Strasburg to need Tommy John surgery

[Giantmetfan07]

Stephen Strasburg has a significant tear on the ulnar collateral ligament that probably will require reconstructive Tommy John surgery, the Washington Nationals announced Friday.

The star rookie pitcher has had two MRIs since he was removed from Saturday's game at Philadelphia. The initial diagnosis was a strained tendon in his right forearm. But the first MRI raised enough questions for the team to order a more enhanced MRI that was performed Thursday.

Strasburg is scheduled to see Dr. Lewis Yocum.

Strasburg was placed on the 15-day disabled list Monday, the second time he's been on the DL in less than a month.

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This guy was babied in terms of innings and pitch count through HS and College as I once read, and this is probably a big result of that.

 

[playmaker7]

DAMN

Well this changes a lot of predictions about this kid...well, we'll see how TJ goes

 

[Yankees2772]

TJ Surgery = steroids.

 

[Mooche]

DAMN

Well this changes a lot of predictions about this kid...well, we'll see how TJ goes

No kidding. This is a huge injury for this kid, wow.. Hopefully he can come back from it.

 

[playmaker7]

Its kind of make or break with a small amount of in between after this. If he busts, then its gonna be huge. If it overcomes, its gonna be huge. If he just becomes an average pitcher, its gonna be sad. So, options fall short...IMO at least

 

[RipCity32]

Wow that is horrible news. Really hope he comes back at 100% percent.

 

[snipezo]

At least it's not a shoulder problem. Having tj surgery us like getting a new elbow apparently. I hope he recovers quickly. But some writer from ESPN said that pitchers don't pick up that much velocity from their senior year in high school to their college years and stay healthy for a long time. I guess that's the case for Strasburg.

 

[Giantmetfan07]

I guess that could be a reason, but the logical reason is they never built up his arm strength. I read elsewhere a week ago that in HS and College, Strasburg pitched less often and less pitches because the coaches realized the potential he had and didn't want to overwork him and injure his arm. So in College he apparently would typically only pitch every Friday. So the guy had 6 days off. And when he did pitch, they almost never let him throw 100 pitches in a game, whereas other guys around him pitch well into the 110s, 120s, and even higher, on a more regular basis.

He spent so little time in the Minors because his pitches were so well developed, however they never took into account his arm strength to be able to throw every 4 or 5 days and pitch close to 100 pitches in those games. Thats my opinion as to why he injured it so soon.

Im sorry, but there's no reason for a 22 year old pitcher in his first year in the majors to suffer an injury like this so soon.

Thats the best I can find so far. Can't find anything yet that backs up the Pitch Count theory, but that backs up the time-between-starts theory.

 

[Yankees2772]

Chris Carpentar
Tim Hudson
Ryan Dempster
Hong Chih Kuo
Jaime Garcia
Carl Pavano
John Smoltz
Joakim Soria
Edinson Volquez
CJ Wilson
Brian Wilson
Josh Johnson
Francisco Liriano

Tommy John = good

 

[Yankees2772]

"Red Sox team doctor Michael Reinold claims the surgery's success rate is "close to 85-92 percent in elite pitchers" and there's no doubt that it can extend a pitcher's career for many more productive years."

Tommy John in 1979 (21-9, 2.96 ERA, 137 OPS+) (Surgery in 1974) Who else can lead this squad? Few pitchers can match the success of Tommy John himself, who was the first person to undergo the surgery he'll forever be known for. He had the surgery when he was a 12-year veteran with a 124-106 record and he returned to baseball in 1976 to win an additional 164 games over the next 14 seasons.

David Wells in 1998 (18-4, 3.49 ERA and ALCS MVP) (1985) If you're going to blow out your arm, you might as well blow it out early. Wells had the surgery as a 22-year-old minor leaguer in 1985 and went on to pitch 21 seasons and win 239 games in the majors.

