So…You’re Sayin’ There’s a Chance
September 17, 2008“They Can’t Do That To Our Pledges! Only WE Can Do That To Our Pledges!”
September 18, 2008[flv]http://mediadownloads.mlb.com/mlbam/2008/09/17/mlbtv_mincle_1324134_800K.flv[/flv]
Though his first hit in almost a week, and his first home run since May 16th, I thought it would be nice to remind you all of what we should have been seeing on the regular this year. This almost makes me forget the fact that he has struck out four times in the last seven at-bats. Almost.
11 Comments
Didn’t he hit a home run in Game 1 of the ALCS, too? *sigh*
ahh, that sweet swing… hope it’s back for good. i need a good reason to dust off my hafner jersey and wear it in public
I’m likely the only person here who thinks he’ll return to form. He keeps his mouth shut, trains hard in the off-season, actually chose to stay here and not bolt…
As for the strikeouts – he must see nobody in this town cares if you whiff a ton (see exhibit A – Sizemore, Grady) and is following that queue.
As for the strikeouts – he must see nobody in this town cares if you whiff a ton (see exhibit A – Sizemore, Grady) provided you hit 35 home runs and win a gold glove. *fixed
I don’t think we’ll ever get back the Pronk of ’04-’06. I think the best we can hope for is the Hafner of ’07, which isn’t terrible, but not worth what he’s getting paid.
Why is everyone giving Hafner so much crap? Perhaps it’s because no one understands the serious nature of his injury. To be honest he’s lucky if he can reach a light switch positioned over his head, or grab a plate out of a high cabinet. Scaplular injuries are no joke, and to return like he has shows plenty of guts because it can take YEARS for someone to overcome something like that.
That title just made me laugh so hard my whole office had to check and see what I was laughing about….
…and yes, they laughed as well.
Scaplular injury? Do you even know what you’re talking about? His official diagnosis is “weakened shoulder”. Which is layman’s talk for “what happens to DH’s after years and years of habitual steroid use”. Steroids break down the collagen fibers and connective tissues in the body and cut short careers of athletes because of the resultant strange chronic joint conditions. Remember Bo Jackson and his arthtritic hip? Now we have Pronk and his “weakened shoulder”.
LMAO at the comment above me. Do YOU even know what you’re talking about? He basically has severe shoulder impingement, which has NOTHING to do with steroid use, and everything to do with a muscle imbalance. But chances are you’ve never experienced or educated yourself about steroids beyond what you’ve heard on TV commercials, so nevermind.
Oh, and HERE is the official explanation of Hafner’s injury…
get a lot of e-mails about Hafner’s condition, and I thought I’d try to give you the best medical explanation I could get out of head athletic trainer Lonnie Soloff. He said Hafner’s shoulder weakness is the result of a faulty shoulder blade.
According to Soloff, Hafner was able to build up the muscles surrounding his clavicle, and that had the effect of masking what was going on in the scapula (shoulder blade) area. Beneath the surface, the muscles around Pronk’s scapula were wasting away, unbeknownst to the player and the team. Both parties insist Hafner wasn’t bothered by the shoulder in 2007.
Oh yeah, that makes sense. Let the “head trainer” explain it. The scapula is a bone. That’s like saying his femur is wasting away. Let’s get an official comment on the “problem” from, you know, like an actual doctor.