As every baseball fan, adamant or casual, has heard by now, young catching phenom Buster Posey, reigning Rookie of the Year and member of the 2010 World Series Champion San Francisco Giants, will be sitting the rest of the 2011 season out after a nasty collision with Florida Marlins outfielder Scott Cousins at home plate a few days ago. This is a giant blow to a Giants team that already seemed unlikely to repeat as champions, but it also brings to light a serious issue regarding major injuries in the game, and how MLB and teams handle it.
A catcher always takes a certain level of risk when they man the backstop. They could always be the victim of a concussion due to a broken bat or charging runner, they're susceptible to more intense leg injuries (and a higher frequency of such), and they could still be hit by a 100 MPH fastball from their own pitcher. While their position and presence is essential to most defensive plays, it might just be the most dangerous to play in the game. They've got to go straight from kneeling to jumping to their feet to pick off a runner attempting a steal, to field a tricky pop fly, or to retrieve a missed pitch before a runner advances or scores. They've got to be conscious of the pitcher, runner and batter, often at the same time; neglecting to notice the actions of any of the three for a second could yield disastrous results of their own. And, of course, they're expected to abuse their body by blocking the plate from being touched by a huge professional athlete, who's also been given orders (either managerial or mental) to run like hell and slam into the defending catcher as hard as they possibly can to knock the ball loose and make the play. With this being such a necessary part of the game, it's almost surprising that the kind of injury Posey suffered isn't way more common.
However, it only needs to happen to one catcher, be it a high-profile one like Posey or Brian McCann, a veteran like Ivan Rodriguez or Jorge Posada, or a lesser-known backstop like Jarrod Saltalamacchia, whose entire career to this point has been heavily curtailed due to injuries suffered in the line of duty, to bring to prominence the dangers of being a catcher. After Twins first baseman Justin Morneau suffered a concussion while sliding into second base last season that ended his year, MLB instituted a 7-day disabled list especially for players who get knocked in the head, to see if they suffer further injuries or are cleared to resume playing. A weak, ineffective measure? Maybe. An attempt to solve a problem after it's already occurred? Perhaps. A sign that the league is beginning to recognize that more needs to be done to protect players who are put into high-risk situations? Possibly. But it begs the question: how do you protect a catcher, when using their bodies in such a way is a big part of a team's defense? Athletics GM Billy Beane recently told catcher Kurt Suzuki to avoid putting himself in such a position, but how else can he stop runs from scoring? Some former catchers have spoken out about how Cousins should have found another way to reach home plate, but how is the runner supposed to do that when the catcher knowingly puts himself in a dangerous position? How can the players, managers, and bigwigs change the game in such a way, when plays like this are so important?
The answer is, they can't. As much as MLB doesn't want to admit some things, they have to face the music: they can't stop plays like this from happening, just like they can't stop steroid usage. However, just like steroid usage, they can encourage the abolishment of it by way of fines and suspension. It may not be the most popular decision, but it may be the smartest decision. Both catchers and runners alike will know to guard the play, and attempt to take it, in safer ways: runners could slide or dive lower, catchers could defend the corners or the opposite side and still make a tag, et cetera. Playing smart isn't always easy, nor does it always work, but it can help to keep the kind of thing that happened to Posey, and has happened to others before him, from continuing at any pace.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Sunday, May 15, 2011
A Brief Exposition Of Random Musings Regarding The 2011 Season Thus Far (Part 2).
The Cleveland Indians are in first place in the AL Central. Don't adjust your screen or rub your eyes, you read that right. It's almost the middle of May, and THE CLEVELAND INDIANS ARE IN FIRST PLACE IN THE AL CENTRAL. You can thank Grady Sizemore (.288/5/10 in 17 games back after knee surgery last year), Shin-Soo Choo (4 homers, 17 RBIs, and 6 stolen bases), and a rotation that is 1st in quality starts in the entire league, despite being 7th in ERA. Will they have what it takes to keep this hold on the divisional lead until October? All indications point to "Are you kidding me? No bleeping way!", but that's why they play the game. Stranger things have happened (the 2005 World Series between the Chicago "What?" White Sox and the Houston "Who?" Astros springs to mind).
