MASH Report (3/4/13)

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.

#2: Certain other orthopedic surgeries will actually increase overall joint capabilities and, ultimately, performance.

See Myth 1

#3: There is sufficient medical oversight in scholastic athletic leagues.

#4: No pain, no gain.

To put it bluntly, no child or teen should ever play with pain. Period. If the body is alerting the brain that something is wrong, the brain should listen. Parents, coaches, and players all need to remember that nothing is more important than the the athlete’s health.

#5: The earlier a child begins a sport and the more he or she practices, the better the chances are for a scholarship or professional career.

While I am certainly an advocate of organized sports, this level [four to five hours a day] of intensity at such a young age is neither healthy or beneficial to the child’s overall health and long-term career prospects….Variance in motion is far more beneficial to a child than concentrated and repetitive instruction at a young age.

#6: Fast-pitch softball, with its windmill delivery, can’t produce injuries to the thrower’s shoulder or elbow.

Pitching limits matter in softball as much as they do in baseball.

#7: The sooner the problem can be diagnosed, the sooner the athlete can return to the game.

Sometimes the problem faced by young athletes is not an injury at all — it’s burnout … They recognize that their parents or coaches or siblings might not react well to the news that they don’t want a future in the sport, so they read up on injuries that would force them to take some time off. They know the causes, they know the symptoms, they know the right complaint to get them out of the starting lineup and into the doctor’s office – anything for a break. And I don’t blame them.

Recent injury data

 • Chris Perez has a strained right shoulder. He is off for 7-10 days and will likely not be ready for the start of the season.

 • Martin Perez is out with a broken forearm and won’t begin throwing for 4 weeks. He will likely return, at the earliest, in early May.

 • Matt Garza will start the season on the DL and says he will be ready by April. This injury has been full of the return date getting pushed back and back. I would not be surprised if it gets pushed back again.

 • Carl Crawford is unlikely to be ready for opening day according to Dodgers manager, Don Mattingly. Replacement pool contains Hairston, Castellanos and Schumaker.

 • Looks like Johan Santana will not be ready by opening day. Like Garza, Don’t expect it to be the last time his date is pushed back.

 • Frank Francisco, elbow inflammation, will likely not be the Mets closer on opening day. Bobby Parnell will likely get the closer role and can keep it if he is effective stated Terry Collins.

 • Ryan Zimmerman is making progress after shoulder surgery.

 • David Ortiz is still having problems with his Achilles tendon. He easily may not be ready for opening day with more information to be coming out within the next few days.

 • Christian Garcia may miss opening day because of a partially torn tendon. He was vying for 5th starter position with the Nationals. Garcia’s career has been full of injuries including two TJ surgeries.

Here is some great medical lingo from the article

The Nationals had been calling Garcia’s ailment a “strain,” and the partial-tear diagnosis is only a more specific label — all strains are small tears.

 • Chad Billingsley’s fastball speed is at 2012 levels (91.6 mph on Saturday). He is trying to pitch with a torn UCL.

 • Russell Martin is dealing with a sore right shoulder.

 • Franklin Gutierrez is feeling healthy after being on the DL four times during the last 2 seasons.

Player Return Timetables

* Player is officially on the 15-day disabled list
** Player is officially on the 60-day disabled list

Pitchers with Velocity Drops

For reference, fastball speeds stabilize quickly and spring training values are on average 0.6 mph slower than the regular season.

Players Returning From Injury

No information yet.

Players Playing Through Injuries

Here is the list of players who should exceed their power projections for 2013:

Ryan Zimmerman, Ryan Howard, Cameron Maybin, Trevor Plouffe, Justin Upton, Paul Konerko, Dustin Pedroia, Luke Scott, Matt Kemp, Joey Votto, Mike Moustakas, Pablo Sandoval, Carl Crawford, Giancarlo Stanton, Jacoby Ellsbury, Evan Longoria, and Troy Tulowitzki. New additions: Dustin Ackley, Matt LaPorta and Howie Kendrick