Strasburg Surgery

[shaunguth]

Could miss the entire 2011 season. Tough way to start a career.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/nationalsjournal/2010/08/stephen_strasburg_probably_nee.html

[houstontxbrave]

Could miss the entire 2011 season. Tough way to start a career.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/nat...bably_nee.html

Really is to bad, but it is a whole lot better to have it be an elbow then shoulder.

[Da Coach]

Interesting and tragic for Strasburg and the Nats.
Some people were critical of White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper last month when he said he thought Strasburg's jerky pitching motion would lead him to be more susceptable to injuries. Strasburg pitched against the White Sox, and Cooper made this observation-

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/more_sports/white_sox_pitching_coach_strasburg_VGtdBzYO4ruvngTMzC70cP

Though Cooper's observation was that his motion appeared to put excessive stress on his pitching shoulder, Strasburg now probably needs "Tommy John" elbow reconstruction.

Tommy John surgery uses a graft from a tendon taken from a different part of the body to rebuild and fortify a damaged Ulnar Collateral Ligament in the pitching elbow. It requires a year or more of grueling rehab, but the end result is that pitchers who undergo this surgery often recover well, and the elbow can actually be much stronger than a normal elbow.
Though not all pitchers who have had the surgery have had great success, it has about a 90% success rate, and there are a number of pitchers who have undergone this surgery who have pitched better and had more success after their recovery. It has actually lead to healthy pitching prospects requesting the procedure even when they don't need it!
This article also lists athletes who have had the procedure, and it's a lengthy list, including a number of non-pitchers, and even athletes in other sports like football and a couple javelin throwers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_John_surgery

[SFP]

I would have tabled Strasburg after his first injury. I'm not sure why he was even pitching again this year.

[tornado]

but wasn't his "first injury" and minor shoulder stiffness that recovered in a couple days?
Even if he sat out games, he's still pitching on most off-days..
He's their multimillion dollar baby -- they gotta let the kid pitch if he's cleared medically..

[BradleyBrave]

His story is eerily similar to Kerry Wood's. Ironically they had the same managers as rookies when their injuries occurred...

[Beninator]

His story is eerily similar to Kerry Wood's. Ironically they had the same managers as rookies when their injuries occurred...

And I think because of what happened to Kerry Wood, I think they limited Strasburg's innings and pitches.

[SFP]

but wasn't his "first injury" and minor shoulder stiffness that recovered in a couple days?
Even if he sat out games, he's still pitching on most off-days..
He's their multimillion dollar baby -- they gotta let the kid pitch if he's cleared medically..

Because he's your million dollar investment you need to take care of him. I'm sure he was pitching because of his draw. He is still a young pitcher that needed to build up to the rigors of MLB.

[BradleyJD]

SS was not the "Messiah" ESPN made him out to be. He did strike out more than most pitchers, but other than that I never thought he was that great.

[Da Coach]

He had great stuff, but I think most fans agree that you have to prove yourself over time before we put a player into the Hall of Fame. The media went way overboard with their accolades and praise for the kid.

[theBUer]

I really hope that Strasburg can bounce back, I mean I have heard of pitchers who have had TJ surgery (Chris Carpenter for instance) who have done well after the fact.

One silver lining to this cloud for any Nats fan (or Strasburg fan) is that it's only his elbow, and that if it were a shoulder then the future would be dimmer. The Nationals have an uphill climb. They put all of their marketing eggs in one basket, in this case promoting a number one overall pick in the previous year's MLB draft and moving him swiftly through the ranks.

And SI, or some other publication, has called Bryce Harper (another number one pick this year from, ba-dum, WSH) the LeBron James of baseball. Please, let this kid prove his salt in the minors for several years and THEN we'll talk.