I Have a BooBoo!!

[crokett]

I'm sure there is a reason for this that I don't know, but a MLB player is on the DL for a broken nail on his finger:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200....ap/index.html

I don't get it. What's next? A guy skins his knee sliding into second so they bench him?

[Bigbit]

Any other position but pitcher, I would see your point. But with a fingernail that he pulled clean off, missing from a finger on his pitching hand, I can see why they put him on the DL. And it gives them a temporary roster spot so they can bring someone up from the minors and get some use from that roster spot while he recovers.

[dkerfoot]

Remember that game where Brett Favre had his thumb pulled clean off but he picked it up, brushed the dirt off and taped it back on without leaving the field? Of course, he did throw a couple of interceptions after that...

[germdoc]

I wonder if Segovia ever cancelled a concert because he broke a nail...

[Schleeper]

Any other position but pitcher, I would see your point. But with a fingernail that he pulled clean off, missing from a finger on his pitching hand, I can see why they put him on the DL. And it gives them a temporary roster spot so they can bring someone up from the minors and get some use from that roster spot while he recovers.

Absolutely correct. Combine that with the fact that you've got a young man with the potential to be a fixture on that pitching staff for many years, and you can understand why they might treat him with kid gloves. Left to his own devices, that little bit of discomfort would cause him to avoid throwing certain pitches, or make slight changes in his throwing motion. At best, that would reduce his effectiveness and hurt the team's performance. At worst, by trying to compensate he could develop some bad habits, or suffer a far more serious injury to his arm. It just isn't worth the risk.

Look at this from a batter's perspective. Here's a kid that throws that missile at 94 miles an hour. Wouldn't you prefer that he have some control over where it's going?

[Mrs. Wallnut]

Remember that game where Brett Favre had his thumb pulled clean off but he picked it up, brushed the dirt off and taped it back on without leaving the field? Of course, he did throw a couple of interceptions after that...

This sounds like something that ACTUALLY happened a few years ago IIRC, at the National Finals Rodeo. One of the team ropers got his thumb stuck in the rope as he stopped his horse and they pulled the ropes tight and it actually popped his thumb off. He knew he had hurt his finger and then when he got to the back he noticed it wasn't there. So off to the hospital he goes and then they go out and start looking in the dirt for his thumb. Held up the rodeo for a while. I don't remember if he came back in the ten days of the finals but he was back the next year.

[Richard in Smithville]

David has a point though. A lot of these guys can be real cry babies when it comes to getting hurt. I think they should come to work with me one day. I have lost track of the amount of times that I have come home and had LOML ask, "How did you do that"? I usually respond, " I dunno".

But seriously, I remember seeing Bill Elliot( Nascar ) hit the wall during a race. A crew member came running over with crutches because he already had his leg in a cast!

[crokett]

Schleeper, I understand the argument for benching him, but it just sounds silly that a guy getting paid that much would be benched for that. I've lost a fingernail and I know how painful it is but I still managed to suck it up and type my way through the day.

[Bigbit]

He isn't being paid that much (by MLB standards). He is a rookie, so is making MLB minimum. Probably about $400k/Year. I know that most of us would jump at that level of compensation, but he isn't being paid like A-Rod.

Pitchers routinely go on the DL for blisters, even. And much higher paid ones than Buchholtz!

[Schleeper]

Schleeper, I understand the argument for benching him, but it just sounds silly that a guy getting paid that much would be benched for that. I've lost a fingernail and I know how painful it is but I still managed to suck it up and type my way through the day.

The mistake you're making, is in trying to relate this to what happens in your world and mine. That's like comparing apples to toilet seats. If you start off by reminding yourself that he's being paid to play a game, you won't make that same mistake again.

Try to imagine the amount of force that must be applied to the end of a person's fingers, in order to propel a 5 oz. object 60-1/2 feet at nearly 100 miles an hour. You must go through a lot of keyboards, if your typing produces even a fraction of that!

Yes, he's getting paid while he's on the shelf. But the team has to pay him whether he's out of action for the next two weeks, or the rest of the year. The team has to take the long view. (BTW, this kid is one of the lowest paid players on the team. And you can bet it wasn't his idea to go on the disabled list.)

[Uncle Cracker]

A pitcher who alters the mechanics of his pitching motion to compensate for an injury or in expectation of pain can permanently damage himself, and even bring a premature end to his career. We are not talking about switching hands on your hammer here... It's not unlike parking a thoroughbred horse (or worse) with a seemingly minor affliction.

[Schleeper]

A pitcher who alters the mechanics of his pitching motion to compensate for an injury or in expectation of pain can permanently damage himself, and even bring a premature end to his career. We are not talking about switching hands on your hammer here... It's not unlike parking a thoroughbred horse (or worse) with a seemingly minor affliction.

I purposely avoided the race horse analogy, in light of recent events, but it really is the same situation. The kind of singular determination that's required in order for an athlete to perform at the highest levels in their respective sports, can quickly become their undoing.

[billwmeyer]

I can feel his pain, though the article said he thought he could pitch. I lost the nail from my big toe about a week ago. This time it isn't too tender, but the last time I did this, by dropping a torque converter on my toe in cold weather, I walked in shoes with the top of the shoe cut off over the toe for several weeks. I wasn't paid 400,000 a year though, or even 40,000.

Bill

[jonmulzer]

Remember that game where Brett Favre had his thumb pulled clean off but he picked it up, brushed the dirt off and taped it back on without leaving the field? Of course, he did throw a couple of interceptions after that...

If it had happened, it would have been because he was too hopped up on painkillers to know better. :-P

[gordons]

What's really needed is for all these overpaid players be made to watch an entire season of international rugby matches.

Virtually all injuries on the field are treated by pouring "magic" water over them. Taping of various forms proliferates to repair damages ranging from broken bones to torn ligaments. The only time a player is forced to leave the field for injury (other than death) is when he is bleeding. A few well placed stitches and some duct tape and he is back playing again. AND all this for a lot less than the aforementioned $400K!!!!

Now that's a real game.