TwitterYouk Too?
18 Mar 2009
ESPN and Boston.com are both reporting that Kevin Youkilis will miss the rest of the WBC because of an ankle sprain. He has been sent to Ft. Myers for an MRI.
Just great. I love the WBC. Remember how I commented that the WBC was a bit compellng? I take it all back.
No word yet on the extent of the injury. The reports indicate he injured the ankle 4-5 days ago and it was in such tough shape that he was barely able to walk through the clubhouse after last night’s WBC game. We’ll probably know more tomorrow.
Mar 19, 2009 @ 12:33:59
The WBC *is* compelling in that it compels young guys to play harder than their bodies are prepared to endure. It’s like asking a boxer to go 12 rounds before he’s been in training for a few months.
Mar 19, 2009 @ 20:26:45
I like your analogy Mitchell but a pro could somehow make it through and all would depend on the opponent wouldn’t it?
How about this real life analogy – around the time I was 22, on the day before the Boston Marathon, a friend challenged me to run it with him. A large group of us normally brought coolers to Wellesly College (at the time a female only school) to camp out and watch the mid-point of the marathon. Anyway, I took the challenge and we got up early the next day and went to the starting line area.
I ended up running to where our friends were at the 13 mile mark. We decided to get a beer or two from our friends and then continue on. Upon sucking down a beer rapidly, and eating an entire large bag of doritos instantly, I announced I was done. My friend that goaded me, pleaded to continue. I refused and another friend jumped up (after a couple hours of drinking beer) and said he would go the 2nd half in my place.
They left, I proceeded to get hammered on 2 beers. Later that night I got a call from the 2nd guy, that took my place- he was one of my roommates at the time. He was somewhere in Boston and needed us to come get him. Turns out my two friends ran together until about a mile away from the finish line. The one that started with me finished and was taken immediately to the medical tent and given IV’s etc. He was found oddly by a volunteer doctor who lived two houses down from his parents and offered to take him home.
My roommate friend evidently took a wrong turn (remember we weren’t likely on world record pace) within a mile of the finish, got lost (no crowds at this point) and ended out passing out at a Brighams restaurant. That is where he called us from.
So the moral of the story?
Having run approx. 13 miles with no training, I could not physically walk without pain that made a grown man, me, cry for about a good 5-6 days.
Same for my roommate.
The guy that did it all was in similar shape but benefitted greatly from the IV and getting hydrated quickly.
I believe this long story better illustrates what MLB players are asked to do without proper training and warmup.
oh yeah, one more thing – while 22 and in great physical condition (honestly), the only (read: ONLY) thing that got me through 13 miles was we were chatting up with two hotties in the wait for the start of the race. They had numbers, watches to track their times, etc. we had nothing… Anyway, we “chased” after them for at least 4-5 miles before we could not keep up anymore. Without that incredible pace we kept the 13 miles would have taken even longer or not been completed possibly. They had the pony tails goin’ and everything…wow, great memory.
Mar 19, 2009 @ 21:59:02
BL – young guys will blow their hearts and or lungs out – or both – when chasing good looking females !!! . Yep, I really like your story. Yep!
When I was a kid I used to watch pro fighters train at some downstate NY resorts – they would start slowly and work their way up to a good 3 hour workout just to be able to stay on their feet with their hands up for 15 rounds. I watched their progressions. I would watch the kids they got as sparring partners come in and be blowing like a whale after two rounds while the contender (or reigning champ) was simply sweating and smiling as he went through his regular series of “sparring meat”.
Before they even started their workouts, the fighters would just move and stretch for 30 minutes – doing some of the weirdest stuff I’ve seen to this day outside a woman’s Yoga class (which can be fun to watch, by the way – look for “dead bug”, it’s a peach of a position).
I think, BL, that pros can’t do it “regardless of the opponent” because in this case their opponent is their lack of conditioning. These guys get so pumped up on WBC competition that they push themselves too far, too fast, too soon and wind up limping like you and Youk. It’s even worse for the pitchers.
Mar 19, 2009 @ 22:11:31
fair retort. I hadn’t thought through your boxing analogy all the way.
Mar 19, 2009 @ 22:57:36
So what is the best option? Let’s suppose the WBC is here to stay, should the keep it as a mid-spring training event or do what the NHL does for the Olympics and take a hiatus during the season?
Or some other option? I think I like the NHL version but I would recommend keeping pitch counts make sure CC Sabathia doesn’t end up pitching 350 innings in a season. In CC’s case I’d be fine with that, but any non-Yankee would be a bad idea…
Mar 20, 2009 @ 07:25:03
Best option? Don’t know best, but better options might be 1) the way Peter laid it out earlier in another thread and you’re laying it out now: mid-season. 2) I’d also consider letting it be players from any level of the minors running a WBC around the All-Star break.
Honestly? If I were an owner paying huge money to a “star” I would probably put it in the contract that he only gets to play when, where & if I let him play. Selig can do his own thing with the WBC but I don’t see him compensating me for money out of pocket for a player on the DL. BTW, I should only be so lucky to be in a postion to do that.
Mar 20, 2009 @ 07:26:26
pitch counts, innings pitched…these are things other sports don’t have to worry about. Hockey has to worry about total fatigue but nothing in particular like an arm is to a pitcher.
The only way it would make sense to me is to do it in the middle of the season as you suggest but the regular season has to be shortened by rough equivalent games so as to not layer on a bunch of innings for the pitchers.
You then would still have the “why did the manager make that decision to leave my guy out there too long” type scenarios.
No win scenario for MLB, seems right up Bud’s alley and makes perfect sense now.
The next commissioner will have some easy targets for improvements to the game.
All-Star game/World Series home field correction.
Drug/steroid testing
WBC.