Notice: Trying to get property 'display_name' of non-object in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-seo/src/generators/schema/article.php on line 52
keyboard_arrow_uptop

Memorial Day in Indy is always an adventure, but after a solid 500 weekend, it’s back to baseball. Hanging out with half of the “Dancing With The Stars” crew isn’t all it’s cut out to be. I’d rather be talking baseball, judging Idol, or twittering like a six-year-old on pixie sticks than getting gift bags and seeing Brady Quinn, so let’s stay powered by Helio’s win and get to the injuries:


Akinori Iwamura (120 DXL)

Chris Coghlan apologized for the late slide that appears to have done extensive damage to Iwamura’s knee. We’ll never know if there was intent, but I doubt that Coghlan was thinking “I’m going to hurt him.” He probably knows he’s a rookie and he has to play hard, doing the “little things.” Unfortunately, the injury is going to be a very big thing for the Rays. While there’s no official diagnosis yet, it’s clear that there are some torn ligaments, likely the ACL, and if that’s the case Iwamura is done for the year. The team dodged a bullet later in the game when Jason Bartlett sprained his ankle; he stayed in the game and he looks to miss minimal time, perhaps something along the lines of the recent injury to Michael Young. With the Rays’ emphasis on defense, it will be interesting to see how they fill in at second base. Reid Brignac, Ben Zobrist, and Willy Aybar are options, but all are defensive downgrades. (No, hopeful fantasy owners, B.J. Upton isn’t shifting back.) Iwamura should be fine in the long term as far as his career, but as my initial DXL mark for him reflects, I’ll be stunned if it’s not a season-ender that has Iwamura heading off for surgery.


Scott Kazmir (30 DXL)
Troy Percival (90 DXL)

Kazmir will come back, but Percival may not. They’re two Rays pitchers with obviously very different career paths. While Kazmir has been good enough to help bring this Rays team to a World Series, and it might be argued that his acquisition by trade signaled the rebirth of this franchise, he’s been terrible this year. The quad strain on his landing leg seems to be less serious than what some would expect, but even so, there are many questions throughout baseball about whether the injury is a smokescreen. I think the key here will be how long Kazmir is sidelined before he begins throwing again, and then how quickly he gets into a minor league game. The upside is a Chien-Ming Wang-style renovation that is relatively quick and comes with solid results. On the other hand, the mental challenge for Kazmir has him wondering if Tampa is still the best place for him. For Percival, his latest injury could be his last. As Joe Maddon said, “there’s only so much a guy is willing to put his body through.” The breakdown at this point in the season makes it even less likely that he’d make it through the season without another breakdown, and all indications are that Percival may hang it up. The downside for the Rays is that their bullpen is no more settled than it was last year, leaving some to speculate that Price or Kazmir could be shifted to the pen. Rays GM Andrew Friedman is going to earn his money over the next few weeks.


Francisco Rodriguez (5 DXL)

Rodriguez was in such pain on Saturday that he collapsed. You won’t often see a baseball player in tears, but this was a case where the spasms just got the better of him. Anyone that’s had the experience of lumbar spasms knows just how bad they can be, especially if it’s close to the spine, where it can grab so hard that it short-circuits the nerve paths and can lead to all kinds of bad results, such as your legs just collapsing from underneath you. (Actually, that’s one of the lesser side effects, so Rodriguez can chalk that one up as a positive.) Since his issue is muscular, it can be controlled, but it can come and go quickly without any sign that the root cause is taken care of or has even been identified. Rodriguez was significantly better on Sunday, but there’s no way to know the spasms won’t come back. He bears watching, but then so does Bobby Parnell.


Chipper Jones (5 DXL)

The Braves are always a unique team when it comes to injuries and how they handle them. The approach that they take shows a real player-directed focus, essentially trusting their players to manage their own comebacks. It speaks to a consistency and trust that’s almost unheard of, but their stable management and medical staff make it possible. Jones’ toe injury has him taking a different path (for him), and he’s taking some time off and letting it heal. Injury to the toes are often more painful than you’d expect, such as with turf toe, and you’re reminded of the injury with every step. Jones’ slow, steady pace of healing isn’t a concern at all; it’s just unusual for him. The same pattern of self-direction is at work across town as Tom Glavine rehabs at Triple-A Gwinnett.


