The problem with writing about a healthy team is not having enough to say, yet still missing the inevitable injuries the team will have. Over the course of a long season, players break down, have accidents, run into walls, dive headfirst into bases, swing too hard, iron their shirts, trim the hedges, and an infinite number of other products of randomness and chaos. Add to that the infallible fallibility of your humble writer, and hopefully I keep the signal-to-noise ratio tolerable.
There are a couple things that jump out from the Astros roster. First, despite being an older team, the Astros lineup is a reasonably healthy one. Only one player has a light, and that’s a freak incident that we don’t yet have a handle on. Second, the pitching staff looks worse than it is, but could do well. Finally, despite making one of the bigger signings of the off-season and trading away a highly touted prospect, the team isn’t appreciably better.
Greetings and welcome to Under The Knife, baseball’s best source of injury information. Thanks to all of you for joining BP Premium. I’ll be with you every weekday during the season, keeping up with all the injury news and trying to break it down into understandable terms without insulting your intelligence. Hopefully, I’ll be able to help you anticipate problems, scout the competition, keep your team healthy, educate you about sports medicine, and hopefully have some fun along the way.
I’ll miss Bobby Valentine, if only because Tony LaRussa isn’t as easy to pick on. LaRussa has a respect for the game and for his players, and while I often disagree with his tactics, I can respect his accomplishments and ability.
This will probably be the first article–and perhaps the only one all year–where the location of the Expos means next to nothing. As far as team health goes, there’s very little in the way of park effect. I’ll assume that the MLBPA will watch closely to make sure that there are adequate facilities in San Juan, and honestly, it’s not like San Juan is some third world country like most articles make it sound.
The Expos must deal with a limited player budget, backbreaking travel schedule and the loss of a meaningful home-field advantage in 2003. They could shift the odds back in their favor with a healthy season.
Of the million things Cubs fans can blame when they look back on why 2003 wasn’t the year they finally won the World Series, health won’t be one of them.
Between a careful analysis of what data is available, the creative use of proxy variables in estimating injuries throughout time, and the application of some principles of sports medicine, we are at least in a position to make some educated guesses about the nature of pitcher injuries. Our particular focus in this article will be the progression of pitcher injury rates by age.
Pitching is an unnatural act that invites injury. The stress it places on the
bones of the shoulder, arm, and back is immense. The strain it places on the 36
muscles that attach to the humerus, clavicle, and scapula is remarkable. It is
widely accepted by sports medicine practitioners that every pitch causes at
least some amount of damage to the system.
Of the million things Cubs fans can blame when they look back on why 2003 wasn’t
the year they finally won the World Series, health won’t be one of them. In
fact, for at least the last decade, trainer Dave Tumbas has kept Cubs’ health
concerns out of the picture more than most teams in baseball. The one major
injury during that time was Kerry Wood’s arm
trouble; but as much as people look to Wood’s usage during his rookie
season, the more likely culprit was his usage during high school. As far as the
rest of the team, the injuries suffered have been setbacks they could expect and
plan for. It’s fine to have someone like Moises Alou or Rondell White on the
roster if there’s an adequate backup plan. The difference between the Cubs with
Alou and the Brewers with Jeffrey Hammonds is that not only do the Cubs plan on
Alou playing only 120 games, they paid him according to this plan.
Of the million things Cubs fans can blame when they look back on why
2003 wasn’t the year they finally won the World Series, health won’t be
one of them. In fact, for at least the last decade, trainer Dave Tumbas
has kept Cubs’ health concerns out of the picture more than most teams in baseball. The one major injury during that time was Kerry Wood’s
arm trouble; but as much as people look to Wood’s usage during his
rookie season, the more likely culprit was his usage during high school.
As far as the rest of the team, the injuries suffered have been setbacks they could expect and plan for. It’s fine to have someone like Moises Alou or Rondell White on the roster if there’s an adequate backup plan. The difference between the Cubs with Alou and the Brewers with Jeffrey Hammonds is that not only do the Cubs plan on Alou playing only 120 games, they paid him according to this plan.
Team Health Report: Pittsburgh Pirates February 2003
Team Health Report: Kansas City Royals February 2003
Why, then, did Bechler die of heatstroke, during a half-mile run, in his first week in Spring Training?
Team Health Report: Detroit Tigers February 2003
On Sunday, heat illness claimed yet another victim in the world of sport, 23-year-old Oriole pitching prospect Steve Bechler. According to reports, he was a little over halfway through a run when he stopped and leaned against a fence. He was observed to be pale, disoriented and complained of nausea. He was taken to the…