In the general injury material for this week, I have found a couple interesting articles.

Kyle Boddy’s piece at the Hardball Times where he looks at how different injured pitchers at different levels were handled by their coaches.

Second, Bill Petti examined claims by Bill James about groundball pitchers. Bill James claims groundball pitchers are more injury prone while Bill found the exact opposite.

Recent injury data

 • Roy Halladay is not close to the same pitcher we have seen in the past. He got only 7 of 18 minor league batters out in his last start. He hasn’t been able to put together one good start this season, but according to him, nothing is wrong besides a stomach virus. The virus caused him to lose 10 pounds in 2 days. No one should expect to be 100% after losing 10 pounds quickly.

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I will probably drop the fastball speeds from the report, but may make some notes of pitchers facing lingering velocity issues.

For some outstanding reading on the current state pitcher injury prevention, here is an article by Will Leitch of the New York Magazine.

Recent injury data

 • Derek Jeter may not be ready for opening day because of ankle pain. I figured he would play through the pain, so it must be pretty bad. I expect him to struggle until 100% healthy. Eduardo Nunez is the increase playing time beneficiary.

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I have not had time to go through all the fastball speeds and won’t until I get back from Arizona. Just player and DL updates today and hopefully I can get a full report out later in the week.

Recent injury data

 • Mark Teixeira could need season ending wrist surgery with the best case scenario seeing him ready after May. I would not plan on any production from him this season and draft/bid accordingly.

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Here are a couple of good articles related to injuries. The first is by Doug Thorburn at Baseball Prospectus where he looks at mechanics, injuries and velocity loss. The second article examines how the White Sox have been able to keep a healthy pitching staff over the years.

Recent injury data

 • Zack Greinke is experiencing some elbow issues and is headed to L.A. for some tests. No reason to draft or pay full value for him until his status has cleared up.

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Bleacher Report’s Will Carroll has released a detailed Health Report for every major league team. Read away.

Recent injury data

 • Mark Teixeira is out 8-10 weeks with a strained wrist with Dan Johnson taking over at 1B.

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I have been working my way through Dr. James Andrew’s book, Any Given Monday. Here are his top seven myths surrounding sports medicine.

#1: Tommy John surgery will improve pitching performance.

A few quotes on this subject

I cannot be clearer about this: There is nothing that sports medicine can do for a throwing arm that is better than how the good Lord created it. There is no surgery that enhances performance. It simply doesn’t exist. If the body entered this world whole and healthy, you can never repair something in the body to make it better than its original condition. It’s just not possible. Cutting something always makes it weaker. I cannot stress this enough: A healthy pitching arm will always be more stable and more capable than one that has been operated on.

On pitchers come back throwing better

Yes it is true that many pitchers do see an upswing in their pitching speeds after undergoing the surgery….Pitching improves because of the type of reconditioning and physical therapy that the athlete undergoes as he heals from the procedure.

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I was going to put out a little more information from Dr. James Andrew’s book, Any Given Sunday, but instead I found a nice interview with him. He mentions four main points young pitchers should follow:

Here is his response when asked, “What advice would you give pitchers, in general?”

1. Use proper mechanics. The No. 1 problem in any specific sport is improper mechanics.
2. Don’t play year-round.
3. Avoid the radar gun at a young age. Don’t try to overthrow. A lot of kids are 13 years old and checking the radar gun. That’s going to get you in trouble. The radar gun makes you want to throw harder than you are capable of throwing.
4. Be very careful with showcases. I call them “show-off” cases because kids go there Saturday after throwing the football on Friday. They jump on a mound and overthrow because scouts are there. The next thing you know, the shoulder or elbow gets injured.

Recent Injury Data

 • Phil Hughes may start the season on the DL because of a bulging disk in his back.

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