Chad Moriyama Dodgers, Sabermetrics, Scouting
Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw got a second opinion on his hip today, which revealed nothing new from the doctor, but we did get a few tidbits dropped on the situation by other people.
Clayton Kershaw was examined Tuesday by a hip specialist, who said the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner can continue to pitch without risking further damage to his right hip, but the Dodgers will not allow Kershaw to take the mound if the pain persists.
While the team traveled to Washington on Tuesday for a series opener with the Nationals that was postponed by rain, Kershaw was examined by Dr. Bryan Kelly at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. Kelly agreed with the initial diagnosis made by team physician Neal ElAttrache that Kershaw has an impingement of the right hip, meaning the joint is pinched during rotation of the hip while pitching.
The team said Kershaw would resume his throwing program on Tuesday, though manager Don Mattingly did not commit to any decision regarding his ace’s spot in the rotation. The Dodgers entered Tuesday one game behind the Cardinals for the second Wild Card spot in the National League.
That sounds like good news, right? He can resume throwing and can’t do any more damage to the hip by continuing to pitch.
Yet the reality seems a lot different. After all, the reason this is an issue to begin with is because he felt he simply couldn’t do it without the assistance of cortisone shots.
“He’s really competitive, but also he knows he can’t pitch,” Mattingly said. “In certain points, he knows he can’t pitch. When he can’t go out and throw, he knows he can’t compete. So it brings you to realism. When you can’t throw, you can’t go out and compete. So at that point, you know you’ve got to take care of it.”
Yeah, that doesn’t make it sound like throwing would do anything positive for the team to begin with.
Beyond that though, my primary concern, and it’s Greg’s as well, is that he’ll do exactly what Don Mattingly says he’s doing now:
“I know he’s tried to keep throwing by not using his hips,” Mattingly said. “He’ll try to keep his arm moving as much as he possibly can.”
The Dodgers ace, who throws in the mid-90s, trying to take his hips and core out of his throwing motion and put more stress on his arm? That sounds like an awesome workaround!
No wait, it sounds like the worst idea ever.
Not injuring his hip further is one thing, but anybody who throws or hits knows that a significant part of velocity and power stems from the trunk of the body and, specifically, hip rotation. Therefore, the risk wouldn’t be to his hip but to his golden arm, and that’s where the problem lies for me.
Ya, this sounds like a far riskier version of what happened with billingsley and kemp. Shows how misguided and warped these baseball people can become.
Never thought of Billingsley like that before, but I guess it was a risk to bring him back the first time, assuming they knew it wasn’t JUST “inflammation”.
I dunno.
Seemed fine at that time and obviously he pitched well. It might have been a minor issue at first that got exacerbated by continuing to pitch on it later.
I’ll agree that if they KNEW there was an increased risk for a tear and rolled the dice then it was dumb. Other than that though, guys pitch through minor stuff all the time.
Still a good chance they shut him down, IMO.
I’m just going to hope that he meant he’s going to be doing that only off flat ground.
They can’t be that stupid.
Dunno.
Staff, players, and coaches have done little to inspire confidence in what they’re saying about injuries this year.