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BP's Man of Injury Corey Dawkins chats about fatigue and other September problems in this special AM get-together.
Corey Dawkins: It's a great day to start my first solo chat. Maybe I'm whistling past the graveyard of the Red Sox season. On to the questions...
BeplerP (New York, NY): Corey, thanks for the chat. No one can "replace" Will Carroll, but you and your partner have taken the slot into a different direction, made it uniquely your own, and I applaud all your efforts. I hope you stick around!
Among injury types, the most puzzling to me are those lumped (if that's the word) under the heading "oblique strain". There seem to be far more of them than, say, five years ago; they are "equal opportunity", in that no position seems immune; they soak up a lot of DL space; and no one seems able to formulate a conditioning regimen that would avoid them. I really doubt I adequately understand what an oblique injuery is, and (Naively?) wonder why there seems to be no preventive maintenance program or mitigation possibility? Or is there one, but no one follows it, or it can't be expected to work for everyone?
Corey Dawkins: I'm glad I could fill a different niche here at BP.
Oblique injuries are being diagnosed more often but they have been around for a while. Previously they were diagnosed as "pull rib cage" or sometimes "pulled abodminal muscle" depending on the location of pain.
Obliques are one of the weak points in the kinetic chain and will always be so no matter what strength and conditioning program there is. There is really no way to avoid them so to speak but teams are actively looking at all the research to minimize them.
All teams do incorporate strength training to try and prevent these injuries but it can't work for everyone, especially in today's age of personal strength trainers not employed by the team who have their own strengthening programs.
Behemoth (Scotland): How likely is it that Johan Santana will be i) an effective big league starter and ii) the old Johan Santana next year?
Corey Dawkins: Not having an exact number, 1) Santana probably will be an effective MLB starter. He will still only be 33 next year and given his talent before the injury will have at least a few years left. 2)He almost certainly will never be 04-06 Santana and is not likely to even be Santa from 2008.
I would expect a slight dropoff from 2010, no longer great but certainly serviceable.
adambennett (Spring Green): In the abstract (without knowing any specifics), which is more valuable: a home run or a save?
Corey Dawkins: In the very vague sense (and stats are not my forte anyways) I would say a home run.
Steve N (Delaware): Alex Gordon-for real or a 1 year wonder?
Corey Dawkins: I'd lean more towards for real than 1 year wonder
Corey Dawkins: It was good to get the first chat under my belt. If anyone else has any questions, feel free to contact me.
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