The Cardinals are terrible about injuries. You're not alone here.

Not that I want to defend the organization here, but I assume they see injuries as a business also.  The big question, whether in assessing an injury and the best course of action to take, or in assessing a prospect and whether to deal or develop that prospect, is how often the team gets it right.  Since the team is not transparent about these things (and that might be a good thing, for all I know) it's really hard to judge how well they do, on average.

Max wrote:

Not that I want to defend the organization here, but I assume they see injuries as a business also.  The big question, whether in assessing an injury and the best course of action to take, or in assessing a prospect and whether to deal or develop that prospect, is how often the team gets it right.  Since the team is not transparent about these things (and that might be a good thing, for all I know) it's really hard to judge how well they do, on average.

When I think about injuries and the Cardinals, I primarily think about Rolen.
You hear all the time about hockey injuries being hidden - I remember Joe Thornton playing through what was described only as an "upper body injury" a few years ago - as a way of maintaining a competitive advantage, or maybe more aptly stated avoiding a competitive disadvantage if the other team knows the extent and location of his injury.
It could be worse. The Cowboys had a kicker a couple of decades ago named Rafael Septien who suffered what would now be referred to as a "sports hernia." The team decided not to inform him of the diagnosis, because, according to Tom Landry at the time: "He doesn't kick well when you give him too much to think about."

Last edited by artie_fufkin (6/02/2011 6:10 pm)

Max wrote:

Yes, we hear about the ones that go wrong, but not so much about the others.  Pujols might be a good example.  A different organization might have had him operated on years ago, but he won a couple of MVPs after his injuries were pretty well known, and possibly played down.

The thing that bugs me most about the Cards system is the lack of confidence some people seem to have in Cardinals' surgeon, George Paletta.  The whole thing with Rolen is troubling.

I think the main reason it's worked out, thus far, with Pujols' elbow is that he plays first base.  My fingers are crossed that his recent action at 3B doesn't aggravate the problem.  They're also crossed that the organization doesn't interpret this dodged bullet as validation of the "ignore it and hope it goes away" approach.

artie_fufkin wrote:

"My fingers are crossed that his recent action at 3B doesn't aggravate the problem."

I think he's had a couple of maintenance surgeries on his elbow. But you're right. The biggest fear is one of these days he's going to blow out his elbow, and it seems like putting him at third base would only increase the odds.
I'm not sure from whom I heard this, maybe Horton, but one of the TV guys relayed an opinion from Berkman that playing first is harder on his legs than the outfield, because when he's playing first he has to bend on every pitch.

THAT sounds like an old man talking:

"Dang it, if  told that paperboy once I told him a thousand times: put the paper in the mailbox; don't throw it on the porch.  Now I have to bend over and pick it up."