Under the Knife

The World Series is going to be tight. Both the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals are talented but flawed teams. They match up well at nearly every position, which means things like execution and fundamentals could be key.

In Game 2, one play appeared more Little League than major league, allowing a couple of runs that could have been the difference in the game.

Jason Kendall. Ruben Mateo. Cliff Floyd. These are not names that Manny Machado wanted to be mentioned with.

Machado, the Orioles' phenom, is more used to being in the conversation with Bryce Harper and Mike Trout, but a gruesome leg injury Monday in Tampa had many wondering if there's a chance he'll be mentioned with the former much more than the latter now.

After several weeks of rest and rehab, Matt Harvey and the Mets announced on Tuesday that he will not have Tommy John surgery yet, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.

Is it fair to do a biomechanical pitching analysis of first-pitch hurler Carly Rae Jepsen?

Under The Knife has always been about more than just listing the injuries around baseball. Sure, the focus is explaining the injury status of players like Albert Pujols, Derek Jeter and Ryan Howard, among others. But, it's also been about updating the injury status of MLB in general and taking opportunities to find ways to reduce or prevent injuries. 

As you look at the next 10 slides, think about how much value each of these players have to their respective teams. Not just salary, but value. Even just the names tell you a lot—Bryce Harper, Alex Rodriguez, Jose Reyes and more. Teams can overcome injuries, but they cannot replace value in most cases and if you add in the value of time lost, it's pretty clear that teams need to be doing more. 

About a decade ago, I got a text from Peter Gammons. "When did baseball players start having obliques?" Peter knew that players had always had the muscle, but it did seem that we were suddenly seeing more of them injured about that time. This year, it seems to be rib injuries that are the hot new thing in training rooms around the league.

But why?

Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper were drafted not so long ago, but the health questions they face now were also brought up at that draft. People seem to be putting more importance on the draft since players do seem to be coming up more quickly. There are five already in the big leagues from last year's draft.

That makes assessing future health as much a key as assessing any other skill—and yes, health is a skill. 

One of the greats has passed. Dr.

Injuries have continued to plague some of the biggest names in baseball. With David Price the latest Cy Young contender to come up with a sore arm, Bryce Harper bouncing his head off an unprotected section of fencing and Ryan Howard limping again, we can only wonder about the hours that the medical staff is putting in.