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August 16, 2016While the Cleveland Indians were in the midst of sweeping the Los Angeles Angels over the weekend, the team—and fans—was dealt a batch of news that had grown to become more inevitable by the day: Michael Brantley, the team’s anchor in the middle of its lineup for much of the last three seasons, would be undergoing season-ending surgery having played in just 11 games this season. The man who could be counted on for clutch hitting, a bevy of outfield assists, and all-around clubhouse glue was not going to be a part of one of the best seasons of baseball since his very position was manned by Albert Belle.
The roller coaster ride that has been Brantley’s season has been well documented. Fan emotion has ranged from disappointment surrounding the initial news to excitement surrounding a potential return to WTF? when it was all said and done. In most instances, fans can chalk this up to bad luck with a bit of poor timing and wishful thinking. This, however, isn’t like most instances.
Below, we’ll retrace the steps, see exactly what went wrong, and how—if at all—any of this saga could have been avoided. Who’s to blame? But most importantly, what can be learned in hopes of ensuring that something of this magnitude does not repeat itself in the coming seasons?
The Injury
Date: September 22, 2015
Guilty Parties: Tom Hallion, Danny Salazar
It was an otherwise harmless, late-season game between two teams watching the Kansas City Royals pull away with the American League Central crown, at least until home plate umpire Tom Hallion called a 3-2 pitch from the hand of Danny Salazar ball four rather than strike three.
Here’s the pitch in question, denoted with an “8”:
Salazar was rightfully pissed as what may have been his best pitch of the at-bat led to Minnesota’s ninth hitter, Eduardo Escobar, getting first base. From there, the incensed righty would give up a run-scoring triple to Aaron Hicks and a run-scoring double to Brian Dozier, which would be enough for the Twins to win the game by the final score of 3-1. It would be the ball hit by Hicks, however, that would prove to have the ripple effect as it was the one that went off of Brantley’s glove while the left fielder was in full sprint as he came crashing to the ground. Said crash would force Brantley to leave the game with an injured shoulder.
Playing Injured
Dates: September 27 and 28, 2015
Guilty Parties: Michael Brantley, Cleveland Indians Training Staff
That a professional athlete wants to play through nagging injuries to help his team is to be commended. Brantley is the type of player who will gladly mistake pain for soreness while realizing that his skill set at 80 percent still gives the Indians a good chance at winning baseball games. When Brantley was initially injured, the Indians’ chances of making the playoffs (according to Baseball Prospectus) was hanging by a thread with an 8.8 percent chance of obtaining that second Wild Card spot. When Brantley returned to action on September 27, those chances eroded to 1.3 percent, falling a drastic 4.6 percent from the previous day and 6.4 percent from the previous week. On September 28, Brantley’s final game with the Indians in 2015, their chances of making the playoffs were all Mr. Blutarski—0.0. He went 0-for-4.
Even if Brantley were exhibiting signs of soreness or any physical tremors stemming from the dive on September 22, he had no reason to be on the field for the season’s final week. He was shut down for the year on September 30.
Delayed Surgery
Date: November 9, 2015
Guilty Parties: Brantley, Indians Training Staff
All was mum on the Brantley front (more on this later) until a press release hit inboxes stating that the left fielder was to undergo surgery to repair a torn labrum and miss five-to-six months. What was originally thought to just be “shoulder inflammation” that was treated with a cortisone shot, it was reported after the fact (again—more on this later) that Brantley underwent a two-week hitting regimen in hopes of feeling improvement. This did not take hold, and the player would then opt for surgery a full six weeks after the injury occurred.
Why the delay in the surgery? “Shoulders are tricky” we were told. Soft tissue injuries are typically given a few weeks to see if they will repair themselves, but it was not the case with the Tribe’s MVP candidate.1 Five months would place Brantley’s return at April 9 with May 9 being the top of said window. At Winter Meetings, ESPN’s Peter Gammons reported that it could be as late as August. The Indians front office denied those reports, but they did so with what is now a chilling quote.
“We know Michael’s personality,” said Antonetti. “We know he’s going to try and do more. But he understands the importance of letting the rehab process play out and no trying to expedite it.
“We’ll go as quickly as it makes sense, but not any faster.”
Brantley would attempt to come back much sooner, telling reporters on January 29 that he was “targeting Opening Day” for his return.
Spring Training
Dates: February 21-March 21, 2016
Guilty Parties: Brantley, Indians Training Staff, Indians Front Office, Terry Francona
Here is the final passage from the press release that served to announce Brantley’s initial surgery:
As a result of the surgery on his non-throwing shoulder, Brantley is not expected to be ready for game activities for five-to-six months. Indians head athletic trainer James Quinlan noted Brantley would not be able to swing a bat for four months. Rehab games at five months. MLB games at six months.
