The Cleveland Indians came into this season with great expectations, and why not? They won 96 games in the regular season, defeated the New York Yankees in the Division Series, and had a 3-1 lead in the American League Championship Series, before dropping the final three games to the Boston Red Sox. This was the year the front office was waiting for, a team that was a legitimate favorite to win the World Series. No one had reason to doubt that.
The status of the team made for some poor decisions on how to handle injuries. The front office figured their club was going to be in a tight race for the division title with the Detroit Tigers, so every game would be important. When Joe Borowski’s velocity was down during training camp, he tried to gut it out to help the team win. It was the wrong decision, because he wound up costing his ballclub two games trying to convince himself he could still get hitters out throwing an 80 MPH fastball. His success as a closer is due to his intestinal fortitude, but in this case it got in the way.
The same thing happened with Victor Martinez, who suffered a hamstring injury on Opening Day. In retrospect, the correct decision would have been to put him on the 15 day disabled list and heal the muscle completely. However, because the Indians were contenders, it was important to get the all-star catcher back in the lineup right away. Martinez’ hamstring still bothers him, and robbed him of the ability to drive the ball. Instead of getting the normal Victor Martinez back, they instead got a guy who is basically a singles hitter batting in the fourth spot in the order.
Yesterday, the catcher left the game with an elbow injury that has apparently been bothering him for some time. This is not to blame the Tribe for hiding injuries. Most baseball people will say that after the first game of the season, no one is really healthy all year. All players have aches, pains, and strains that affect their performance throughout the season. It’s all a matter of how much pain they can play with, and still do their job.
That being said, it’s time for Martinez to go on the disabled list for 15 days to heal his aching elbow and hamstring and help him be the real Victor Martinez for the balance of the season. Some will say making this move will hurt the team by keeping him out of the lineup, but what will the team miss? A singles hitter, who has been batting around .200 since the beginning of May. Kelly Shoppach can do better than this, and the team can watch him play on an everyday basis as an added bonus.
There is no conspiracy theory on hiding injuries. It’s all about competitive advantages. Why let the other team know that Martinez has a bad elbow? Why tell them Travis Hafner’s shoulder is robbing him of his power? There is no reason to let them know. Fans might think the ballclub is hiding something, but think about what Bill Belichick does with the injured list with the Patriots. He puts virtually everyone on it. It’s not concealing information, it’s smart business.
KM
Cleveland Sports Perspective 