MLBits: Bradley OK After Scary Liner, Tanaka’s Arm Trouble, Pitchers as Hitters, More

Apr 29, 2015

While the Cubs go for the sweep tonight at Wrigley, enjoy some news from around the league …

Just last night, I wrote about Homer Bailey’s recent injury and what it might mean for the Cubs, but there is already an update to the story. Apparently, the Reds might try to avoid surgery on Bailey’s elbow, by instead opting for PRP (platelet-rich plasma) injections and rehab. The Reds have successfully foregone surgery, using PRP injections, in the past with Carlos Contreras, back in 2010. Bailey has been moved to the 60-day disabled list, though, so no matter what treatment is elected, he is going to miss some significant time.

If Bailey’s injury is actually a partially-torn UCL, though, he may very well require surgery at some point, anyway. If you recall, the Yankees made a similar call with Masahiro Tanaka last year – deciding to forgo Tommy John surgery when his partially torn UCL was discovered. Unfortunately, that decision may end up costing the Yankees, because Tanaka is now having arm issues (slight strain of his right forearm and tendinitis in his right wrist) that may yet result in Tommy John surgery. It’s impossible to say for sure, but if Tanaka would have received surgery on his arm last year, he may have been back by the second half of this season; and definitely would have been back by 2016. As it stands, the Yankees may find themselves without Tanaka for nearly all of 2015 and much of 2016.

Proponents of the National League’s adoption of the DH may have just gotten one more bullet in favor of their argument: MLB pitchers’ terrible offense. It’s no secret that pitchers are the typically the worst offensive players in baseball, but over at FanGraphs, Jeff Sullivan discovered that April of 2015 was an historically terrible month for pitchers at the plate. It’ll be interesting to see if the trend continues, and if it spurs any movement ahead of the anticipated 2016 CBA discussion.

According to the Detroit Free Press, Kirk Gibson, a member of the 1984 Tigers’ World Series championship team and current Fox Sports analyst, has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. If you’re unfamiliar, Parkinson’s disease is a progressive disorder that does not have a cure. It’s a sad revelation, but Gibson is known as a fighter and has received a great deal of support from past and current Tigers’ players (as well as, no doubt, his family and friends).

Due to the civil unrest in Baltimore, there has been some interruption in the Orioles-White Sox series. While the first two games were postponed, the third game of the series went off this afternoon … without a single fan in attendance, as the game was closed to the public. An unusual sight, indeed:

We are underway: pic.twitter.com/YpsVm4xd5L

— Brittany Ghiroli (@Britt_Ghiroli) April 29, 2015

There was a scary moment in the second inning of the Diamondbacks/Rockies game last night, when 22-year-old pitcher Archie Bradley took a line drive off the bat of Carlos Gonzalez and went down immediately:

Trainers tend to #Ddbacks pitcher Archie Bradley after he was hit in the face by a line drive in the second inning. pic.twitter.com/Eg2J3eLMWl
— David Kadlubowski (@Davidkadlu) April 29, 2015

You can watch the video here, but be warned – it’s ugly. Bradley will reportedly be okay, but he’ll still head to the DL until the extent of the damage (seems minimal so far) is known. He does seem to be in good spirits, especially for a guy with one heck of a swollen face.

Pretty ugly huh? In all Seriousness tho thanks for the text, tweets and prayers! Could have been a lot worse! #lucky pic.twitter.com/NasQBYWqkz
— Archie Bradley (@ArchieBradley7) April 29, 2015

After expressing a bit of frustration after a lazy fly ball to right field, Alex Guerrero received some not so kind words from Giants’ ace Maddison Bumgarner as he ran back to the dugout. It doesn’t seem, to me, that Guerrero was doing anything out of the ordinary (and was certainly not showboating his out), so I’m not entirely sure what led Bumgarner to say what he said.

Baseball analysts have been trying to find a better way to predict BABIP against (for pitchers) for some time now. At FanGraphs, Jonah Pemstein, while mostly unsuccessful in his research, may have found the first clue: pitch location.

written by

Michael Cerami

Michael Cerami began covering the Chicago Cubs for Bleacher Nation as a part-time contributor in 2015. One year later, he joined Bleacher Nation full-time, covering the Chicago Cubs and Major League Baseball. Today, Michael runs Bleacher Nation, contributing as a writer (Cubs, MLB) and an editor for all sections of the site, including the Chicago Bears, Bulls, and Blackhawks, as well as MLB, NBA, NHL, and NFL. In 2019, Michael was the co-host of NBC Sports Chicago's Cubs Post-Game Show Outside the Ivy. You can find him on Twitter/X @Michael_Cerami

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