Thursday, July 7, 2016

Matts to the Mattresses

Matt Harvey does indeed suffer from thoracic outlet syndrome* and is mulling season ending surgery:

The Mets pitcher is considering surgery on his shoulder to deal with symptoms consistent with thoracic outlet syndrome, which would mean he’s done for 2016, GM Sandy Alderson said on Thursday.

The problem causes discomfort due to pressure on blood vessels and nerves. Harvey’s other option is a nerve-blocking injection, Alderson said, but surgery at some point is inevitable.

Two things come to mind. Pitching is still a crap shoot. In 2013, Matt Harvey looked like the next coming of Tom Seaver. Now, at seasonal age 27, he will probably undergo the second major surgery of his career. This also reminds us that when a player is not performing up to snuff, it’s a good chance he is suffering from an injury or illness. That why I would not be surprised to find out that Bryce Harper and Andrew McCutchen were a bit hurt right now.

The other major injury happened to Matt Carpenter Wednesday night:

The team’s best player, Matt Carpenter, left Wednesday night’s game with a strained right oblique muscle. Carpenter’s side-grabbing reaction — and his late-night date with an MRI machine — told a pretty grim tale.

The Cardinals were offering few insights into the severity of the injury, but a similar issue cost Carpenter a month four seasons ago, and this one could be more serious.

“I’ve felt that injury. I’ve seen it. It can be tough,” manager Mike Matheny said.

Indeed, Carpenter went on the disabled list today. Oblique injuries can take a lot of time to heal, and they need to heal completely. That muscle is used in all aspects of the game. For the Cardinals, this injury is on a par with the Dodgers losing Clayton Kershaw. Everyone else in the lineup will need to step up. So far, so good, as St. Louis beat Pittsburgh 5-1 Thursday afternoon.



from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/29AiIN1

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