Angels manager Mike Scioscia tallied his 1,000th career managerial win last Sunday against the aforementioned first-place Cleveland Indians. Scioscia has long been known as one of the "badass" managers, and players have seemingly enjoyed his hardball style of managing. Even though he's only won 1 championship with the Angels, it's a big one: the only one the franchise has to date. As great as this milestone is, it'd probably mean more to the 2-time Manager of the Year if his club honored him by getting championship number 2 this season. And with the Rangers not performing as well as predicted, and the A's and Mariners being the A's and Mariners, it's not entirely implausible.
The Yankees have 3 players poised to make history this season: shortstop Derek Jeter is 44 hits away from 3,000 (he'd be the first Yank to do so), third baseman Alex Rodriguez is continuing his climb up the all-time home run leaders list and could feasibly pass Ken Griffey Jr. AND Willie Mays this season (he needs 13 more long shots to pass Griffey, 43 more to pass Mays), and Mariano Rivera needs 31 more saves to pass Trevor Hoffman as the all-time saves leader. Even though a return to the World Series seems pretty unlikely for the Bronx Bombers this season, there will be some major moments in Yankee Stadium nonetheless.
Monday, May 9th, 2011, is the latest into a season that the Pittsburgh Pirates have been over .500 since May 29th, 2004. Pittsburghians are celebrating. The rest of the country is laughing.
The Mariners designated troubled outfielder Milton Bradley for assignment today, meaning he needs to either be sent to the minor leagues, traded, or released within the next few weeks. Bradley has now sullied his good reputation in 8 cities, including 5 separate teams in the last 5 seasons. Even anger management training seemed to have no effect on how he carries himself on the field. Everyone loves a bad boy, especially in baseball, but when you're more vilified than Roger Clemens in certain areas, it's time to start singing a different tune.
I love Curtis Granderson. It's not a stretch to say he's one of the best center fielders in the game right now. I liked him when he was on the Tigers, so when he signed with the Yanks during the 2010 offseason, I was understandably ecstatic. Even though his injury shortened season last year was subpar, he's really blowing up this year, with a .283 average and 12 homers (second in the AL) to this point. I think we all expect big things from him. Can he do it? The Grandyman can, my friends...the Grandyman can.
Angels manager Mike Scioscia tallied his 1,000th career managerial win last Sunday against the aforementioned first-place Cleveland Indians. Scioscia has long been known as one of the "badass" managers, and players have seemingly enjoyed his hardball style of managing. Even though he's only won 1 championship with the Angels, it's a big one: the only one the franchise has to date. As great as this milestone is, it'd probably mean more to the 2-time Manager of the Year if his club honored him by getting championship number 2 this season. And with the Rangers not performing as well as predicted, and the A's and Mariners being the A's and Mariners, it's not entirely implausible.
The Yankees have 3 players poised to make history this season: shortstop Derek Jeter is 44 hits away from 3,000 (he'd be the first Yank to do so), third baseman Alex Rodriguez is continuing his climb up the all-time home run leaders list and could feasibly pass Ken Griffey Jr. AND Willie Mays this season (he needs 13 more long shots to pass Griffey, 43 more to pass Mays), and Mariano Rivera needs 31 more saves to pass Trevor Hoffman as the all-time saves leader. Even though a return to the World Series seems pretty unlikely for the Bronx Bombers this season, there will be some major moments in Yankee Stadium nonetheless.
Monday, May 9th, 2011, is the latest into a season that the Pittsburgh Pirates have been over .500 since May 29th, 2004. Pittsburghians are celebrating. The rest of the country is laughing.
The Mariners designated troubled outfielder Milton Bradley for assignment today, meaning he needs to either be sent to the minor leagues, traded, or released within the next few weeks. Bradley has now sullied his good reputation in 8 cities, including 5 separate teams in the last 5 seasons. Even anger management training seemed to have no effect on how he carries himself on the field. Everyone loves a bad boy, especially in baseball, but when you're more vilified than Roger Clemens in certain areas, it's time to start singing a different tune.
