So who to blame with Mulder?

by cardsfaninmass on Sep 23, 2007 10:01 AM EDT Comment 12 comments

It seems as if we have yet another example of injured player mismanaged by the medical staff or the coaching staff or both. Or, better, we have a new example for the same player that was previously mismanaged!

The questions that comes to mind:

Was Mulder pushed to hard to come back leading to this new injury to his rotator cuff?

Should he been thrown into a pennant race, where he was clearly trying to overcompensate physically to get a respectable velocity?

And most important, is he done? Will he ever be able to return to even is 2005 self, let alone his 2000-2003 self?

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As far as pushing too hard

Mulder never made any mention of pain or discomfort in his shoulder. Pedro Martinez had the same type of work done on his shoulder and he is back out there winning games for the New York Mets.

Honestly, we won't know what is wrong until they get in there and take a look but my money is on it just never healed right.

Call up PJ Walters!

by Hardcore Legend on Sep 23, 2007 9:59 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

What would Howard Jones sing?

Gosh, I hate having lived through the 80s.

by Rob H on Sep 23, 2007 12:38 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Management

I think management is to blame, but not for the injury. I think gambling $13M for at best 1.25 seasons of Mulder was a foolish move. And I could be mistaken, but now if they let him go FA they will get practically no draft compensation.

500- What it takes enough to win at Rummy, at Indy and in the NL Central.

by Zubin on Sep 23, 2007 2:27 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Again with the medical staff blame game

don't go placing blame when you have no idea what's going on.

If you have a medical opinion with facts to back it up, then I'll listen. There was no mismanagement.

The Cards took a gamble by signing an injured pitcher. They beat the odds with Carpenter and have lost big-time with Mulder.

Mulder is done.

by silent_bob on Sep 23, 2007 7:22 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

agreed

and I have no medical background like SB does.
Sometimes this just happens with injuries. Surgery isn't a guarantee that a player is going to come back healthy.

"Show me a guy who takes his time on the mound and I'll show you a damned loser." - Leo Durocher

by mattyfrommo on Sep 23, 2007 8:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

By the same token

we shouldn't give the medical staff a free pass. Why the Cardinals are so adamant against reviewing their medical staff is beyond me (and the front office has reacted with hostility to that idea) but it's hardly outside the realm of reason to think that Mulder was rushed to help the pennant race.

I don't know how you can say "there was no mismanagement" when you don't know any more than the rest of us. Why is it taboo to question what appears to be a pattern of mishandling injuries over the past few seasons?

Future Redbirds

by azruavatar on Sep 23, 2007 10:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I know plenty more than the rest of you

I don't go around touting my connections in StL because it doesn't matter. All I'll say is that I talk to physicians and therapists involved in the treatment of Cards players. And Mulder was not rushed back into throwing in the majors.

If you remember, there was talk about Mulder starting a few games on the big club in September NO MATTER THE SITUATION. It was part of his rehab schedule. He couldn't start in Memphis; the season was over. He wasn't going to start in the AA playoffs for Springfield.

Anyways,If they could have started him elsewhere in the organization, what would be the difference? Would he not see how it felt to throw a fastball with a little extra zip? Would he not try to work on his breaking pitches?

Look, from everything I've been told, Mulder's rotator cuff did not heal correctly. It's a tough break. Simple as that. Any other assertion is uninformed speculation, which seems to be rampant amongst Cards fans and talking heads these days.

by silent_bob on Sep 24, 2007 12:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Again

this is becoming a pattern. The Cardinals medical staff has an "interesting" way of dealing with injuries. My particular favorite was when Edmonds played first base after he was allegedly headed to the DL. The way Wainwright said he was experiencing pain and then suddenly it's a "mechanics problem". Jaime Garcia went at least a game (possibly more) experiencing elbow pain before being shutdown in the minors.

I'm not laying the blame for rushing Mulder back but the pattern of odd medical treatment remains (I was quite vehement in my defense of the medical staff when Carpenter went down). Specifics cases aside, the pattern of handling injuries in STL doesn't inspire confidence especially when the front office becomes vitriolic and hostile to an internal review of the medical team.

Future Redbirds

by azruavatar on Sep 24, 2007 2:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Edmonds chose to stay active

because of Pujols' injury. He believed he could play through it and would be limited in wear and tear by staying at 1st.

Before getting his concussion (screw you Jason Marquis), Edmonds was able to post a .917 OPS over the 50 ABs he had during the post-Pujols DL stretch.

Call up PJ Walters!

by Hardcore Legend on Sep 24, 2007 2:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs