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Atlanta Braves Morning Chop: Shoulders, Stadiums, Mudcats

By Alan Carpenter |
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Sep 8, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher

Mike Minor

(36) pitches during the second inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Washington Nationals defeated Atlanta Braves 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Shoulder Injuries Are Serious Business

FRED OWENS / TOMAHAWKTAKE.COM (March 8, 2015)

[ Editor’s note:  Staff Writer Fred Owens has written often about shoulder injuries.  The quoted portion below appeared just before Mike Minor was seeing Dr. James Andrews about the injury for which he had surgery yesterday.  Check out the link above for the full story… lots of interesting detail about why shoulders are actually more problematic than the dreaded Ulnar Collateral Ligament. ]
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More from Tomahawk Take

The worst thing about a should injury is that it isn’t an elbow.  While elbow injuries are the most dramatic and widely discussed, there is a repair with a high success rate. That’s not so with shoulder injuries.

Shoulder injury remains the most common recurring problem for pitchers. Fourteen months ago I wrote an in depth look at shoulder injuries and rather than recount the detail in that post I recommend that as background for this update. The multitude of things that can go wrong and how those thing affect the player make severity of such injuries harder to diagnose, take Jason Schmidt’s case for example.

You may remember that Schmidt was one of the most sought after free agent pitchers following the 2006 season. After moving to the Giants in 2002 he averaged 201 innings and 200 strikeouts a year while posting a 3.35 ERA (3.28 FIP) and a 127 ERA+ over five seasons. He signed with the Dodgers and made just six starts posting a 6.31 ERA; understandable when your fastball sits between 82 and 85.

According to an article for ESPN by Jerry Crasnick Schmidt was mystified. He told Crasnick, “I thought the radar gun was broken.” He wasn’t nearly as mystified as the doctors who according to Crasnick, “. . .were stunned that Schmidt could even reach home plate with his pitches.

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The movement of the shoulder is described (in the Crasnik piece and many others) as similar to taking a piece of hemp rope and pulling it back and forth across the corner of a table. Every movement causes the rope to fray and heat up. In the shoulder that’s inflammation of the rotator cuff or tendonitis.

Everyone’s rotator cuff frays, but pitchers – and quarterbacks, those who throw the javelin and others using the motion often – are likely to see the tendonitis recur and eventually see the cuff will tear.

Repetitive high stress movement may also cause damage to the labrum – stabilizing cartilage surrounding the shoulder socket and makes the shoulder joint loose. There are divergent opinions on whether it’s damage to the labrum or extra stress on the ligaments that cause loosening of the joint. Whatever its cause, the shoulder joint is never going to be tight again.

In other words, if your shoulder has become an issue it will always be an issue.  Exercise may mitigate it, your body may be able to adapt and allow you to continue in spite of it, but the shoulder will always be weaker.

Braves stadium spending at $131 million

TIM TUCKER / AJC.COM

The Braves have spent about $131 million on their new stadium in Cobb County, according to owner Liberty Media’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Of that amount, $110 million was borrowed by the Braves, the filing stated. The Braves intend to take on much more debt for the project.

The company’s report puts the cost of the stadium at $672 million. The privately funded mixed-use development — which includes partnernships with Omni Hotels and Comcast — is pegged in Liberty’s filing to cost the Braves and partners more than $450 million.

[Ed. note:  we had previously reported in these pages that the Braves have secured a $500 million line of credit in order to finance that stadium project – ‘front-loading’ the dollars to get the project moving and keep it on schedule while they await a bond issue from Cobb County for the remaining portion of the construction costs. Those bonds are expected to be issued later this year.  ]

Jun 17, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Astros second round draft pick

Andrew Thurman

waves to fans as president Reid Ryan looks on against the Chicago White Sox during the fifth inning at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Campbell-USA TODAY Sports

Carolina Mudcats Follow-up

Seems that the team is still not quite ready to lace ’em up after their team bus crashed on Tuesday, May 12.

Games against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans scheduled from the 12th through 14th were postponed.  Oddly enough, the schedule takes the Mudcats back home to Zebulon, NC (east of Raleigh) tonight to play those same Pelicans for 3 games this weekend.  As of right now, those games are still “on”, according to the team’s press release.

In moves that are likely directly related to the crash, the Mudcats announced several roster moves on Thursday:

UPDATE:  Later on Friday, the Mudcats made additional DL announcements and roster moves:

This new-look Carolina Mudcats team fell to Myrtle Beach, 7-3 on Friday night.  But they are playing baseball again.

No announcement was made about the extent of the injuries, though all had been treated and released from the hospital early Tuesday.  Regardless, this trio group represents a significant loss to the pitching staff, one that already had seen the loss of Steve Janas and his 0.56 ERA to the DL earlier this same week.

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