<a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/5784/;_ylt=AvbutSHx3e_hMaT0ZsA4.TKrO4d4">Matt Morris(notes) in 2001 (22-8, 3.16 ERA, 137 ERA+) (1999) Morris had a strong rookie campaign in 1997, but he re-emerged after surgery as the Cardinals' staff ace, finished third in the Cy Young voting in 2001.

Kerry Wood(notes) in 2003 (14-11, 3.20 ERA, 136 ERA+) (1999) Kerry Wood's tragic injury history will always overshadow his often-brilliant mound work, but the best year of his career came after his surgery as he helped lead the Cubs to the NL Central title.

Tom Gordon(notes) in 2004 (9-4, 4 SV, 2.21 ERA, 204 ERA+) (1999) Gordon won 96 games as a starting pitcher before becoming Boston's closer in late August of 1997. He won the Rolaids relief award in 1998, and then recovered after surgery to become one of the best relievers for the rest of the decade, especially as a rubber-armed fireman for Joe Torre, pitching 170 1/3 IP in 159 games in 2004 and 2005 to set up Mariano Rivera(notes).

John Smoltz(notes) in 2005 (14-7, 3.06 ERA, 139 ERA+) (2000) Smoltz came back from surgery and went to the bullpen to reduce the strain on his arm. He made two All-Star teams and saved 154 games as a closer, then moved back to Atlanta's rotation and made the All-Star team two more times.

A.J. Burnett(notes) in 2005 (12-12, 3.44 ERA, 116 ERA+) (2003) Arguably, A.J. Burnett's two best seasons (and certainly his two biggest inning totals) have come in his two contract years, 2005 and 2008. He's continued to have nagging injuries since his surgery and despite his brilliant stuff and big-ticket salaries, he has never had an ERA+ better than 119. Still, he's made $137.5 million since his surgery. Thanks for the cash, Tommy John!

Ryan Dempster(notes) in 2008 (17-6, 2.96 ERA, 155 ERA+) (2003) Dempster was a talented, erratic pitcher before his surgery and the Cubs decided to try the John Smoltz route with him by moving him to the bullpen to speed up his recovery. He had one decent season there and two mediocre ones, but he's had the two best seasons of his career since moving back to the rotation and also landed a four-year, $52 million contract.

Joakim Soria(notes) in 2008 (3-2, 42 saves, 1.60 ERA, 273 ERA+) (2003) Like Wells, Soria went under the knife before he ever saw a day in the majors and that may have helped him slide into obscurity before the Kansas City Royals took him in the Rule 5 Draft. He's been one of the best closers in baseball since the moment he arrived in the major leagues.

Chris Carpenter(notes) in 2009 (17-4, 2.24 ERA, 184 ERA+) (2007) Carpenter won the Cy Young award in 2005, but he posted the best ERA of his career in 2009 after going under the knife in 2007. That made it two aces in a row for St. Louis who came back better than ever.

Eric Gagne(notes) in 2003 (55 saves, 1.20 ERA, Cy Young) (1997) Gagne also had his surgery in the minors and though the Mitchell Report suggested he might have had some additional help with his memorable 2003 season, he wouldn't have been in such a position without Tommy John.

 

[snipezo]

You forgot Marcum . I think Drabek and Ricky Romero had a tj surgery too. The bad thing about it is he's gonna miss one year of development which is pretty huge. Nats fans just have to hope it doesn't affect him.

 

[Giantmetfan07]

Im not saying the surgery is a bad thing. Its obviously going to make his arm so much stronger. I'm just saying that after finding out how he was treated in College, that I'm not surprised he needs the surgery.

 

[snipezo]

I honestly knew he was gonna get injured at some point in his career. Just not this early.

 

[Pugz]

oh lord, all the hype out the window for now.

 

[elcheato]

With his stuff he's always going to be good.. Just has to not continuously have injuries.

 

[cruzg24]

its just jorge overreacting like always

Yep, I was overreacting..... I knew it was going to be something substancial. He might be able to come back because there have been many successful cases. But this isnt going to be easy for him, and the rehab will hinder his progress and it will take longer than 1 year for him to return back to his old form.

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