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Post by bigdawgs on Apr 6, 2024 18:44:36 GMT -5
A week ago the Braves were considered one of the favorites to make the playoffs. Now, Spencer Strider appears he might be heading for Tommy John. Will know more by mid week, but sure looks like it. And for the second game in a row, Max Fried is getting bombed. Pitching is so fragile.
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Post by bigdawgs on Apr 6, 2024 20:06:34 GMT -5
NEW YORK -- The head of the baseball players' association thinks a shorter pitch clock has contributed to a series of pitcher injuries.
"Despite unanimous player opposition and significant concerns regarding health and safety, the commissioner's office reduced the length of the pitch clock last December, just one season removed from imposing the most significant rule change in decades," union executive director Tony Clark said Saturday night in a statement.
"Since then, our concerns about the health impacts of reduced recovery time have only intensified," Clark said. "The league's unwillingness thus far to acknowledge or study the effects of these profound changes is an unprecedented threat to our game and its most valuable asset -- the players."
Cleveland's Shane Bieber, Atlanta's Spencer Strider, the New York Yankees' Jonathan Loáisiga, Miami's Eury Pérez and Oakland's Trevor Gott are among the pitchers diagnosed with elbow injuries.
Major League Baseball pushed back on the union's statement, pointing to a three-decade increase in pitcher injuries despite the clock being implemented just last season. MLB said that UCL surgeries at the minor league level actually declined in 2022, the first year that the pitch timer was used across the minors. The league believes the increase in max-effort pitching and focus on pitch design have contributed to the rise in injuries more than the clock.
"This statement ignores the empirical evidence and much more significant long-term trend, over multiple decades, of velocity and spin increases that are highly correlated with arm injuries," MLB said in a responding statement Saturday.
MLB said it is undergoing a research study into causes of increased injuries. It cited an analysis by Johns Hopkins that "found no evidence to support that the introduction of the pitch clock has increased injuries" and "no evidence that pitchers who worked quickly ... or sped up their pace were more likely to sustain an injury than those who did not."
Additionally, the league pointed to more players entering professional baseball with significant injury history, which can be a precursor to repeat issues. It said that, on average, only six players between 2011-13 already had UCL reconstruction before they were drafted and that the number reached 24 players from 2021-23.
Cleveland said Saturday that Bieber, the 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner, will have season-ending Tommy John elbow surgery to repair an injured right ulnar collateral ligament.
A few hours later, Atlanta said Strider had a damaged UCL and will be examined further by Texas Rangers team physician Dr. Keith Meister.
Loáisiga said Saturday he needs season-ending elbow surgery and will be sidelined for 10 to 12 months. A 29-year-old right-hander, Loáisiga said he felt a pop in his elbow while throwing a changeup to Jorge Barrosa, his final batter in the ninth inning of Wednesday's 6-5, 11-inning win at Arizona. A scan revealed a torn UCL.
Miami said Thursday that Pérez will have Tommy John surgery and miss the season. A day earlier, Gott had TJ surgery.
MLB instituted a pitch clock for the 2023 season set at 15 seconds with nobody on and 20 seconds when there was a baserunner. The average time of a nine-inning game dropped to 2 hours, 40 minutes, a 24-minute decrease to its shortest since 1985. The 11-man competition committee decided in December to cut the clock to 18 seconds with baserunners, a change that was opposed by the four players on the body.
ESPN's Jesse Rogers and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Post by NCBulldawg on Apr 7, 2024 14:31:20 GMT -5
Seemed to do okay last night!
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Post by bigdawgs on Apr 7, 2024 14:37:16 GMT -5
Seemed to do okay last night! Right. Because they have one of the best lineups in MLB and a very stout bullpen. But if Strider has Tommy John and if there is something wrong with Fried, they suddenly have very big starting pitching issues. Hopefully Fried is just a couple of bad games.
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Post by NCBulldawg on Apr 7, 2024 14:49:29 GMT -5
I was simply having fun with this, BD, as I saw the highlights of the comeback victory. It really was not meant as not acknowledging the reality of the injury to Strider. I was more just praising the Braves for the come from behind victory last night than really anything else. Go Braves!
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Post by erock72 on Apr 7, 2024 15:56:09 GMT -5
Seemed to do okay last night! Right. Because they have one of the best lineups in MLB and a very stout bullpen. But if Strider has Tommy John and if there is something wrong with Fried, they suddenly have very big starting pitching issues. Hopefully Fried is just a couple of bad games. Dylan has had a couple good outings in AAA for the Stripers. Hopefully they will call him up if they need some help.
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Post by bigdawgs on Apr 7, 2024 16:24:19 GMT -5
I was simply having fun with this, BD, as I saw the highlights of the comeback victory. It really was not meant as not acknowledging the reality of the injury to Strider. I was more just praising the Braves for the come from behind victory last night than really anything else. Go Braves! They simply have a great lineup and the bullpen has been lights out, albeit we only have played 8 games. Sales pitched well again today. Charlie Morton, the old man is up next.
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Post by athens on Apr 11, 2024 7:58:28 GMT -5
Not saying the pitch clock has no effect, but I have heard for years that the relative commonality of serious pitching injuries these days as compared to years ago is the amount of baseball they are playing as kids now. Between Fall Ball and year round travel ball, kids are never getting a break. It seems to make sense the a tendon only has so many throws before it gives. But I am not a doctor nor do I play one on TV.
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Post by bigdawgs on Apr 11, 2024 8:27:32 GMT -5
Tend to agree with that. Seems like kids used to play multiple sports and now days they are encouraged to focus on one. But that is pure speculation on my part. What is clear is that we are seeing an ever increasing number of pitching injuries.
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