Michael Young (3 DXL)

There is a positive and a negative aspect to any player who is a “gamer.” On one hand, you want a guy who wants to play and understands the difference between “pain” and “soreness.” On the other, you get a guy who doesn’t understand that difference, and puts himself at risk by pushing to go back out quickly. Young straddles that line, but the team holds him in check with a strong manager, a strong medical staff, and depth that allows them to adjust so that his missing time doesn’t hurt the team significantly. It’s that latter point that holds sway with this type, and Young will take the time to heal up and make sure that he doesn’t exacerbate the injury, though he should only miss a couple of days at most.


Brandon Webb (90 DXL)

The Diamondbacks‘ season hasn’t gone according to plan. At the center of the pile of wreckage is Webb. His shoulder injury not only sent him to the DL, but setbacks during the process and a bilateral conservatism between player and team that surprises many observers might have him out until after the All-Star break. While Webb is throwing on flat ground, the pace of his rehab doesn’t seem to be quick enough to have him making a minor league rehab before mid-June. At that pace, some knowledgeable sources are speculating that the break would be the logical time. I’m not so sure about that; for a team looking to get back into the thick of things, losing even one start could make a big difference, let alone the psychological effect that it might have. That said, this has been moving significantly slower than anyone has expected, with sources saying that Webb doesn’t seem bothered at all by the pace. Even with his contract situation being a sore point, Webb has a no-brainer option for 2010. We’ll need to see him on a mound by June 1 before we start thinking about him coming back much before the break.


Pablo Sandoval (15 DXL)

The mechanism of an injury-how it actually happens-is one of the biggest keys to analyzing an injury. If you see how a knee bends or where a player grabs at a hamstring, you’ll know more about what structures were stressed and may have failed. With Sandoval, the mechanism is unclear. Some reports have him hurting his elbow on a diving defensive play, while others say something ‘snapped’ on a throw. It’s possible that both occurred. Since it’s only affecting his throwing, it’s reasonable to think that he injured it on the dive, rather than that whatever was weakened gave way on a throw. We’ll know more soon as he’s headed for tests, but it puts the Giants in an interesting position, given that Sandoval is also the team’s backup catcher. Bengie Molina has been catching a lot, but the team elected to bring up journeyman Eli Whiteside (their emergency catcher, Kevin Frandsen, really is only for emergencies). With the Giants already looking for a bat, losing Sandoval or wearing out Molina would be counterproductive.


Quick Cuts:
Carlos Beltran‘s knee is a bigger concern than the Mets are letting on. He’s likely to miss a few games, and was saved from missing the weekend by the DH slot. …. OK, you know it’s going to, but you don’t know how or when Rich Harden will break down. It’s like a slap bet. … Chris Iannetta heads to the DL with a strained hamstring, but he won’t miss much more than the minimum. … Chien-Ming Wang will shadow Joba Chamberlain, and the Yankees “won’t hesitate” to pull Chamberlain if they think that his knee is bothering him at all. … Joey Votto made it back quickly after they found the inner ear infection. He already seems to be back near 100 percent. … Carlos Quentin is fine at the plate, but his foot hurts him in the field. With Jim Thome locked in at DH, this is an issue. … J.J. Hardy is out until mid-week with back spasms. The team doesn’t expect he’ll need to go on the DL. … Derrek Lee will miss some time due to FLS, not due to his neck flaring up as some sources had said. … Andre Ethier‘s toe will keep him out a few more games. … Rick Ankiel was activated by the Cardinals. … Jorge Posada could be back late this week, but the Yankees say he will not be back during their trip to Texas due to the weather. That’s a bit odd. … Shunned? I saw Jim Leyritz at the Winter Meetings, in a bar. (He was drinking water when I saw him.) … The Royals expect Joakim Soria to head out on a rehab assignment later this week. … Jed Lowrie is swinging a bat and could be back by mid-June.

