A tale of two Shoulders, how Carlos Martinez and Luis Severino differ for 2019.

Let’s begin with Carlos Martinez.  In ’18 he missed time in June due to an oblique injury. After returning, he left a game vs. Colorado on July 30th with a shoulder strain. Martinez returned just three weeks later in a relief role. He excelled as a closer the rest of the season. This season took a negative turn in February when the shoulder started acting up again. Instead of a traditional cortisone shot Martinez received A PRP (platelet-rich plasma) injection a few weeks ago.

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A few sidelined Seattle Marines may not return as most expect. Here’s the inside information to factor in on draft day.

Mallex Smith

Despite an elbow injury that has kept Mallex Smith out for the entire spring, not many people seem to be worried. Well, I for one, am quite concerned. Mallex Smith was approved to begin throwing on March 8th. Throwing programs for outfielders entail ramping up in throwing distance & volume. Read the rest of this entry »

Injuries of the Leading Shoulder in Power Hitters

When a hitter is in the batting stance, their leading shoulder is more responsible for power production than the trailing shoulder. For a right-handed hitters the leader shoulder is the left shoulder and it is just the opposite for left-handed batters. An injury to either shoulder will affect a hitter, but an injury to the leading shoulder is far impactful. The leading shoulder deals with a tremendous amount of force at two points during the swing. First, when the hitter accelerates the arm forward and extends their elbow. Second, during the follow through the front shoulder has to decelerate the arm and bat. An injury would cause pain at both points. The body is very good at protecting itself subconsciously from pain. Despite a player’s best efforts, the body will decrease the amount of force produced to avoid pain. Read the rest of this entry »

The Back Problem

Full disclosure, I am a huge Los Angeles Dodgers homer, so it pains me to write this article, but it has to be done. Clayton Kershaw won’t be a top 25 starting pitcher in 2019, despite his tenacity, drive, and historical value. Whether people realize it or not, he was not a top 20 pitcher in 2018. Kershaw’s well-known diagnosis of herniated discs that he’s battled for several years and a physiologic phenomenon known as pain inhibition will limit his innings and his production. Here is the simple version.

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2018 Knee Problems

Before a diagnosis was divulged, I watched Jose Altuve slide into second-base and come up a little gimpy in the playoffs warning bells were going in my head. He missed 3 weeks from late July to mid-August, and as I sorted through the possibilities of what could be wrong, I grew more and more pessimistic. Read the rest of this entry »