Archive for Injuries
Joba Update: Three surgeries and weight loss
Posted by: | CommentsVia Erik Boland & Marc Carig: Joba Chamberlain has “clearly lost weight” and is ahead of scheduled as he rehabs from Tommy John surgery. He’ll resume throwing in a few weeks, and a mid-April return is possible. That would be ten months out of the surgery, which is pretty aggressive. Joba’s with the team in Minnesota this week(end), but just for a visit.
Aside from the elbow surgery, Chamberlain also had his appendix taken out and had to spend another two weeks in the hospital due to infection. “I had three surgeries in 25 days,” he said. I’ll be surprised if he comes back in April, but it’s good hear he’s recovering well.
A-Rod was “a little tentative” during last night rehab game
Posted by: | CommentsAlex Rodriguez played the field in a game for the first time since having surgery on his right knee last night, and he told Mike Mazzeo that there was a little apprehension on his part. “I was a little tentative. A little hesitant,” said A-Rod. “That’s something that comes with time and repetition. This was only my third game out there. I had the same experience coming off my hip injury in 2009, and those last few hurdles are more mental than physical.” There’s nothing unusual here, that little bit of apprehension if pretty normal when coming back from an injury. You don’t have to be a baseball player to know that.
A-Rod joked about not feeling 100% for the last 15 years when reporters saw the big ice pack around his knee after the game, but he did say flat out “there’s no soreness.” He’s been getting ice twice a day now as part of his regular treatment. Anyway, Alex told Jim Baumbach that he’s going to “try to ramp it up” tonight and get four at-bats, which likely means a eight or nine innings in the field. If all goes well, maybe we’ll see him tomorrow in Minnesota.
Update: Via Bryan Hoch, the Yankees are planning to bring Alex Rodriguez to Minnesota, but they might not activate him on Thursday. Sounds like they might give him a day off before adding him to the active roster again.
Anticipating A-Rod’s Return
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(AP Photo/Rich Schultz)
The Yankees have been without their starting third baseman and cleanup hitter for close to six weeks now, but are close to getting Alex Rodriguez back now that he’s playing the field for Triple-A Scranton in rehab games. He went 1-for-3 with a hard hit single and played six innings in the field last night (video here), his first game action at third since having knee surgery last month. Assuming all goes well, he’ll return to the Yankees at some point during the upcoming four-game series in Minnesota.
Eduardo Nunez and Eric Chavez (with a little Brandon Laird mixed in) have filled in admirably during A-Rod‘s absence, but Yankees’ third baseman are hitting just .260/.308/.333 since he got hurt. The team’s overall offensive output has gone up, from 5.22 runs per game before the injury to 5.85 after, but that has more to with the small sample size and playing some really bad teams more than anything. Even though he hasn’t played in a month, Alex is still second among all big league third baseman with 4.0 fWAR, a tenth of a win behind Kevin Youkilis, who just passed him over the weekend. The Yankees have gone 23-11 without A-Rod, but there’s no doubt they’re a better team with him in the lineup.
Once he comes back, the lineup will basically go back to normal. A-Rod will (rightfully) hit cleanup and Brett Gardner will get bumped back to the bottom of the order. It’s obvious the Yankees aren’t going to move Derek Jeter down in the lineup, even just against righties, so moving Gardner down is the next best thing to do. You can’t give Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira, and Robinson Cano fewer at-bats by moving them down even one lineup spot just accommodate Gardner, it’s not worth it. We’ll be back to the regular top five, meaning Jeter, Grandy, Tex, A-Rod, and Cano. Everyone else falls into place right after that.
Thankfully, Alex’s return also means the end of the 13-man pitching staff, and I assume Hector Noesi will (finally) get send back to Triple-A for regular work. The guy has thrown 3.2 IP in the last 20 days. It’s a waste, he needs to get back to the minors and actually do some pitching. I guess the alternative would be what, cutting Luis Ayala? I see no reason to do that. Freddy Garcia‘s cut finger buys them some time with the six-man rotation decision, and Joe Girardi will just have to live with a six-man bullpen for 10-12 days until September call-ups. It won’t be the end of the world.
