According to a report in the Chicago Tribune, Alfonso Soriano's hop is not the reason for the strained right calf he suffered on Tuesday night. Soriano said he "felt the calf problem a little in Pittsburgh last week." Soriano said his leg was feeling better after Monday's off day and "didn't seek any treatment."
Soriano repeatedly denied the injury was caused by, what he calls his "jump".
Jim Hendry said on Wednesday afternoon that Soriano should be on the DL for only the minimum amount of time. Lou Piniella described the injury as being less severe than last year. Piniella added, "The hop wasn't the sole reason for this. It happened doing something else." The feeling from both interviews was the decision to put Soriano on the DL was more for precautionary reasons.
A report in the Sun-Times reiterated Soriano should only be on the DL for 15 days and the Cubs do not want to rush him back. Soriano was wearing a protective boot before Wednesday night's game according to the report in the Tribune.
Hopefully the short stint on the DL will also give Soriano enough of a break that when he comes back he will once again be the offensive force he was a year ago.
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Its mystifying to me why some major league players with all of the technology and methodology focued on preventing injuries have chronic problems with their leg muscles tearing. I remember Dunston having this problem as well. It seems to me that these lean highly atheletic players sometimes are more prone to this. I wonder if the conditioning or the game preparation program of these athletes has something to do with their propensity to suffer there types of injuries.
Can Soriano just rejoin the team in June when it's warm? In his absence the Cubs have scored 9 and 13 runs. Coincidence? We'll see, but one thing is for sure, a .230 OBP at lead-off is just plain unacceptable.
After this one, I will try to leave the sermons for very rare occasions. So who or what (if anyone or anythng) is to blame for Soriano's injury or issue(s)? Has he and some other talented players turned more to presenting optimal entertainer personnas than delivering optimal on-field performance?
We will not learn the answers to these questions from "reliable/honest sources", because most owners, managers and players nowadays know that Pimping for Each Other (or remaining silent) is Job One. And that is because the Main Mission of those who work in baseball Is to Sell Expensive Tickets and Advertising.
In an era of Instant Gratification and Seeking to Shine One's Own Light Brightly, Less Substance and Dedication to the Team and the Game is offset by More Stylin' and Frills. Many of the current torch bearers for the game (on the field and in the front office)and some of us who love to revel in the games and its traditions don't know that The Torch Bearers are Killing the Golden Geese--Slowly. And we are the Geese Who Deliver the Gold.
There Are the Dream-Keepers symbolized by the highly talented, unselfish, dedicated and outstanding performance of a Derick Lee and the much less talented, unselfish, dedicated and gritty performance of a Ryan Theriot. They keep the hard- to-stop, venerable aircraft carrier that is baseball moving along--even if several cylinders in its massive engine aren't firing. Those like Lee and Theriot who honor the game with their dedicated performance are Patriots and those who don't are, at least in part, Pimps.
I don't like the Pimping of the Game by the insiders that's happening on the field and in the front office or the predator view taken of us, the fans. But I won't give up soon on what's left of the aircraft carrier. Baseball has meant too much to me for too long a time.
Right now, 9 wins vs. 5 losses keeps this old guy's jucies flowing. That's the case, even as the current game is like the sexy woman with STD's. If she's still got em when I get well, I'll get em again--sure as hell!
Very well-written, JimK... much like a movie that leaves you intrigued, I had to see that twice it was so good.
Question: do you think that Kosuke could/should be a "Dream-Keeper"?
Eric...Definitely--and it's partly because the Japanese have huge respect for tradition and ancestors. I think it will be rare to see anything other than all out focus and team effort from Kosuke. There are other Dream Keepers too--like K. Wood and Hank White.