Saturday's Plastic Cup is Feeling a Little Tightness

by Jeff Sackmann on Apr 19, 2008 7:47 AM CDT in News Comment 10 comments

There are two hard-and-fast rules that guide Brewers fans in the 21st century:

It's all okay if it ended in a win.
The above does not apply if Ben Sheets got hurt.

Of course, the big news this morning is that Ben Sheets got hurt. He left with "triceps tightness" after 60 pitches and 5 innings. Here's the MLB.com story, which has all the relevant quotes. If Ben's "cautiously optimistic," I guess I might as well be cautiously optimistic too.

The usuals:

Some injury reports:

Jay Bruce is back in the lineup after missing a day for Triple-A Louisville.
Howie Kendrick goes on the DL with a strained hamstring.
Both Scott Kazmir and Dioner Navarro were rehabbing in A-ball; Navarro will be back next week, Kazmir the beginning of May.
Tom Glavine officially went on the DL for the first time in his career.
Hideo Nomo is pitching like he has an injury.

The biggest news outside of Milwaukee yesterday came from Tampa Bay, where the team locked up Evan Longoria for six years (including options for his first three two years of free agency) after Longoria's first week or so in the majors. Dave Cameron notes the trends and the risks. What interests me is that Longoria is almost certainly leaving millions (perhaps tens of millions) on the table...but this isn't the first time he's done so. Unlike most very high draft picks--he was #3 overall--he signed almost immediately because he wanted to play ball. Needless to say, Scott Boras is not his agent.

Also at FanGraphs, Eric Seidman notes that Brian Shouse is is strand-a-rific. That's not news to those of us around here, though it's always cool to see someone like Shouse get ink outside of our little blogosphere. Beyond stranding all those runners, Shouse is just a really good pitcher, as Jacob pointed out in the comments to this FanPost last week.

Here's a blog I didn't know about until yesterday: D-Backs on Deck. It's written by A.J. Hinch, the former MLB catcher, who is now Director of Player Development for the Diamondbacks. I don't expect to get any big scoops straight from the horse's mouth on this one, but details on the inner workings of front offices are always welcome. Unlike a lot of MLBlogs, this one reads like Hinch actually wants to write it.

That'll do it for this morning. Game time: 12:10 CT.

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Sheets

I would say that we learned he was already hurt. I wonder if it was during the NY game or came on afterwards. Also whether it is related to throwing his change up.

by ol Pete on Apr 19, 2008 9:13 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

As to the idea that the change up might be the source of the problem, here is a biomechanical study abstract (suggesting no):

Results: At the shoulder, internal rotation torque, horizontal adduction torque, abduction torque, and proximal force were significantly less in the change-up than in the other 3 pitches. Shoulder horizontal adduction torque was greater in the fastball than in the curveball and slider. Shoulder proximal force was greater in the slider than in the curveball. Elbow proximal force was less in the change-up than in the other 3 pitches. Elbow varus torque was greater in the fastball and curveball than in the change-up. Elbow flexion torque was greater in the curveball than in the change-up. The curveball and change-up demonstrated kinematic differences from the fastball, consistent with previous studies.

by ol Pete on Apr 19, 2008 10:39 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

soreness came on day after game in NY

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=280418117

by ol Pete on Apr 19, 2008 11:06 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Disabled List Informer

From Disabled List Informer

The prolific injury history of Ben Sheets rolls on! Tonight, Sheets had to leave the game in the 5th inning with what was termed, “triceps tightness.” Given his history of DL stints – and the logjam of starting pitchers that the Brewers have at their disposal – it seems that even a minor injury would be enough to sideline their ace for a couple of weeks.

Sheets will likely be evaluated and an MRI should be taken shortly. While this could simply be a strain of the triceps, it would not surprise me at all if this was a rotator cuff issue instead. The reason being, the triceps crosses part of the rotator cuff in the posterior aspect of the shoulder in what is called the “Quadrangular Space.”

The inner (long head) aspect of the triceps actually crosses over one of the rotator cuff muscles (teres major), and passes underneath another rotator cuff muscle – the teres minor. In between this intersection lies the axillary nerve, which, when compressed, can offer symptoms mimicking “stiffness” or “numbness” in the area of the triceps and posterior-lateral shoulder.

In my clinical experience, I have seen very few baseball pitchers present with a pure, isolated “triceps strain” – rather, there is almost always an involvement of these rotator cuff muscles. A strained triceps certainly sounds better to the press than does a rotator cuff injury!

If a DL stint is required, expect it to last the minimum 2 weeks, followed by a rehab start or two.

by grant76 on Apr 19, 2008 9:45 AM CDT reply actions 1 recs

No edit option?

I meant to italicize the whole article, but somehow only italicized the first paragraph. I should have blockquoted it.

by grant76 on Apr 19, 2008 9:50 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

That's very interesting

And worrisome.

He's extremely quick and good.

by battlekow on Apr 19, 2008 1:02 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I believe the Longoria contract options

only cover his first two FA years…wasn’t he purposely held in AAA by the Rays at the start of the season so he would have less than a full year of service time after 2008? That would give them six more pre-FA years after this one.

by Zeyes on Apr 19, 2008 12:21 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

doesn't matter now

now that they’ve got cost certainty through 9 years, they won’t send him back down. He would have had to been held back until at least May 15th or (as long as Braun was held back last year) to push the arb clock back a year.

Also, cheese.

by Jeff Sackmann on Apr 19, 2008 12:48 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

no, not the arb clock

his FA clock…I think he’ll end up with 5y 170d or something like that at the end of the 2013 season, so even without being optioned down at some later point they would have had him for nearly 7 years (i.e. through 2014). Of course, signing over two of your FA years instead of three is still pretty intriguing at this early stage.

by Zeyes on Apr 19, 2008 3:41 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

gotcha

yeah, I knew something didn’t really seem right about my initial response. so yes, only two FA years.

Also, cheese.

by Jeff Sackmann on Apr 19, 2008 10:40 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

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