February 2008

There’s snow on the ground and it’s below the freezing point in most East Coast cities, so that can mean only one thing:  Spring Training is here!  With the games getting underway it’s time to start taking a look at what’s to come.  Who’s going to win it all, who will win the Cy Young, what team is everyone sleeping on?  We answer these questions and more in our American League Preview. [click to continue...]

I woke up this morning and had this dream that I was throwing in a game and I was using my left arm. Kind of weird. Maybe it’s telling me something, I have no clue, but I may be onto something. This may be my chance to convert. Who knows, I may never be able to throw with my right arm again, and with a year worth of rehab I have no doubt I could start throwing left. Plus, who’s not looking for Southpaws? Maybe I can turn into some freak like Wagner and break the 100+ mark with my left. LOl. Maybe in another lifetime, but throwing left handed is much more of a reality. Being able to switch from right to left, being just as effective with each, I could make a real hit with Scouts. I’ll keep you to date with that process, but on another note, The wing is feeling pretty well. I’m almost at full extension on my own, and shaving, brushing my teeth, and sleeping are finally not a hassle. I can pretty much do everything with my arm. I still can’t run or anything because if I were to sweat the possibility of infection is still very much there. You definitely don’t want that! I can carry groceries, bookbags, weights, and other medial weighted objects. No curls or anything just some basic B.S. Stretching is still very stressful on the arm and the bruising is still very much visible. It’s weird because the same exact pain that was there before the surgery is still there. I thought surgery was supposed to fix this? Apparently they keep the old tendon there and just use the new tendon as reinforcement. That’s why it takes so long to recover, the new tendon in place has to take over the old ligaments place so that the stress is no longer on the bad ligament, thee stress is withheld by the tendon turned ligament. Plus it takes forever to establish the new tendons blood flow and new job. I catch myself touching the scar and it’s still numb. I can’t feel anything on the skin where the scar is. And for some reason it feels like an accomplishment having this scar, but what am I really getting out of this; A year’s worth of heartache? I was told that if I didn’t get the surgery I would never pitch again, so here I am now in my room thinking I should have rehabbed so I may have been able to play this year. But what happens if rehab didn’t work and now 4 months later I’m getting the surgery and now I’m out for 2 years. I guess it was a sense of urgency because I didn’t want to miss out on 2 years because in the back of my head I didn’t think rehab had a chance. I’m not doubting my ability, just the process. What if this doesn’t work? Is my career over? Will I ever play again? What will I do with my life? And the biggest one, what have I gotten myself into?

Forget forgiveness, and all of the other issues, Barry Bonds can still hit a baseball better than 75% of the league.  So why isn’t he heading somewhere south for spring training?  Well, because no one is willing to forgive him for his mistakes.  Eventually, you have to assume that someone will bite the bullet and offer an invitation to camp.  They have too, I mean, you don’t just let a player that is that talented to slip off into the sunset.  Right? [click to continue...]

Feb. 11, 2008

After another good nights rest I was up and ready to continue with my schooling, so I hopped out of bed and got ready for class. In my 4 years of college this is the first year I haven’t missed a day of class, other than the week I was out for surgery, and wanted to continue on that path. I knew today was going to be rough because it was the first day of rehab. What I didn’t know was what to expect. I knew the trainer was going to try to get some motion in my arm but had no clue how bad it was going to hurt. 7 days after the surgery I’m already starting rehab.  All I could think was, “wow this is weird”.

The road ahead started today. The mental downfalls, the physical upgrades, and the overall process will be extremely tough. I look at it as having an advantage.  Now I have a whole year, 1 year, to get into the BEST shape of my life. I have no worries about pitching, no worries about practice. The only thing I have to worry about is rehabbing the arm, school, and strengthening my arm and my body.  That way, when I come back I have the biggest advantage over all other players that I possibly can. That’s the way everyone should think, not- I’m out for a year I’m going to be behind. You have a complete year to turn around everything you’ve ever done, all your faults, all of your problems. You have a year to become the pitcher you have always dreamed of being and that’s what I’m going to do.  Just like all the others who have the surgery should do.

