2012 Baseball Season/Off-Season Discussion

[pilferk]

Tough news day for the Yankees. First CC goes on the DL with muscle problem in his leg. He's expected back just after the break so that's not too bad. Then Pettitte takes a liner off his foot and has a fractured ankle and will be out 6 weeks. I hate freak accidents like that. At least we should have him back by late August at the latest.

Tough day for sure, what's the replacement plan?

Are Betances and Banuelos on the radar anymore?

Haven't heard any mention of them in ages.

Garcia, to start.  Cross your fingers on that one...but he has been decent out of the pen, lately.

Adam Warren to cover the time until CC gets back (which looks like it's only going to amount to a couple starts).

Betances having an AWFUL year (just got sent back to AA) and Banuelos has been hurt, on and off, pretty much all year.

[pilferk]

For ths short term its Garcia replacing Pettitte and Adam Warren is replacing Sabathia. I would assume if Warren pitches well he will take Pettitte's spot and Garcia back to the pen when Sabathia returns. Sabathia is only expected to miss two starts. So he might need one rehab start at the most i would think.

I actually think it's vice-versa. They'll keep Garcia in the rotation, long term, as long as he doesn't get shelled. If he DOES get shelled, I think they'll make a move before the trade deadline.

Warren, I think, is the stop gap.  He'll either go to the pen, OR they'll send him back down when CC comes back and they'll call up someone else (Phelps, maybe...looks like they're stretching him out in the minors for SOMETHING) to be the long man.

I think that's the plan.  Performance could CHANGE the plan..but we'll see.

[Falcon]

Betances having an AWFUL year (just got sent back to AA) and Banuelos has been hurt, on and off, pretty much all year.

Related story I just saw at Hardball Talk:

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/06/28/yankees-demote-dellin-betances-from-triple-a-to-double-a/

[pilferk]

Betances having an AWFUL year (just got sent back to AA) and Banuelos has been hurt, on and off, pretty much all year.

Related story I just saw at Hardball Talk:

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/06/28/yankees-demote-dellin-betances-from-triple-a-to-double-a/

It's 100% mechanics.  People have posted video from last year and this and his delivery is out of whack (compared to last year).  They've got to try to get him back to the way he was throwing last year...or he's going to be a bust.

[tim_m]

This Warren kid looks pretty good. I know they are high on Phelps too. I guess time will tell. Hopefully Garcia can be decent until Pettitte is healthy again. I feel awful for Pettitte. This is two seasons in a row he's gonna miss time and this time its just a freak accident.

[faldor]

This Warren kid looks pretty good. I know they are high on Phelps too. I guess time will tell. Hopefully Garcia can be decent until Pettitte is healthy again. I feel awful for Pettitte. This is two seasons in a row he's gonna miss time and this time its just a freak accident.

Where's that HGH when he needs it.   

[tim_m]

This Warren kid looks pretty good. I know they are high on Phelps too. I guess time will tell. Hopefully Garcia can be decent until Pettitte is healthy again. I feel awful for Pettitte. This is two seasons in a row he's gonna miss time and this time its just a freak accident.

Where's that HGH when he needs it.   

I knew you'd make a joke out of that lol.

[GeorgeSteele]

Nick Johnson on DL.  Again.  http://sports.yahoo.com/news/orioles-put-nick-johnson-dl-194824940--mlb.html

This guy was transcendent is his ability to get injured.  There should be a special Hall of Fame wing for him, I don't think we'll ever see anyone like him again.

[tim_m]

Nick Johnson on DL.  Again.  http://sports.yahoo.com/news/orioles-put-nick-johnson-dl-194824940--mlb.html

This guy was transcendent is his ability to get injured.  There should be a special Hall of Fame wing for him, I don't think we'll ever see anyone like him again.

That guy is a walking injury.

[tim_m]

June 29th and Cliff Lee is winless. I called it with him. He's just not that good. Had a few really good years and a few good post season starts now he just sucks. I'm glad he shunned the Yankees.

