Injury Bug/Conditioning thread

[Sutterkane]

Since things are so slow right now, I'd like to see what some of you think about conditioning and injuries.

For instance, a LOT of coaches and fans will put their blame for a bad season on injuries, ala "we were just unlucky with the injury bug". Some teams even use this excuse/reason for many years in a row.

My question is this...at what point do you stop saying that it is some sort of a bad omen like you've pissed off a higher power or something and decide as a coach that either:

A. Your conditioning program sucks.
B. Your coaches aren't teaching good techniques, getting players hurt
C. You should start looking at your team's prospects more closely for injury-related items

or is it simply a combination of all of these things?

 

[Todd4State]

I think it's a combination of things. I don't know specifically what we are or aren't doing- and I will treat the no ice rumors as such- because I don't stalk the team.

But, when your entire pitching staff pretty much goes on the shelf except for the guys like Andy Wilson and Jesse Carver who never pitch, it's WAY past time to look at what you're doing. Honestly as far as the pitching injuries, I think whenever a pitcher goes down, I think we should evaluate why they got hurt. And it may be just from natural wear and tear that goes along with playing the game. Most of the things that we have had problems with are things like strains- which are things that are managable to an extent. (Yes, with ice along with things like stretching and etc.)

As far as position players, we seem to have a major problem managing hamstring pulls. Again, we need to look at why that happened, and how we manage those injuries.

Back to pitchers, one that really bothers me is the fact that we seem to be overworking certain pitchers. For example, when Pigott came back against Alabama, his pitch count was supposed to be something like 60 pitches, and he ends up throwing 80+. I'm not convinced that Crosswhite and Whitney are completely healthy either. Also, by leaving pitchers in too long, we cause them to pitch "with more effort" at times, even though they throw the same amount of pitches as someone on the other team. What I'm saying is they may throw 120 pitches over five innings, and they are having to stay out there and keep throwing with fewer rest breaks than someone who throws 120 over eight. Doing things like this are what piss parents off. Especially if your son can throw 97 MPH gas with a nasty slider.

 

[BlindDawg]

I heard the other day, I think on Bill Simmons podcast but not sure, about a program the Red Sox use for their pitchers that I thought was a really good idea and should be used throughout all of baseball. At the beginning of spring training, the Red Sox have all the pitchers throw a session and they chart each of their pitches (velocity, command, etc.) and then throughout the year the pitchers are measured against what they showed in spring training when they were fully healthy. When the pitchers get away from what they should be producing according to the spring charts then the team sits them for a while, has them checked out by doctors, or decreases the work-load. It may not be a perfect system, but I think its a good one to establish what your pitchers are capable of and to determine whether or not they are being over-worked or injured.

 

[HammerOfTheDogs]

Is a lack of talent. Subtalented players will get injured when trying to compete with more talented players. Think of the movie back in the '80's where that little kid goes out for the High School football team, and gets creamed by the bigger stronger players. That's what's happening with Mississippi State baseball right now. Bad recruiting means bad players. When these guys try to compete at a high level, they get injured.