Ball Played: Bauer lasts less than an hour before hitting the shower
August 19, 2015Video: Ohio State Buckeyes share their “Crib”
August 19, 2015Of all the issues plaguing the Indians this season (ice-cold bats, lagging attendance, sometimes-snarky tweets), pesky injuries are certainly among the most confounding. But, in the midst of a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox, a few key players are working their ways back into the lineup. And one player is, well, dealing with a unique injury that reads like the pages of a comic book. More on that later.
The Good News: Jason Kipnis
On Tuesday, the Indians activated the All-Star second baseman from the disabled list, after spending two weeks resting a sore right shoulder. The even better news? According to MLB.com, Kipnis is optimistic that offseason surgery on the shoulder will not be necessary.
“I think we came to the conclusion that we were not going to need it,” Kipnis said before Tuesday’s game against the Red Sox. “We think, as long as we do the right things, as long as we keep everything strong and have a little shoulder program going from here on out, that (surgery) is not going to be something that we need.”
Kipnis said that a carefully designed rehab program is making all the difference, helping to target and strengthen the areas in and around his throwing shoulder, which has bothered him off and on throughout the season.
“We’ve definitely gone about it the right way, giving it the rest at first, strengthening everything around it, whether that be the [rotator] cuff, the labrum, everything about it, the bicep, all around it, to help the throwing motion. We’ve stretched it out slowly. … All signs are great right now. I’m pain free. It feels great. I’m excited to get back out there.”
While Kipnis was not back in the lineup for Tuesday’s game, he did get one pinch-hit at-bat and Indians skipper Terry Francona said he would likely return to second base for Wednesday’s series finale in Boston.
The Pretty Good News: Michael Brantley and Giovanny Urshela
Francona originally considered working Kip back into the lineup at designated hitter, but that spot is currently filled by left fielder Michael Brantley. Brantley, who has been working his way back after a shoulder injury of his own, returned to the lineup Monday as the Tribe’s designated hitter, going 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored. He added a solo homer Tuesday.
Going in to Monday’s game, Brantley had missed four of the past five, including the three in Minnesota, with a left shoulder issue that had bothered him intermittently for weeks. Francona said that he expects Brantley to spend a few more days at DH before returning to the outfield.
“We’ll figure it out,” Francona said on Monday. “The good news is that Kip is really feeling good and Brantley’s feeling pretty good. So, that’s good.”
Rookie third baseman Giovanny Urshela was also out of the Tribe’s lineup against the Red Sox on Monday and Tuesday, resting a sore right shoulder that’s bothered him for about a month. Francona said that he was given the days off to receive treatment and work out the shoulder, and that he expects Urshela to return to the lineup on Wednesday.
“Once it got better, he kind of stopped doing some of his preventative stuff, so it kind of came back,” Francona said of the nagging injury. “He can play and he wanted to play. I just think he needs to get back on that program. I think like a lot of young guys, you think you’re kind of bulletproof. He needs to do some preventative stuff.”
The “Wait, Seriously?” News: Chris Johnson
What started as a misidentified pimple has landed the Indians infield on the 15-day disabled list—and the “Watch for signs of Spider-Man” list, too. After playing first base on Friday against the Twins, Johnson woke up on Saturday morning with what looked like a pimple on his hand. Indians’ medical staff examined it and later determined that he had been bitten by some type of bug or spider. Then, the bump continued to worsen over the weekend.
After seeking treatment in Minneapolis, Johnson took antibiotics for a few days, but the bump didn’t improve. In fact, the affected finger swelled to the point that Johnson couldn’t properly grip a baseball bat or put on a glove. “It’s crazy. I can’t believe it,” he said Tuesday. “I come in, I feel like I’m swinging the bat pretty good and then boom.”
The Tribe made the decision to place Johnson on the disabled list — freeing up a spot for Kipnis — to send him back to Cleveland for treatment. “We’ll send him back to Cleveland, where he can kind of change his focus from trying to grip a bat to getting that thing better,” Indians general manager Chris Antonetti said. “He can see the doctors back in Cleveland and maybe be a little more aggressive with what they’re doing. And then, when it’s appropriate, he’ll start doing baseball activities.”
It hasn’t yet been confirmed if Antonetti’s idea of “baseball activities” includes slinging spider webs or swinging between buildings downtown. Stay tuned. The Tribe, with Kipnis, Brantley and Urshela likely back in the lineup, take on the Red Sox Wednesday evening.
2 Comments
Lagging attendance is to be expected when you are dead-last in the central, and the third worst team in your league. Not an issue, more a consequence.
Good news for sure…in other news I heard a couple more ticket horror stories about the good old ballpark yesterday. Maybe the next time someone covers the attendance issue they can talk about what has become a real shame it seems for the Indians. I would think the last thing a team would want to do is jeopardize season ticket holders but then again a three story water slide does sound interesting.