[faldor]

June 29th and Cliff Lee is winless. I called it with him. He's just not that good. Had a few really good years and a few good post season starts now he just sucks. I'm glad he shunned the Yankees.

I wouldn't say he sucks.  The fact that he remains winless has more to do with the lack of run support he's received than him sucking.  He hasn't pitched well of late, but he was 0-2 in 8 games with an ERA of 3 through May.  You should have at least a couple wins to your record with stats like that.  June, he has not been good.  So the 0-3 record is indicative of how he's pitched this month.  They're still not scoring runs for him though.

[faldor]

http://deadspin.com/5918718/manny-ramirezs-dreads-will-lead-to-drug-use-abortion-gayness-fan-tells-oakland-athletics-triple+a-affiliate-in-insane-voicemail?tag=angry-voicemails

Manny Ramirez?s Dreads Will Cause Drug Use, Abortion, Gayness, Blindness, Fan Tells The A?s Triple-A Affiliate In Insane Voicemail

This disgruntled fan of the Sacramento River Cats would like you to know that she is NOT fuddy duddy. Nor is she a crackpot. She just thinks that Manny Ramirez's dreadlocks are the reason that "unwholesomeness" is spreading across the American landscape. I strongly urge you to listen to this voicemail in its entirety, as the lady builds to a comedic crescendo so perfectly timed, it feels as if the entire thing was scripted by a UCB troupe. And be sure to note how often she touches on the issue of dreadlocks being a blindness hazard. She really has that talking point down. Some highlights:

? "I'm a viewer of television and I noticed that Manny Rodriguez [sic] has these long, long dreadlocks."
? "Lotta people out here don't feel these people should be able to play with this long hair."
? "It flies in the faces of um uh uh first second and third base when they're tagging them out and it could hurt their eyes... it could really hurt them!"
? "They don't wash that hair!"
? "Any long hair should be out!"
? "They have to cut it in a lot of sports. I don't think they can have it in swimming!"
? "Long hair and drugs, we all know, goes together. It's just like a cheater and liar, what Dr. Phil says, goes hand in hand. When they cheat on a house, they also are a liar."
? "It doesn't look wholesome."
? "You really need to give this message to the executive committee."
? "I'm a lady and I am not a fuddy duddy."
? "They're all gettin' in trouble on steroids and using cortisone for energy... THAT STUFF CAUSES CANCER. That's why Lance Armstrong, the bike guy, got cancer."
? "We study this stuff."
? "And then it gets into ... people start OKing abortion and gay marriage. It gets into a lot of stuff that is NOT according to the Bible or according to the American values."
? "It's a lazy thing, having this long hair!"
? "It looks like a girl!"

OBLIGATORY: Now Johnny Unitas, there's a haircut you can set your watch to.

[tim_m]

Wow she isn't too much of a psycho racist stupid bigot? If she had any idea wtf she was talking about she'd know cortisone is a perfectly legal thing.

[AxlsMainMan]

St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Chris Carpenter resumed a throwing program after recovering from a compressed nerve in his shoulder.

But the Cardinals don?t know if he?ll be able to pitch this season.

General manager John Mozeliak said Friday it?s too early to say whether to be optimistic about the 2005 NL Cy Young Award winner, who won a game in each round of the postseason last fall. Team doctors identified the injury as thoracic outlet syndrome, and Mozeliak said Carpenter could undergo surgery in the offseason that could sideline him as long as a year.

Both Mozeliak and manager Mike Matheny said the team would take it day by day with the 37-year-old Carpenter, who broke down in spring training after throwing 273 1/3 innings in the 2011 regular season and postseason.

http://www.lohud.com/viewart/20120630/SPORTS/306300065/Baseball-notebook-Cardinals-Chris-Carpenter-could-miss-season

[Falcon]

St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Chris Carpenter resumed a throwing program after recovering from a compressed nerve in his shoulder.

But the Cardinals don?t know if he?ll be able to pitch this season.