On March 2 (less than four months after his surgery), it was reported that Brantley could return sooner than expected. He was taking dry swings in late February and quickly progressed to hitting baseballs off of a tee.
“He’s kind of flown through this,” manager Terry Francona from Goodyear. “To his credit, he spent a ton of time in Cleveland, and instead of going home [to Florida], he came out here. So he’s given himself every chance possible to get better as quickly as possible, which we appreciate. He really understands how much we rely on him.”
While media members in attendance were not allowed to film or share footage of Brantley’s return to the diamond, an Opening Day return was “no longer out of the question.” In his first game back, Brantley hit a two-run home run and threw a base-runner out at the plate. Jubilation soon followed.
“If we knew going into (the season) that maybe he wasn’t quite ready to play a day game after a night game, having Michael for three out of four games as opposed to not having him,” Francona said about Brantley’s quick return. “We’ll take it.”
Activation from DL
Date: April 25, 2016
Guilty Parties: Brantley, Training Staff, Cleveland Indians Front Office
And take it they did. On April 25, Michael Brantley returned to the Indians’ active lineup in a corresponding move to Carlos Carrasco’s injured hamstring.
In 39 at-bats with the Indians, Brantley posted a .231/.279/.282 slash line, with zero home runs and two doubles. The outfielder opened his season with a 4-for-24 slump before a 4-for-5 game against the Detroit Tigers on May 5.
“I think we’ve tried to do it appropriately,” said Francona, referring to Brantley’s return. “I think the trainers feel like he’s in much better shape now than he was in Spring Training, which I think is [good]. … [When] he comes back, hopefully he can stay back and not have to mess with this.”
In the three games subsequent to his outing against Detroit he would go 1-for-10 and would never be seen again.
Placed on 15-day DL
Date: May 14, 2016
Guilty Parties: Brantley, Training Staff, Front Office, Francona
“I’m kind of kicking myself a little bit,” said Terry Francona when the news of Brantley’s return to the DL broke. “I think we might have gone a little too far, too much, too fast. I didn’t want to do that and I think we probably did… We just want to make sure he isn’t playing two, sitting two and not being the kind of hitter he can be. I don’t think that’s fair to him. We talked about it for a while. I don’t think he’s thrilled, but I think it makes sense.”
On May 15, WFNY published a Q&A with Crossover Symmetry founder Jim Moran who had the following to say about Brantley’s injury:
I would agree with the Indians timeframe in Michael Brantley’s case of a schedule of swinging the bat at 4 months, and playing in games in the 5-6 month range.
Most athletes return to sport in better shape than they were when injured. The core, legs spinal rotation and even mechanical flaws can be tended to at this time. Overall athleticism is addressed as long as the surgery is protected and not at risk for the whole body sports performance conditioning… Most times the non-throwing shoulder labral repair should go smoothly and timely. There is a three way partnership in every sports medicine rehab. The surgeon, the athlete and the rehab professional are all equally important and accountable for the ultimate results.
Brantley would be given an anti-inflammatory shot on May 17, with a biceps tendonitis diagnosis and a cortisone shot June 21.2 The outfielder would be moved to the 60-day Disabled List on July 3.
Minor-league Rehab Assignment
Dates: July 11-17, 2016
Guilty Parties: Brantley, Training Staff, Front Office
As Paul Hoynes’ lede said best, “Here we go again.”
The Indians’ thoughts, however, were much different.
“Sometimes you try to say things in a PC way, but we are excited,” said Francona of the multi-day rehabilitation plan. “When the diagnosis came back, it was a relief, but once he got that injection, all the work he had done (came to the forefront). He’s so strong right now that we felt he’d feel better fast.”
Brantley went 1-for-2 in his first rehab game Monday, July 11, and he said his shoulder felt fine Tuesday, July 12. “No concerns,” said the reports. Later that week, Brantley would take a swing and feel pain once again.
“We’re going off by how Michael is feeling,” said Chris Antonetti of the latest setback. “Michael was really encouraged, as he was working through this progression. Each step of the way, he was feeling healthy and strong. The other day, he just developed a little bit of soreness. We now need to hit the pause button and see what the next steps are.”
Antonetti would quickly steer the conversation toward Davis, Naquin and the rest of the Indians who had produced to a level that had the team sitting in legit contention for the first time in three seasons.
Yet Another Surgery
Date: July 22, 2016
Guilty Parties: Brantley, Training Staff, Front Office, Whomever Read the MRI
An MRI was performed on Brantley, reportedly revealing no structural damage. Following an outpatient scar tissue-removal procedure by Dr. Jason Glenn, it was widely reported that Brantley would resume baseball activities in roughly one week.
It’s easy to understand why the front office did not allocate much in the way of free agency resources over the course of the offseason and into the spring, and then once again heading into the non-waiver MLB Trade Deadline. In each instance, according to at least one individual—be it the player, any doctors, or team spokespeople—the left fielder was improving. He was on the right track and was always progressing toward the red zone only to have his shoulder fumble the snap on first-and-goal.