I also think that once A-Rod comes back, he’s going to see a lot more games at DH than we’re used to, at least at first. There’s no reason to push him in the field so soon after surgery, so two or three days a week at DH rather than one might be the norm through the end of the season, especially with September right around the corner. That’ll give Nunez and Chavez some semi-regular playing time, which is always good, especially in the kid’s case. I don’t know how A-Rod will hit when he comes back, but I suspect it won’t be poorly. Perhaps a healthy knee will improve his power output, which wasn’t really a problem to begin with. Either way, the Yankees are currently in first place and are a few days away from making a substantial addition to the roster, and that’s exciting.
Freddy to test finger in bullpen session
Posted by: | CommentsVia Erik Boland, the bandage is off Freddy Garcia‘s cut index finger, and the big right-hander will test the digit out in a bullpen session today or tomorrow. Apparently it only gives him trouble when he throws his splitter, which is by far his most important pitch. Plus if it’s not healed all the way, he could end up tearing the cut back open and missing even more time. That would be bad.
Ravel Santana’s injury: broken ankle and torn ligaments
Posted by: | CommentsSaturday afternoon we heard that Rookie Level GCL Yankees outfielder Ravel Santana suffered a “brutal” ankle injury, and Dante Bichette Jr. tweeted the diagnosis: it’s broken in two places with a bunch of torn ligaments. The play-by-play indicates that it happened on a stolen base attempt, so it sounds like one of those hideous Stephen Drew/Jason Kendall/spike gets caught and foot gets twisted around type of injuries. Just awful.
Santana, 19, had a .426 wOBA with a ton of power (nine homers, .273 ISO) and speed (10-for-13 in stolen base attempts) in 40 GCL games. The Yankees landed him for just $145k back in 2009, and the scouting report is exciting. Based on what happened with Kendall and Drew, there’s a chance Ravel will be back in time for Spring Training, but there’s no way to know for sure.
A-Rod continues rehab with simulated game
Posted by: | CommentsAfter asking to DH yesterday, Alex Rodriguez continued his road back from knee surgery in a simulated game today. He got 13 at-bats, then did some situational work at third base and more extensive defensive drills after that. The plan is for Alex to get Monday off, then travel north and join Triple-A Scranton to continue his rehab on Tuesday. The Yankees still want him to play two full nine inning games before activating him, and there’s still a chance A-Rod will be activated in time for Thursday’s opener at Target Field.
Garcia will miss Sunday’s start
Posted by: | CommentsJoe Girardi announced during his postgame press conference that Freddy Garcia will miss tomorrow’s start because of a cut on his finger. A.J. Burnett will start instead, and will be followed by Ivan Nova, Bartolo Colon, and CC Sabathia in Kansas City. Garcia tried to throw his splitter off flat ground today and couldn’t, though they’re hopefully he’ll just miss one start. Girardi called it a kitchen accident. Either way, it gives Garcia some extra rest and keeps Phil Hughes in the rotation for at least one more turn. Win win? Win win.
A-Rod will play two nine-inning rehab games before returning
Posted by: | CommentsAlex Rodriguez will officially begin his minor league rehab assignment with High-A Tampa tonight, but the team wants him to play two full, nine-inning games with Triple-A Scranton before they activate him off the disabled list. Alex will DH tonight, play five or six innings in the field tomorrow, then if all goes well, he’ll head north to join SWB early next week. It sounds like the target day for his return is, coincidentally enough, Thursday at Target Field against the Twins.
A-Rod to begin rehab assignment on Friday
Posted by: | CommentsUpdate (Aug. 11th): Just as a quick update, the Yankees have confirmed that A-Rod will begin his rehab assignment with High-A Tampa on Friday. He’ll be the DH in that game before playing a few innings in the field over the weekend.