Thank you for reading

This is a free article. If you enjoyed it, consider subscribing to Baseball Prospectus. Subscriptions support ongoing public baseball research and analysis in an increasingly proprietary environment.

Subscribe now
You need to be logged in to comment. Login or Subscribe
twon88
5/25
Why does Bobby Parnell bear watching? I hope it's only because he is throwing very hard and very well.
Meddler1
5/25
Yeah I'm curious about this too, I guess adding to that the fact that he's pretty young and untested as a guy whose expected to pitch everyday.

Also, any indication as to what happened to Beltran? He said it was bruised and he didn't even know how he did it. Also, he's listed in the lineup for tonight's game. As is Ryan Church, bad hip/hammy and all. Alas, my dream of getting a quick look at Fernando Martinez will have to wait :(.
jcuddy
5/25
If Votto is near 100%, why did he sit out the weekend series?
Ophidian
5/25
For clarity: He played Saturday (hitting 2 HR), then sat Sunday and is out again today.

Will, do you have any updates or is this just the team being safe?
wcarroll
5/26
They say just safe, easing him back in. I think there was a matchup issue.
thefaust
5/25
I don't see why Iwamura's injury is Coghlan's fault. It was a hard slide but not a late one - it did break up what clearly would have been a DP, so it couldn't by definition have been "late." And while it was a little inside the baseline, it was still where the runner could reach reach the fielder while still hitting the bag, which is the normal rule of thumb. A second baseman is trained to jump there, but Iwamura's left foot was planted as he made the throw.

I'll grant the rolling slide probably made things worse, as a lot of weight hit Iwamura high on the leg. It looked to me that the rookie rolled because Iwamura was just far enough left that Coghlan had to do a little "extra" to get over there and take him out. It worked out ugly.

But bottom line, given the way he planted his foot, I don't think Iwamura gave the runner any way of breaking up the DP without injuring him. Can't really ask the kid not to make the attempt.
twon88
5/25
As a neutral observer, it looked like he came in there rolling and when he finished he was not able to touch the bag, but rather a few feet from it.
thefaust
5/25
Hey, I'm neutral. A's fan, pay little attention to the NL, didn't know what happened to Iwamura until I looked at the link Will provided, and never heard of Coghlan before. And I like the Rays.

Yeah, he threw his body hard at the fielder's legs, more violently than was called for, although I wouldn't impute malign intent. He did roll his feet over the corner of the bag (look at the clip) although he didn't actually touch it - that's pretty routine.

I do think Iwamura's inexperience at 2B cost him - an experienced 2B is better able not to leave himself at the mercy of whatever the runner chooses to do.
HugeShoulderpad
5/26
I also consider myself neutral--from NY and Iwamura's not even on my fantasy team...

Personally, I think you guys are being charitable...to me it looks like Coghlan was basically trying to tackle the 2B to prevent the DP...I don't think he was trying to hurt Iwamura intentionally, but I also think there's a big difference between the 2B getting out of the way of the runner to complete a play and having to get out of the way of a runner whose just plain going after him.
dianagramr
5/25
Any updates on Felipe Lopez and J.J. Hardy?

(Yes .... it I don't see their names, you don't have any news) :-)
dianagramr
5/25
Never mind on Hardy (face-palm)
wcarroll
5/26
Hardy's there. Lopez, no.
chico123
5/25
Any reason to think that Lowrie is going to come back and hit? Wrist injuries usually equal bad times at the plate.
BigFlax
5/25
Great, the only guy hitting for the Cubs has the flu? Just take us out back and shoot us now.
Nowhereman
5/26
Baseball Prospectus has just referenced How I Met Your Mother. I think I'm in heaven. Yeah, slap bet!
rweiler
5/26
What do you make of Noah Lwry having a rib removed? That seems pretty drastic to me. Have any players had that surgery and come back? I've more or less concluded that Lowry will never pitch again in the big leagues, but I don't know anything about this injury.