It’s also incredibly frustrating to look back at all the previous stops on this timeline and wonder how much different this one would have been had any of the others been handled differently.
“Unspecified” Season-ending Surgery
Date: August 15, 2016
Guilty Party: Brantley, Cleveland Indians Front Office
Tucked away on a weekend news cycle was the news everyone had assumed was coming. In the most Indians of fashions3 , a surgery that likely could have been avoided with additional care and time was released as “unspecified.” The surgery was going to be done in August to ensure that the team did not go through this same nightmare once again in 2017.
At last report, Brantley’s surgery (later confirmed as “bicep tenodesis”) took all of 40 minutes. His labrum was still intact and his shoulder joint looked good. Brantley is expected to be fully recovered in four months—well before the start of 2017 Spring Training—which, after this roller coaster, is the best news Indians fans could hope to hear.
But is the team planning on doing anything in lieu of this news coupled with Abraham Almonte’s inability to play in the postseason?
“Like you said, we’ve basically played the whole season without [Michael],” said Terry Francona. “We’ll just keep playing.”
Compete Lack of Criticism Throughout Entire Process
Date: September 27, 2015-August 15, 2016
Guilty Parties: Cleveland Indians beat reporters
A sizable portion of the local beat has served predominantly as an offshoot of the team’s Public Relations arm, so much so that any piece surrounding Brantley has been prefaced with “the team says” or “Terry Francona says,” as opposed to any sort of dive into how this situation could have been handled better. That the Indians are in first place and are controllers of their own destiny when it comes to their first AL Central Division title in what feels like an eternity has literally zero impact on how the Brantley situation should have been handled. That Twitter is littered with beat folks reprimanding others—fans, “bloggers”—who dare question the decisions made at any point is outright insane. That the only bad news to come out of Carnegie and Ontario this season (the PED suspension of Marlon Byrd) was broken by Cleveland Scene and not someone who is at Progressive Field on a daily basis speaks volumes.
When the Cleveland Cavaliers were entering the month of December as owners of a first-place record and the general belief that things—whatever they may be—were OK, no one in their right mind was saying that they should continue playing without guards Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert. That they were in first place had no bearing on the fact that they could, with the return of two key elements, actually be better. And at no point did anyone on the Cavaliers’ beat, locally or nationally, perpetually refute fans who dared criticize the Cavaliers for any missteps along the way, with or without Irving and/or Shumpert.
When the team fired David Blatt, their head coach, despite owning a first place record, there was criticism to be had on both sides. Should Blatt have been hired in the first place? Will Ty Lue make it any better? Was this all LeBron’s fault? At no point was “Well, they’re winning…” a strong enough narrative to support not making the change, just like the Indians winning not being a sheath of Teflon over an otherwise spectacular summer.4
The Indians are in the midst of a great season, one that’s been filled with plenty of surprises in the way of Tyler Naquin, Rajai Davis and a host of others. Jose Ramirez is playing out of his mind. Mike Napoli and Jason Kipnis are offensive juggernauts. Francisco Lindor has reached much-watch status in just his second year playing the game at the MLB level. Conversely, while I enjoy reading stories about Carlos Carrasco passing his United States citizenship test or watching videos of teammates carrying Jason Kipnis around a dugout after he hits a home run, reporting is a two-way street and even the best teams aren’t without warts. While investigative reporting may not have saved Michael Brantley’s season, it sure would have increased the level of accountability along his tumultuous timeline. At worst, it would have shown that the entire story is being told with intellectual honesty, and not simply what the team has wanted fans to hear.
- Rest would be not participating in baseball activities and Brantley was later reported to be participating in a hitting regimen. [↩]
- This is all eerily similar to Kyrie Irving’s initial bout of knee tendonitis from overcompensating for another injured area of his body in his foot. [↩]
- Don’t forget, this is the same team that sat on the news of Jason Kipnis’ shoulder injury last season by placing him at Designated Hitter. [↩]
- Talk about lazy narratives… [↩]
7 Comments
I blame Russell Branyan.
I’m going with either The Rain or Canada.
I thought during this Olympics we agreed to blame the Russian Federation?
Excellent point regarding the lack of coverage/criticism from the PD.
It’s FAR from just “the PD.” If anything, Paul has been the only one to come close to calling these guys out for their missteps.
I appreciate this article. I am loving the season, and the front office has done an incredible job of putting this team together and finding Napoli and Rajai Davis. But it doesn’t mean that there cant be legitimate criticism where mistakes were made. Such as the Brantley situation and the dumpster fire catcher situation.
Generally, reporting on the Tribe is one part press releases, one part conjecture, no parts investigation. The Tribe’s front office can’t (or at least shouldn’t) be the beat reporters’ only source.