The DL on the DL: March 18th
- Huston Street will be starting the year on the DL, which isn’t a good sign for those of you who decided to select him as a keeper. He had problems with tightness in his shoulder over the past month, and had an MRI done yesterday. Street hasn’t had shoulder problems in the past, so this isn’t too much of a concern. Still, a closer with arm troubles is hard to judge, because missing a few weeks could mean losing their job. I doubt Street will lose his gig, but keep an eye on him.
- The big ball of power known as Mat Gamel has had a hard time recovering from a sore shoulder. Gamel entered spring hoping to win the third base job, but now I’d bet that Casey McGehee will start the year with the job. McGehee may not hit .300 again, but 15 homers and a .275 average are reasonable expectations. McGehee is eligible at second and third base, and is currently the 210th player off the board according to Mock Draft Central.
- A’s closer Andrew Bailey is going to sit out for a couple days due to elbow soreness. Bailey’s rookie campaign was helped by a .234 BABIP against, but his strong strikeout and walk numbers should translate over to 2010.
- Dustin McGowan pitched two innings in a simulated game this week, and the Jays still don’t have a timetable for his return. McGowan had a good 2007 and a decent 2008, but since his progress has been slow he is no longer draftable even in the deepest of leagues with a DL spot.
- Placido Polanco suffered a sprained right knee earlier in the week, and he hopes to return to action tomorrow.
- Rick Ankiel‘s ankle is starting to become a legitimate concern for the Royals, and he isn’t likely to play until Sunday, at the earliest.
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Any updates on Matt Holliday? My draft is on Monday, and there’s a good chance I’ll be able to choose between him, Carl Crawford, Ryan Howard, or David Wright in the first round, so I’m really curious about Holliday’s injury. (I have the sixth pick in the draft, but Pujols, Hanley, Lincecum, Teixeira, Braun, Kemp, Mauer, and Longoria are keepers and not available.)
Utley will go first, Pujols is kept as the second pick in the draft (we keep players in the round they were drafted in the previous year), and I assume Cabrera and Fielder will go three and four. I’m not sure who’ll go fifth, but I’m likely left choosing between the three left out of Crawford, Holliday, Howard and Wright once the guy with the fifth pick chooses one of these guys.
If you guys have any opinions on who the best choice would be, I’d be happy to hear them. My three keepers are Braun (2nd round), Kinsler (8th round carried over from 2008), and Mark Reynolds (16th round).Thanks!
Holliday would be a solid choice. You already have two batting avg risks (Kinsler, Reynolds) and taking on a third (Howard) is likely unwise. With the depth at 1B, I’d shore up yr OF before committing to more IFs.
HardballTalk had a Matt Holliday update this morning (http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/03/matt-holliday-still-sidelined-by-strained-rib-cage.html.php)
Of the four guys you mentioned, I’d pick Crawford. Although, David Wright is a close second, and you really can’t go wrong with any of those guys.
Thanks for the link and your opinion on the pick. It’s so weird how an injury can become trendy such as oblique and hip injuries have the last couple of years.
I should’ve also mentioned that we use the fairly normal 1B, 3B, CI, so the nice thing is that by already having Reynolds, I can pick two 1Bs, two 3Bs, or one of each to fill the remaining two spots since he’s eligible at both positions.
As a 24-year-old man with arthritic hips, I can tell you that a reason those hip injuries (groins too) are getting mentioned more is because they’re developing surgical solutions. A-Rod and I have basically the same problem, though he has it because he can rotate his body around his hips with about as much force as anyone in history, and I have it for less amazing reasons.
When I play sports, I almost never have any problem once I’m warmed up, but the next day I can barely move my right leg. I limped through half my senior year in high school, but I also started every single game in goal for our (rather terrible) hockey team, and played half the season as a forward on JV as well. So I’m sure in years past these guys have just toughed it out as best they can during the season (staying loose might pose more of a problem in baseball than the sports I’m more familiar with), but now they’re pursuing the surgical options as they become available. However, the surgery can maybe increase the likelihood of worse pain later, or even push up the inevitable date of full joint replacement. But if someone were going to pay me millions of dollars to play sports, it’d probably get the surgery too.
Caveat: I am very much not a doctor.
That really sucks you have to deal with that at such a young age. That is a good point that it’s probably more that it’s being dealt with (i.e., operated on) as opposed to the injury happening more…