouble with his pitching arm. There's more of an issue with a left calf strain that's been bothering him. It's his landing leg, so the cascade possibilities are lessened, but even a minute change could throw things off with Carpenter's rebuilt shoulder and elbow, leading the team to err on the side of caution. They're confident that he won't have any problems, and they have him penciled in for his first start on Thursday. The 'watch point' won't be anything specific, but just a matter of making sure that he's fluid over his stride. One scout I spoke with said that lower leg and ankle injuries tend to have a pitcher "pop up" and leave the ball up in the zone, so that's another thing to watch for on Thursday.

Brandon Webb
It surprised a lot of people that Webb is already throwing. It's not a special outing, but part of the normal routine for Webb and the rest of the D'backs. I'm sure he was watched closely, and that there was more interest in this light game of catch, but it's not abnormal, and for what it was, it went well. Webb said afterwards that he had only normal soreness, but Nick Piecoro points out that Webb's velocity was down into the low 80s just before he was pulled. Even though Webb isn't as reliant on velocity as he is on movement, there's still an element of "this high to ride the ride" with a fastball. Kevin Goldstein has noted in the past that there are almost no successful right-handed pitchers that live below 90 mph.