Now that the Milwaukee Brewers have officially completed their 2009 season, news of more and more players with minor injuries continue to come to light.
Casey McGehee will undergo surgery this afternoon to clean out some "loose bodies" from his right knee. The potential NL Rookie of the Year has been playing through the pain since the All-Star Break, but the knee problems significantly lessened his range at third and his speed on the basepaths. With a .301 average and 16 home runs, it did not seem to affect him much at the plate.
The surgery is a minor procedure with no ill effects lingering into the 2010 season. McGehee should return with no pain in his knee whatsoever.
Braden Looper is scheduled to have surgery next week to fix some torn meniscus in his right knee.
"I tried the best I can to get the ball down because that's my whole game," Looper said Saturday. "I don't know [if the knee played a part in pitches staying up]. I know I haven't been as consistent this year. That's the thing that upsets me, I hope that [the knee] didn't cause that."
With 39 home runs and 113 earned runs surrendered throughout the season, it is unlikely that the knee caused that type of production. The numbers are not consistent with his career norms. If the knee would have been an issue during the season, you can be sure Ken Macha would have sat Looper for a start or two.
To blame a terrible season on a knee problem (or to hint that a bum knee caused it) is a huge cop-out. If it were actually a problem, he should have sat out a couple weeks in May and addressed the issue.
Craig Counsell has been battling a similar injury to that of Braden Looper, but Brewers fans heard about Counsell's knee troubles during Spring Training.
The utility fielder opted for rehabilitation rather than surgery and played through the pain throughout the season. It lead to a .285/.357/.408 season, which marked his best production since 2000 at the plate. Counsell changed his mind about the surgery, however, and is scheduled in the next week to undergo a minor operation to clean out his knee.
Counsell is an impending free agent, but it is almost a foregone conclusion that Milwaukee will make every attempt to resign the 39-year old Counsell during the offseason.
Manny Parra is a new name to add to the injury report, as he is scheduled for surgery today to "clean up his AC joint" in his left shoulder.
Before panicking too much and reminiscing over past shoulder issues, Gord Ash says the issue is minor and not related to his previous injuries in the minor leagues. The shoulder discomfort is also not thought to have contributed to his 6.36 ERA in 2009. His velocity was there. It was simply the lack of command that led to a 5.0 BB/9 walk rate and a general frustration throughout the Brewers fanbase.
Corey Hart was thought to have broken his ring and pinkie fingers after sliding into Todd Helton's foot during the final week of the regular season, but it has recently been determined that Hart only severely sprained his two digits.
He will not require surgery, and a rehabilitation program should return him to full health in short order.
Mark DiFelice continues to struggle with inflammation in his right shoulder, an injury that has kept him from game action since September 13th.
The cutter specialist recently sought out a second opinion to determine if surgery was required, but a specialist in Colorado confirmed Dr. Raasch's original diagnosis that rest and rehabilitation should eventually cure the issue.
The real issue is whether or not DiFelice's shoulder can every truly heal due to his severe slinging motion in his pitching delivery. During the second half of the season (when elbow and shoulder issues began to crop up), the right-hander posted a 7.27 ERA and a .333 opponent batting average. I am hesitant to even assure the fact that DiFelice will return in 2010. That is not a guarantee, due to his shoulder injury.
Rickie Weeks had been participating in defensive drills throughout the last couple weeks of the regular season, but his torn tendon sheath in his left wrist was still not strong enough to take swings against live pitching.
The 27-year-old seemingly had turned a corner in 2009, sprinting out to a .272/.340/.517 slash line through the first two months of the season. Those numbers included nine home runs, a .245 ISO, and a +4.7 UZR at second base.
Rickie will look to continue that success in 2010, despite rumors that Milwaukee could try the young man in center field to replace Mike Cameron. He has already made his dislike of the idea well-known to the Brewers brass.
Mike Burns has the worst injury of the bunch.
An MRI revealed that Burns has damage to his labrum in his right shoulder. That probably signifies rather significant surgery and a lengthy rehabilitation process.
The 30-year old journeyman was going to have a difficult time making the Brewers 25-man roster out of Spring Training, especially due to his 5.75 ERA in 51.2 innings with the big league club. This injury and the uncertainty surrounding it makes it even more unlikely that Milwaukee keeps the right-hander on their 40-man roster heading into 2010.
Ryan Braun has dealt with intercostal issues throughout the past two seasons, but that issue seems to have died down during the second half of the 2009 season.
Instead, Braun missed some time down the stretch due to an injured shoulder. The injury appears to be extremely minor and could actually be completely healed at this point, but Braun's injuries tend to linger for a long, long time.
The offseason should help alleviate any aches and pains the Brewers superstar is currently dealing with. He should be set to come into Spring Training next February and mash from the get-go.
Dave Bush had a 4.38 ERA heading into a June 4th game against the Florida Marlins.
It was in that contest that Bush took a line drive off his right triceps muscle off the bat of Hanley Ramirez. From that point on, Dave Bush was not the same pitcher he was prior to the injury. He dealt with microtears in his triceps muscle, which contributed to the severe arm fatigue he suffered through in August and September.
As noted previously, prior to the injury, Bush had a 4.38 ERA and almost threw a no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies. Following the injury, Bush ended the season with a 6.38 ERA.
David Riske has one season left on his $13M contract, but is likely to miss the beginning to 2010 due to Tommy John surgery on his right elbow.
The right-hander only made one appearance for the Crew in 2009. He surrendered four hits and two runs in one inning of work.
That followed a 5.31 ERA in 2008, so needless to say, Doug Melvin and his crew may have made a bit of an error in judgment handing out a three-year, $13M deal to Riske. Overpaying on long-term contracts severely hurt small-market teams. They hurt even more when those contracts are for middle relievers who can be had for much, much cheaper.
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