I started off the most recent blog talking about the bad luck the San Diego Padres' pitching staff has had recently. Apparently that streak had not fully run its course just yet, and it has now extended beyond their pitching staff as catcher Josh Bard is among the wounded. Closers continue to struggle with their delivery and their health, and Eric Gagne is the latest to be put on mandatory rest. But how long will he be out? Hmm. The latest injuries remind us that there is often some overlap between injury and poor performance, and the trick is figuring out the ratio in order to make the fix.
Chris Young, P, and Josh Bard, C, San Diego Padres: Albert Pujols is single-handedly taking down the Padres, not only with his bat, but with his body as well. Wednesday night during the third inning of the St. Louis Cardinals' visit to Petco Park, Pujols lined a shot off the face of Padres pitcher Chris Young. The hit netted Pujols a single, but Young ended up with a broken nose, a facial laceration and a trip to the hospital according to the North County Times. Two batters later, Pujols headed home to score but arrived at the same time as the ball in Josh Bard's mitt. On the slide, Pujols' front (right) leg collided with Bard's extended left leg and Bard clearly lost that battle. Bard was assisted from the field, in a great deal of pain with his leg visibly impaired and, per the North County Times, the injury was called a high left ankle sprain. Bard has been placed on the DL, and we know from past experience that high ankle sprains often mean at least a month of missed time, generally more. Considering that catchers spend a good portion of time in the crouch, which places extra stress on the ankle, and then have to push through the ankles to jump into position, Bard's recovery may be on the slower side.
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Stephania Bell
Fantasy Sports- Senior writer for ESPN.com
- Certified orthopedic clinical specialist and strength and conditioning specialist
- Clinician, author and teacher
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Stephania Bell
Stephania is a physical therapist who is a board-certified orthopedic clinical specialist and a certified strength and conditioning specialist. An avid fantasy player, Stephania spent time as a fantasy injury analyst at Rotowire.com and appeared weekly on XM Radio's fantasy sports show before joining ESPN.
She is a clinician, author and teacher with extensive experience in the area of orthopedic manual therapy and sports medicine. She practices in the Bay Area, and her primary patient population consists of athletes and performing artists ranging from junior high school to professional.
Stephania has her undergraduate degree from Princeton University and roots for the Tigers.
She received her Master of Science degree in Physical Therapy from the University of Miami and roots for the Hurricanes.
She held a teaching position at the University of Kansas for five years and roots for the Jayhawks.
She is from San Francisco and roots shamelessly for the 49ers and the Giants (through the good and the bad).