Bobby Parnell Has Torn UCL
According to Mets.com, closer Bobby Parnell has a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament, and may require Tommy John surgery.
Jeez, only one game into 2014 and the Mets’ season is crumbling by the minute. What else can go wrong?
Per the Mets:
Parnell received a platelet-rich plasma injection and has been prescribed complete rest for the next two weeks. After that time, he will begin a throwing program that will determine whether elbow surgery will be required.
Well, if nothing else, news of the injury provides a segue into my latest conversation with sport kinesiologist Angel Borrelli, who wrote an entire book on the pitching elbow and knows a few things about how and why UCL tears occur. Among other subjects, we discuss what pitchers do after Tommy John surgery — and guess what? Matt Harvey could very well return at some point this year. You can listen to it below.
Not that I am a doctor, but I read this was the MCL as opposed to the UCL. Frankly I don’t know the difference, but it strikes me that we won’t see Bobby Parnell for quite some time.
Alderson wasted no time in finding reinforcements in his pitching-rich system. Kyle Farnsworth, who proved this spring he is no longer a major league pitcher, is on the way.
This bullpen mess may work itself out, and pigs may fly, but it is all on the GM, 100%. Boy, I could use an Izzy post badly.
Yep. Why, indeed?
Or perhaps because common wisdom these days is anyone can pitch an inning effectively. Many successful teams have demonstrated this.
The Mets aren’t a successful team, though. Not yet. But mark my words: one day, perhaps very soon, a Met reliever will pitch an inning, and it WILL be effective. Maybe tonight!
Not very comforting, but thanks for the info.
By the way, the Mets have also missed a ton of opportunities to pick up failed starters and convert them to relief in recent weeks. Tommy Hanson, Joe Blanton, Scott Baker and others would have been zero-risk acquisitions who might turn out to be upgrades over the wild arms we have now. With as bad a bullpen as the Mets currently have, management must continue looking for ways to improve. But I guess grabbing some MLB strike-throwers for free is too radical a thought.
But otherwise, agreed. The Mets’ front office would likely point to Valverde and Farnsworth as their zero-risk acquisitions for the ‘pen. I’m with you, though — it makes sense to try to convert some starters to relief.
It feels weird to be saying positive things about Joe Blanton. Nevertheless, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he could be a better reliever than Lannan, Germen, Black, Farnsworth, et al.
I’m sure Lannan will be useful against those hitters who simply can’t hit lefties, but I dunno, how many of those guys do we face? Plus, even if Lannan is a good gamble, no reason not to add 3 or 4 more arms to hedge their bets.
…not that any of this is an ideal scenario. Growing or acquiring relievers who are already good would be better.
However, as far as dollars and opportunities, all that pales in comparison to losing a year to TJ. That’s a year when your arbitration value isn’t climbing, and a year when other pitchers are coming in to replace you. Rehabbing for a month and staying on your team’s radar has got to be better than that, and I’ve yet to hear an agent advise pushing through a bum arm.
Plus, most guys who pitch hurt don’t pitch well. You may escape the “fragile” label and simply be labeled “not that good”.
Pretty much every logical angle I can think of, including salary, says “don’t pitch through it”. The pressure in the other direction seems mostly to come from fear, impatience, ignorance and machismo. Perhaps I’m wrong, though — perhaps it’s the teams who are stupid, in this case about sunk costs, and will give a TJ patient extra opportunities because they’ve already paid for his surgery and rehab.
However, as far as dollars and opportunities, all that pales in comparison to losing a year to TJ. That’s a year when your arbitration value isn’t climbing, and a year when other pitchers are coming in to replace you. Rehabbing for a month and staying on your team’s radar has got to be better than that, and I’ve yet to hear an agent advise pushing through a bum arm.
Plus, most guys who pitch hurt don’t pitch well. You may escape the “fragile” label and simply be labeled “not that good”.
Pretty much every logical angle I can think of, including salary, says “don’t pitch through it”. The pressure in the other direction seems mostly to come from fear, impatience, ignorance and machismo. Perhaps I’m wrong, though — perhaps it’s the teams who are stupid, in this case about sunk costs, and will give a TJ patient extra opportunities because they’ve already paid for his surgery and rehab.