Original Post (Aug. 10th): Joe Girardi announced during his pregame press conference that Alex Rodriguez is very likely to begin a minor league rehab assignment on Friday. He’ll serve as the designated hitter, then play the field on Saturday, then who knows after that. A-Rod’s not leaving Florida until he’s ready to be activated, so that means he’ll rehab with High-A Tampa or the Rookie Level GCL Yankees. Eduardo Nunez has been pretty good as the fill-in third baseman, but holy cow will it be nice to have Alex back.
Link Dump: Burnett, Best Tools, Romine, Arodys
Posted by: | CommentsLunchtime linkage for those of you that prefer a later meal, like myself…
(AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
The Jorge Posada Hypocrisy
I swear, I wrote the first half of his great Jack Curry article on the train this morning. I mean, granted it wasn’t word for word, the premise was the same: the Yankees are coming off as extremely hypocritical for taking Jorge Posada out of the lineup because it’s best for the team while continuing to give A.J. Burnett starts every five days (or every six days, really). Jack’s a far better writer than I am, so go read his article to get the gist of what I was trying to say.
American League Best Tools
Every year, Baseball America surveys managers, coaches, and scouts about the best tools in both the American League and National League (no subs. req’d). I usually find these pieces interesting, but this year’s effort is a bit … wonky. Those surveyed voted Brett Gardner as the best bunter in the AL, which is most certainly not the case. He’s gotten a lot better recently, a lot better, but I’m not convinced that he’s even the best bunter on the team.
Derek Jeter was dubbed the best hit-and-run artist, while Gardner took home fastest baserunner honors but was named just the third best overall baserunner (behind Jacoby Ellsbury and Elvis Andrus). CC Sabathia the was voted the third best pitcher (behind Justin Verlander and Jered Weaver) and as having the second best slider (Felix Hernandez). Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano were named the best defensive players at their position, and Alex Rodriguez was third at the hot corner (Adrian Beltre and Evan Longoria). And finally Mariano Rivera was named the top reliever, just ahead of … Kyle Farnsworth. Yep.
Austin Romine‘s Achy Back
Double-A Trenton backstop Austin Romine was placed on the disabled list a few days ago with a back strain, something that required an MRI but apparently isn’t serious enough to end his season. The club is hopeful he’ll be back by next week. How did he injure his back? As Mike Ashmore explains, it was just a case of minor league life…
“My back was tight after the long bus ride after the 7 o’clock game in Akron,” Romine said.
“We had to drive and get back really early in the morning, and I fell asleep with my legs up in a bad position. I got up and my back was a little sore, and I thought it was just regular soreness. I usually have soreness at this time of the year. I played through it and woke up in the morning with a little pinch in my back, so I let them know. It stayed sore for a little while, so they thought that sitting on the bus for four hours and going to Altoona would probably be a bad thing with the back thing going, so I stayed back and got treatment done.”
Romine said his back is “really good” right now but they’re just being cautious. You’d think he’d have the whole sleeping on a bus thing down after three plus years in the bush leagues. Of course, it could just be a cover story.
The Circle of Reliever Life
In case you haven’t heard, the Braves have released Scott Proctor today and replaced him on the roster with Arodys Vizcaino. It’s one former Yankees reliever for a former Yankees prospect, one pitcher they overworked for another they never had the chance to overwork. Arodys’ call-up is similar to Joba Chamberlain‘s in 2007; he’s been starting in the minors but they moved him to the bullpen to maximize his innings limit on the year. The only difference is that Atlanta doesn’t need Vizcaino right now, at least not like the Yankees needed Joba. The second (really third) Javy Vazquez trade didn’t work out for the Yankees, at all, but that’s life. Look ahead, not back.
Just 6 days 'til pitchers and catchers report.
