Under The Knife 4/10/23

Always Been At War with Eastasia

I try not to talk too much about how the sausage gets made here, but Substack and Twitter seem to be at war and for me, and for some of you, we’re kind of caught in the middle. I have no allegiance to either; Twitter has long been a cesspool with just enough usefulness and network effect to keep me on it, while Substack is just a means to an end. I don’t love choices either have made, but for the most part, it’s just a tool. I’ve written at a lot of places over the years and if there’s a better option, I’ll switch.

Anyway, two new tools - Substack Chat and Substack Notes - are going to see more usage here, at least until I figure out if they can work for me better than current tools. Notes is a Twitter clone that’s currently in beta, so I’m curious how it will work out without the masses. Is it better, or worse? The network effect, the wow-find effect, and the decade of curation I’ve done on my feed is tough to re-create, but again, I have no loyalty to platform, only readers. Look for these tests in the coming days and if you have suggestions, please feel free.

For now, let’s get to the injuries:

O’NEILL CRUZ, SS PIT (fractured ankle)
TRAVIS D’ARNAUD, C ATL (concussion)
STARLING MARTE, OF NYM (strained neck)

Collisions used to be a big part of my business. The rule change that took place after the high-profile injury to Buster Posey largely took those out of the game, and for the better. That doesn’t mean collisions don’t happen and we’re reminded about the consequences on both sides.

First, O’Neill Cruz fractured his ankle, but while there was a collision at the plate, it was the awkward slide that was the culprit here. I won’t show the video - it’s easy to find - but Cruz’s ankle stuck, then rolled beneath him as his big frame kept sliding forward, a victim of inertia. Early word is that it’s a simple fracture, but he’ll have additional imaging to make sure there’s no further soft tissue. Cruz had surgery to fixate the fracture, so he’ll be out on the long end, with the team saying 10-12 weeks. That indicates that either it’s the tibia or that there was additional work done in the surgery. I’ll follow this one, but keep your eye on the exotically named Tucupita Marcano, who’s off to a hot start in Triple-A Indy.

It was the collision that caused Travis d’Arnaud’s concussion. Again, it was an awkward play at the plate, but the Braves’ backup was checked and removed as the MLB concussion protocol calls for. He was pushed to the 7-day concussion IL, allowing the Braves to call up Chadwick Tromp. D’Arnaud is not expected to be out much longer than the minimum, but there’s no way to put a definitive timeline on concussions.

Finally, collisions aren’t just at the plate. Starling Marte slid in to third and contacted the fielder on a head-first slide. His head snapped back and he was diagnosed with a neck strain, per the Mets, but not a concussion. He’s day to day, but it got me thinking about whether batting helmets are the right tool for running. They often fall off, or get tipped off, on hard runs, which leaves the runner’s head exposed both to throws and collisions. Would something lighter but fixed be better? Something like a bike helmet comes to mind, but I can’t imagine a player adopting that. Maybe more like a 7-on-7 football helmet. As well, should fielders have some form of lower leg protection, given where they get contacted? It’s worth a thought.

TONY GONSOLIN, SP LAD (sprained ankle)