NEO High School Football Playoff Week 1: Holy Name and Nordonia win in upsets
November 9, 2015Qualifying offers and a Cleveland Indians free agency primer
November 9, 2015Surprise! The Cleveland Indians announced on Monday that outfielder and MVP candidate Michael Brantley had arthroscopic right shoulder surgery performed by Dr. Craig Morgan on Monday in Wilmington, DE. 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. Such a timetable means Brantley will likely have the start of his 2016 season with the Indians delayed, and he could potentially miss the entire month of April.
Update: MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian reports James Quinlan, the head athletic trainer for the Indians, noted there was a small labral tear in Brantley’s shoulder. Also, the hope is Brantley could return to MLB action by the six month date. As with anything being designated with the word hope, it is likely a best-case or aggressive timeline meaning the Indians and their fans need to be prepared for the issue lingering further into the season.
Brantley reportedly injured the shoulder on September 22 in Minnesota against the Twins when he made an attempted diving catch. Brantley did return to play two more games in left field later in the season going 0-for-6 with two walks, but it appears those starts were not advisable.
Of course, Indians fans might remember the genesis of Brantley’s injury was an inning being extended by one of the more horrific calls of the season. Here is the description of the pitch from the Ball Played recap of the September 22 game.
The pitch that changed the
seasongame:1Oh, the silent majesty of a September night… The clean, cool chill against the backdrop of a baseball game… An umpire with his chest protector, emptying a chemical toilet upon the game.
Here’s the deal. Danny Salazar was cruising. Twenty-two pitches in and the first eight Twin batters had gone directly back to the bench. Eduardo Escobar had managed to make his at bat a bit more difficult, but Salazar fooled him on the eighth pitch for what was obviously strike three. Except, a flute without holes is not a flute, and an obvious strike erroneously called a ball gave Escobar first base.
Aaron Hicks drove the ball deep into left-center field whereupon Michael Brantley made the ill-fated diving attempt in the very next at bat. One bad call, potentially negatively affecting two Cleveland Indians seasons.
So, if you want to walk up to the home plate umpire, look him straight in the eye and tell him what a blind, lying, no-good, rotten, four-flushing, low-life, snake-licking, dirt-eating, inbred, overstuffed, ignorant, blood-sucking, dog-kissing, brainless, hopeless, heartless, fat-ass, bug-eyed, stiff-legged, spotty-lipped, worm-headed sack of monkey dung he is? Well, Hallelujah!
- Well, now it is changing two seasons. [↩]
4 Comments
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So much for a fast-start out of the gate next season…
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Hey! HEY!!! Stop it. We just started applying Cavs salve to our gaping sports wound so get out … NOW!
You can bring this up in your little Tribe season prediction roundtable. See ya when the spring allergies are kicking in.
It’s the hot stove season. We need to fire up the wood burner in order to keep warm over the winter. Otherwise, we might get frostbite.
Plus, I’m not watching the Cavs and the Browns…well…