General manager John Mozeliak said Friday it?s too early to say whether to be optimistic about the 2005 NL Cy Young Award winner, who won a game in each round of the postseason last fall. Team doctors identified the injury as thoracic outlet syndrome, and Mozeliak said Carpenter could undergo surgery in the offseason that could sideline him as long as a year.

Both Mozeliak and manager Mike Matheny said the team would take it day by day with the 37-year-old Carpenter, who broke down in spring training after throwing 273 1/3 innings in the 2011 regular season and postseason.

http://www.lohud.com/viewart/20120630/SPORTS/306300065/Baseball-notebook-Cardinals-Chris-Carpenter-could-miss-season

The odds of Carp contibuting anything this year are very slim, why it took this long to come to a conclusive diagnosis is beyond me.

I think they should take the approach that neither Carpenter or Jaime Garcia will have any impact the rest of this year.

[pilferk]

why it took this long to come to a conclusive diagnosis is beyond me.

It's basically nerve entrapment and it can be VERY hard to diagnose via MRI/MRA.  The canal they're talking about is already pretty narrow, and those neuro bundles are packed in pretty tight. It's hard to tell how tight is "too tight", so it's almost a diagnosis of elimination.  You have to eliminate all structural possibilities, any tumors or tissue inflamation issues, and what you have have left is thoracic outlet syndrome.  Thus, it takes time..because eliminating everything else takes time.

The typical solution (after trying physical therapy) is to go in and widen out the canal a tiny bit to make things "fit" better.  Possible they could also remove a rib (depending on where the compression is).  Short term....botox has pretty good effect.

[tim_m]

Another great start from Hughes yesterday. He's now won 8 of 10 and most of them haven't just been good but have been dominant. I don't know what Pettitte said to him or noticed that Hughes was doing wrong but glad he did! I actually thought Hughes deserved an all-star selection the way he's pitched the last two months.

[Falcon]

why it took this long to come to a conclusive diagnosis is beyond me.

It's basically nerve entrapment and it can be VERY hard to diagnose via MRI/MRA.  The canal they're talking about is already pretty narrow, and those neuro bundles are packed in pretty tight. It's hard to tell how tight is "too tight", so it's almost a diagnosis of elimination.  You have to eliminate all structural possibilities, any tumors or tissue inflamation issues, and what you have have left is thoracic outlet syndrome.  Thus, it takes time..because eliminating everything else takes time.

The typical solution (after trying physical therapy) is to go in and widen out the canal a tiny bit to make things "fit" better.  Possible they could also remove a rib (depending on where the compression is).  Short term....botox has pretty good effect.

Thanks for the explanation pilf, makes alot more sense now.

[faldor]

St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Chris Carpenter resumed a throwing program after recovering from a compressed nerve in his shoulder.

But the Cardinals don?t know if he?ll be able to pitch this season.

General manager John Mozeliak said Friday it?s too early to say whether to be optimistic about the 2005 NL Cy Young Award winner, who won a game in each round of the postseason last fall. Team doctors identified the injury as thoracic outlet syndrome, and Mozeliak said Carpenter could undergo surgery in the offseason that could sideline him as long as a year.

Both Mozeliak and manager Mike Matheny said the team would take it day by day with the 37-year-old Carpenter, who broke down in spring training after throwing 273 1/3 innings in the 2011 regular season and postseason.

http://www.lohud.com/viewart/20120630/SPORTS/306300065/Baseball-notebook-Cardinals-Chris-Carpenter-could-miss-season

The odds of Carp contibuting anything this year are very slim, why it took this long to come to a conclusive diagnosis is beyond me.

I think they should take the approach that neither Carpenter or Jaime Garcia will have any impact the rest of this year.

Just last week they were saying how encouraged they were with the progress he was making.  So much for that I guess.

[pilferk]

Just last week they were saying how encouraged they were with the progress he was making.  So much for that I guess.

The thing is:  PT can work wonders with it...sometimes removing the need for invasive treatment.

So he could have seen improvement...but then hit a wall that PT just couldn't push through.