Under The Knife 8/30/24
Vanishing Trout, Shrinking Skenes
There’s so little we don’t know about Mike Trout. I don’t mean as a person; any player has a right to some privacy and the semblance of a normal life. He’s had endorsements and apparently didn’t enjoy them, while he just has fun going to Eagles games with his friends in the off-season. Nothing wrong with that. The Angels pay him to play baseball, not be a public figure, but that former part and the latter are overlapping a bit right now.
I mean, where is Mike Trout?
On one level, I know the answer to this. He’s working with his long time physical therapist, away from the team as he recovers from a second knee surgery this season. His season is over, the team knows and approves, so why should I care? Well, it’s my job and the fact I can’t even find out which doctor performed his second surgery is unusual. That none of us seem to know what the second surgery was is a bit concerning though again, the Angels seem comfortable with this.
But where is Mike Trout? There’s privacy and then there’s just not showing the respect to the fans that a team and player should. There’s a “trust box” I refer to with a fan base that should be stocked. When a team has to withdraw from that box, or cashes in that trust on something that is or isn’t worth it, we see the cost. If the box isn’t full enough, it becomes a backlash.
While the Angels are comfortable with Mike Trout having vanished, are the fans? Is that trust box empty now, given all the confusion, the losing, the listless play, the bad signings, and the dull ache of knowing Shohei Ohtani never got an offer in the ballpark of what the Dodgers did, so he’s now on the north side of town. (I know, the Angels aren’t really in “town.”)
This isn’t even just Mike Trout. The Angels aren’t giving any more details than absolutely necessary on some injuries. Luis Rengifo had a wrist problem, but there’s no public details on what was done to correct it, ending his season. Chase Silseth had elbow surgery, but what kind, in a day and age where everything isn’t Tommy John. Again, this isn’t really a problem unless you do what I do and the fans in Anaheim don’t seem to care.
And that’s the problem. When the fans don’t care about the details, you’ve likely lost them. It’s not just the trust box, but the million other things to do in Orange County with their time and money. With Perry Minasian firmly in control there and Arte Moreno not selling the team any time soon, what’s going to change about this area? There’s a reason the team has doubled-down on informing the public and if they think it will keep injuries from leaking, fine. Information can be slowed, seldom stopped, and the cost of doing so is often not worth it.
None of this is to say Mike Trout is doing anything wrong. He’s not malingering and the team (or parts of it) know exactly where he is and what’s going on with his knee. But for a player who should be important to a franchise, a fan base, and a sport, letting him vanish with big questions about his future isn’t good for any of those.
While we wait for answers, on to the injuries:
SKENES, SP PIT (no injury)
Losing a game is much less serious than losing Paul Skenes, but by pulling him early, the Pirates have acknowledged that there’s no magic number, no secret formula, or even a scientific underpinning to how they’re managing Paul Skenes. Basically, he’s not hurt today and they’re hoping he’s not hurt tomorrow, but there’s very little evidence to help keep it so. I don’t think it’s too much to expect the Pirates to have a plan they can support and stick with it.
Ben Cherington acknowledged there’s some inning limit - I think 150, because of course it’s a round number - but declined to say what’s happening. Pitch and throw counts appear to have nothing to do with it, even when we know an inning is not an inning. High stress innings, low stress innings, high and low counts, even weather and opponent factor in strongly, but it’s easy to sell a simple count.
By pulling him early - admittedly, a 10 run lead did seem safe - they’re stealing future innings from the present. That kind of need indicates it’s not just a limit, but a hard limit.
If the Pirates are focused on 150 as I believe, I think it’s because he did 123 a couple seasons ago. Does that indicate they’d hold Skenes at 175 next season? That part I don’t know, or why they think 25 is a good increase.
While we’re speaking about the Pirates, I can’t argue with Mark Cuban on this one.
“You get more if you give me money.” - Vivian Ward