Back to rehab. I walk into the training room and Estaban, the baseball trainer at DSU, grabs me and sits me down. He asks me to take off the wrap and lays me on my back. As he starts to extend my arm I have this excruciating pain. My body started shaking, my heart was beating out of my chest, and I was having bad muscle contractions. I felt sharp pains running all up and down my arm, by far one of the worst pains I’ve ever felt. But you know what they say, “PAIN IS WEAKNESS LEAVING THE BODY”. But in my case it felt like the pain was tearing my new tendon. After about a 15 minute session, an on duty doctor recommended I take my vicodin’s before coming just too dull the pain a little. Don’t take too much though, you don’t want to numb the pain completely, because you might end up hurting something then. It’s a slow process but after 2 sessions my arm felt brand new. There was minimal pain, I can now walk with my arm at my side, lift, and flex my arm. I don’t think I stated this earlier but after I took off the sling my second day, my arm was pretty much in that same position until today. I couldn’t let it hang as the pain was pretty bad. I called Dr. Morgan just to make sure that starting rehab so early was a good thing, and since he wasn’t there due to the whole Curt Shilling problem I talked to his assistant Randy. Randy explained that it was perfectly fine, the incision would not be harmed, and that it needs to be a slow pressured stretch. No jumping on the arm right away, that’s where the problems happen. I felt pretty good after talking to him because I was kind of paranoid that I was starting too early. I’m at the end of the night and, my arm, after two 15 minute rehab sessions seriously feels like my arm did before. There is very minimal pain, the sharp pains that kept shooting through my arm are pretty much gone, and I can move it in ways that I couldn’t for a week. Although I don’t have full extension, hopefully by the end of the week I will.

Feb. 12, 2008

Not gonna talk about much today. Woke up and the wing was feeling pretty good, not great, but good. Had some slight pain, but bearable. One thing I did notice, and it’s been happening for a few days now, was that I get real sharp pains that shoot through my arm whenever I stretch or move my arm. I contacted my trainer and he told me that this was because the nerves in the bones are reacting to the holes drilled in my arm. The nerves that run down the arm have something to do with the bone, and because the holes are in the bone, the bone reacts to it as if it was broken. I don’t really remember everything he said, but what I do remember was that he said it was perfectly normal and that it will happen for quite some time because the arm is repairing itself. The pain is very quick and sharp, but as the arm continues to heal, from what I understand, the pain should start to subside. Again, I get these pains right down the middle of the inside of my arm along with in my wrist. This is normal according to my trainer. Other then that, all I really have to report is that I saw some progress on the flexion of my arm.  I’m almost at 180 degrees now. I get my bandages off tomorrow, YAY! I have also done a lot of stretching on my own. Hold a jug of milk or water, half full, with your arm extended and let the weight pull your arm straight, thus stretching. The pain will be there but it’s all part of the process. Also pull up on hand, push down on hand, just the basic forearm and wrist stretches. This will also help. Arm still hurts a little as I stated, but the reward in the end will be well worth it. Hard work will pay off

Feb. 13, 2008

I woke up and got ready to go see Dr. Morgan for the first time in a week. This is the day I get all the bandages off and let the world see what my arm looks like a week after surgery. When I get there I am informed that Dr. Morgan wasn’t there because of the whole Curt Schilling deal so I ended up talking to his assistant.  Randy took off the bandages looked at the incision and told me that it looked great, right where it should be (as in the healing process). He then proceeded to give me a full years worth of rehab pamphlets. I will post this pamphlet up as a pdf. file so that all can see what Dr. Morgan’s rehab consists of. This is the routine that I will follow until the next time I step on the mound. It doesn’t look to rigorous, but trust me stretching is harder than you think!

I thought getting my arm back was going to be a breeze, but after a week I now understand why some guys just never get back, THIS STUFF IS HARD.  Not that its hard as in straining or intense, it’s just so repetitive, you have to be able to go 3 or 4 days without seeing results. You have to be able to take a loss for the day, you have to be patient. It’s like sit-ups, you do a hundred every night for 3 weeks and see no results, but if you keep doing them, the results end up showing later at a very rapid pace. You have to take your rehab the same way. I’m in my first week and I already understand this. You have to devote all your time to stretching. While you’re sitting in your room, watching TV, driving, in class, just stretch your arm. Every part of it, your wrist, your forearm, your bicep, tricep, and your shoulder. I haven’t done much with the shoulder yet, but I’m sure it’s on its way. Also, one thing I found was that extending my arm isn’t the hard part, no, it’s pulling my fist to my head. I can pretty much extend my arm to where it was before surgery, and with the help of my trainer, I can get a full 180 extension. The hard and most painful part for me is to pull my arm up like you’re brushing your teeth or eating. This motion hurts pretty bad on the inside of my elbow. But after a few reps it seems to dull the pain. This is possibly because of the scar tissue tearing in the arm, which is perfectly normal.

Back to my arm. I have huge bruises up my arm and through my elbow. This is also normal. Some people don’t get this, such as my fellow teammate Dan Perkins. He had his arm at full extension by day 4, no Bruising, and was putting in wood floors by the end of his first week. Don’t compare yourself to other guys though.  Everyone heals at their own rate. I have bruising and still can’t fully extend my arm on day 10. It’s all about how your body heals and how it reacts to the surgery. Again, don’t get discouraged if a guy is ahead of you in their rehab. You recover at your own rate. These entries are just for reference. Just a look to see what can and might happen in your rehab and recovery. Basically it’s a guide on what to expect. You may not go through anything I have, but someone will. I will have the Rehab Guide up soon, be sure to check it out.