I love Curtis Granderson. It's not a stretch to say he's one of the best center fielders in the game right now. I liked him when he was on the Tigers, so when he signed with the Yanks during the 2010 offseason, I was understandably ecstatic. Even though his injury shortened season last year was subpar, he's really blowing up this year, with a .283 average and 12 homers (second in the AL) to this point. I think we all expect big things from him. Can he do it? The Grandyman can, my friends...the Grandyman can.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Booze, Boo-Boos, Geezers And No-Nos.
Braves ace starter and 14-year veteran Derek Lowe was arrested in Atlanta last Thursday night for driving under the influence of alcohol. He was pulled over after driving erratically, refused to take a breathalyzer test, and was arrested on the charges of DUI, reckless driving and failure to maintain lane. Had he been anyone else, he'd probably still be sitting in jail waiting for someone to post bail. However, he escaped detainment in time to make his scheduled start Sunday against the Cardinals (the Braves won on a walk-off single by Brooks Conrad; Lowe didn't factor into the decision). This is the third instance of a ballplayer driving drunk this season, after Tigers star first baseman Miguel Cabrera belligerently swung at his arresting officer shortly before spring training, and Indians outfielder Shin-Soo Choo was arrested on similar charges this past Tuesday. Long gone are the days when baseball players are revered as role models for kids, it seems. They've become increasingly greedy, going for multi-million dollar deals worth more than some countries' GDP. As if that weren't enough, their bad attitudes (Brewers outfielder Nyjer Morgan has earned more ejections in the past 2 seasons than any other player in that time), leanings toward violence (Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez is still vilified for brutally beating his girlfriend's father at the end of last season), and now with substance abuse resurfacing, all signs point to a loosening of morals amongst ballplayers around the league. It's not a surprise, as there have been plenty of players throughout history that have been terrible role models, but with a resurgence of clean-cut, respectable players (Albert Pujols, Joe Mauer, etc.), it's a shame to see this kind of behavior happening again.
And now, I have to do something that I rarely do: I have to apologize for my statements about Twins pitcher Francisco Liriano. After I wrote a post lamenting how poorly he's doing this season, he threw a no-hitter against the flailing White Sox on Tuesday. Despite giving up 6 walks and 2 strikeouts in 123 pitches, this was enough to keep the poor White Sox offense at bay to give Liriano his no-hitter. Although this only improves his record slightly (he's now 2-4 on the season), it's the first no-no of the 2011 season, so congratulations, Liriano. You could have done this a week ago and saved me from doing my least favorite thing (apologizing/admitting I was wrong).
And in other no-hitter news, Tigers hurler Justin Verlander threw the second no-no of his career last night against the floundering Blue Jays. If it weren't for a J.P. Arencibia walk, it would have been the first perfect game of both the year and Verlander's short career (he's only been playing for 6 seasons and is only 28). It brought his record for this season to 3-3, and lowered his ERA to 3.16. He only struck out 4 batters, but it brought his total so far to 55 K's. That's not all in the No-No News: the aforementioned Derek Lowe didn't allow a hit through 6.1 innings in Friday's win over the Phillies (Cliff Lee, although taking the loss, struck out 16 batters despite allowing 5 runs); Jaime Garcia of the Cardinals was perfect through 7.1 innings against the Brewers, and ended that outing with a 2-hit complete game shutout, the first in his very short career; and Marlins pitcher Anibal Sanchez had a perfecto going today, going 6.2 innings but giving up 2 hits before getting out of the inning and ending his day with 11 strikeouts.
Apparently, we've all traveled back in time to the 2003 season. That's the only explanation for why aging veterans Johnny Damon, Lance Berkman, and Alfonso Soriano are having such huge impacts on their respective teams: Damon has become a dominant force and a vital reason why the Rays, who had most of their important players leave them in the offseason, are viewed as a contender again...Berkman is getting more attention (and hits) on the Cardinals than the first baseman he's a backup for...only one player on the Cubs has more than 2 home runs, and it's Soriano with 11. By the grace of God, these players have battled through their mid-baseball-life crises and found new power, stamina, and ability with their new clubs. Hell, even Derek Jeter hit 2 home runs today, ending a 62-game drought dating back to last season (not to mention the fact that he's 44 hits away from 3,000). Even with a fresh crop of bright-eyed rookies such as Freddie Freeman and Eric Hosmer hitting the major league fields for the first time, all eyes seem to be turned to the class of yesteryear for headlines and exciting plays this season.
