Under The Knife 3/7/24

A New Mynd

I don’t do product endorsements, unless I like something. A reader asked me if I’d like to try a sample of a new drink called Mynd. To say I was skeptical is putting it mildly, but I love my readers and said I’d give it a try. There’s a lot of new cannabis, CBD, and hemp drinks out there. For me, cannabis has never had a positive effect and with my heart issues, I’m always very careful about what I take.

However, I gave Mynd a try, drinking one, which has 25 mg of hemp extract. (Don’t ask me what the difference is in the extracts, but their website gives more info.) I’m not a feel guy, I’m a data guy, so while it tasted fine and seemed to have a slight calming effect, I went to the data. My Apple Watch showed a 10 bpm drop-off coinciding with the drink, and a very quick drop as well. When I slept, my HRV, heart rate, and respiratory rate (measured by Eight Sleep) were all slightly down as well. There were no other changes to my routine, so I have to say the data matches the feel.

I’m not saying there’s some great effect, but for me, there was something. I drink sparkling water (usually Liquid Death or Lacroix) a lot, so adding this to the mix wasn’t hard. I wouldn’t call this a hard endorsement, but I’m curious since Mynd is a Cubs sponsor whether a more athletic cohort might see more effects from this, especially in recovery. Most players I know slam Monster or Five Hours, the opposite effect of most drinks, but I also know a LOT of players who struggle to sleep on the road, calm down after games, and other “down time” issues, who have turned to cannibis products both legal and illegal.

The game has changed a lot. I’m putting together a question for the Baseball Prospectus panel this weekend and one of them is “what change in the game today most surprises you?” I’m not sure any of us back in 2003 when I started there would have anticipated the league partnering with gambling sites, cannabis drinks, or even hard liquor. Nothing against any of those, but baseball is changing despite its historic inertia. Something like Mynd being in the game demands more study, but for you, you could just order some and try it.

(Full disclosure: I was sent a 12-pack free, but was not influenced to write a positive review.)

No Mynd for me this morning, just coffee, so let’s get to the injuries:

RONALD ACUNA JR, OF ATL (inflamed knee)

It’s the best case scenario for Ronald Acuna and the Braves. His “irritation” in his knee, likely a small fraying or tearing in the meniscus was checked by Dr. Neal ElAttrache - who did his ACL reconstruction - and given the thumbs up to ramp up activity. Now, let’s be clear that there’s an acknowledgement here that there is a problem and that down the line, it may get worse, but the hope is that the knee can be maintained and that a fix could wait until after the season, when a six week recovery means nothing.

The downside here is that maintenance might not work. Just as one bad step seems to have been the causation here, another bad step might create a similar or worse setback. The increased incidence of Acuna running doesn’t help, but we also have to think back to his ACL injury to know that anything can lead to injury, especially with a pre-existing condition in place. As of now, there’s no indication that Acuna will miss time, but it wouldn’t take much of a slowdown or setback to put that in play, even for a short period.

Risk has a value. With Acuna as the consensus fantasy 1.1, valued around $45 in standard formats, I’m not sure exactly how to value the risk, but it’s certainly not zero. The downside risk is that he goes to zero or near-zero if the meniscus doesn’t hold up, but that seems like a small risk. Taking a dollar or two off, or letting him go in an auction to focus on players with similar value - Corbin Carroll and Bobby Witt Jr are similar category plays - could be the smart thing. Then again, if you can get a couple dollars off and still get him, assuming you can handle the risk, that might be very smart as well. I think the question comes down to, how much less do you think he’ll run?

Subscribers will get info on Lucas Giolito’s elbow, the rock and a hard place the Red Sox find themselves between, more on Shohei Ohtani, Kevin Gausman, and more: