The torn ligament heard 'round the world has now proven to be true. The fallout, financial and otherwise, is already being discussed ad nauseum across the Web and as part of the 24 hour news and sports cycle. With Topps centering most of their MLB releases around Strasburg.....what will this mean for the hobby, which has received more mainstream coverage and seems to be in healthier shape than it has in quite some time? Does this just mean a lull until Bryce Harper Mania next summer? Or will the sand castle wash away before it was ever really fully built?
Regardless of the fallout, I have to feel bad for the kid. And as far as Tommy John surgery has come and as many careers as it has prolonged over the years, I have to wonder when modern medicine and training staffs are going to finally wake up and emphasize preventive maintenance on a pitcher's arm over the ease of doing nothing & continuing a seemingly endless stream of pitchers having this surgery in their early 20's and gambling on them having any sort of post-surgery future? I'm no expert, but I've had it explained well enough to me that I know how the human elbow isn't built to hold up to what a big league pitcher puts it through, but certainly there's GOT to be an answer to keep this from happening so often.
I dare say this might be as much of a reason for steroids becoming as prevalent as they've been in baseball as the veterans who hit the wall and want to prolong their careers once it was established that some pitchers have used as heavily as power hitters and position players. I would think the "ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" philosophy would rarely be more applicable than in the case of a bonus baby's pitching arm. I'm not privy to a big league clubhouse, so maybe I'm missing something or maybe someone can fill me in on IF some teams are doing preventive maintenance.
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