Finally, we'll end this post with a new segment, the Injury Updates. Zack Greinke made his National League debut for the Brewers in Atlanta this past Wednesday, but someone forgot to tell him he doesn't play for the Royals anymore: he only struck out 6 batters over 4 innings, and gained a 9.00 ERA as well as an 0-1 record to start the year; Rays third baseman Evan Longoria finally rejoined the team after his DL stint for his oblique injury, and has already hit his first homer of the season while providing offensive power Tampa Bay's been missing; Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton reportedly took 125 swings off a tee recently and reported little to no pain in his shoulder, and predicted he could be back in 2-3 weeks; still no word on how Twins catcher Joe Mauer's knees are feeling, but word is he should be back within a month; and Phillies second baseman Chase Utley is set to begin his extended spring training within the next few months, hopefully rejoining the big ballclub before the All-Star break.
And now, I have to do something that I rarely do: I have to apologize for my statements about Twins pitcher Francisco Liriano. After I wrote a post lamenting how poorly he's doing this season, he threw a no-hitter against the flailing White Sox on Tuesday. Despite giving up 6 walks and 2 strikeouts in 123 pitches, this was enough to keep the poor White Sox offense at bay to give Liriano his no-hitter. Although this only improves his record slightly (he's now 2-4 on the season), it's the first no-no of the 2011 season, so congratulations, Liriano. You could have done this a week ago and saved me from doing my least favorite thing (apologizing/admitting I was wrong).
And in other no-hitter news, Tigers hurler Justin Verlander threw the second no-no of his career last night against the floundering Blue Jays. If it weren't for a J.P. Arencibia walk, it would have been the first perfect game of both the year and Verlander's short career (he's only been playing for 6 seasons and is only 28). It brought his record for this season to 3-3, and lowered his ERA to 3.16. He only struck out 4 batters, but it brought his total so far to 55 K's. That's not all in the No-No News: the aforementioned Derek Lowe didn't allow a hit through 6.1 innings in Friday's win over the Phillies (Cliff Lee, although taking the loss, struck out 16 batters despite allowing 5 runs); Jaime Garcia of the Cardinals was perfect through 7.1 innings against the Brewers, and ended that outing with a 2-hit complete game shutout, the first in his very short career; and Marlins pitcher Anibal Sanchez had a perfecto going today, going 6.2 innings but giving up 2 hits before getting out of the inning and ending his day with 11 strikeouts.
Apparently, we've all traveled back in time to the 2003 season. That's the only explanation for why aging veterans Johnny Damon, Lance Berkman, and Alfonso Soriano are having such huge impacts on their respective teams: Damon has become a dominant force and a vital reason why the Rays, who had most of their important players leave them in the offseason, are viewed as a contender again...Berkman is getting more attention (and hits) on the Cardinals than the first baseman he's a backup for...only one player on the Cubs has more than 2 home runs, and it's Soriano with 11. By the grace of God, these players have battled through their mid-baseball-life crises and found new power, stamina, and ability with their new clubs. Hell, even Derek Jeter hit 2 home runs today, ending a 62-game drought dating back to last season (not to mention the fact that he's 44 hits away from 3,000). Even with a fresh crop of bright-eyed rookies such as Freddie Freeman and Eric Hosmer hitting the major league fields for the first time, all eyes seem to be turned to the class of yesteryear for headlines and exciting plays this season.
Finally, we'll end this post with a new segment, the Injury Updates. Zack Greinke made his National League debut for the Brewers in Atlanta this past Wednesday, but someone forgot to tell him he doesn't play for the Royals anymore: he only struck out 6 batters over 4 innings, and gained a 9.00 ERA as well as an 0-1 record to start the year; Rays third baseman Evan Longoria finally rejoined the team after his DL stint for his oblique injury, and has already hit his first homer of the season while providing offensive power Tampa Bay's been missing; Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton reportedly took 125 swings off a tee recently and reported little to no pain in his shoulder, and predicted he could be back in 2-3 weeks; still no word on how Twins catcher Joe Mauer's knees are feeling, but word is he should be back within a month; and Phillies second baseman Chase Utley is set to begin his extended spring training within the next few months, hopefully rejoining the big ballclub before the All-Star break.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)