ST is a success if everyone's healthy. Oh shi-

As per usual, I'm late to the party. Very late to the party, in this particular case, as Spring Training is like... Half over. And I haven't recanted any scores or bitched about a thing since the beginning of it all, and have very few excuses to offer. I guess following the games has been all of the procrastination I've been allowed the last couple of weeks. Until now!

Ouch dude, ouch:
Now, if you'll allow me to beat a dead horse... I'm pretty sure that if you're reading this blog, you're well aware of what's happened to Casey Janssen. The whole torn labrum thing doesn't look very good for hurlers, as I'm sure most of you are well aware. Personally, I'm driven crazy when I'm faced with a concept I know nothing about, so naturally I've been doing a lot of reading about the labrum and the kind of tear Casey has. So here's a little bit of a mini-report on what I've learned about the labrum. If you medical buffs out there spot anything out of order, give me a shout. If you want to skip the medical bullshit because you're bored, go wild. I won't judge. Just ignore me from here on out.

What is a labrum? Basically it's a thin bit of collagen that rests between two bones (the head of the humerus and the glenoid fossa, the curve in which the humerus sits). It provides the shoulder with shock absorption and is very important to the connective structure of the shoulder. A tear reduces the strength of the shoulder greatly, so in addition to the discomfort Casey was experiencing, he would also have a noticeable lack of stamina should he attempt to pitch through it.

A need for labrum surgery is pretty hard to diagnose... Sometimes it takes 5 doctors looking at an MRI to find a problem. Even then, sometimes exploratory surgery must be done determine whether or not there actually is a tear. Just for fun, here are some pics to look at with the difference between a torn labrum and a torn labrum post-op. The left with the arrows is pre-op, the right image is post-op, obviously. The images were found here.
The problem with the labrum is that it's NOT a muscle... Muscles can be strengthened both surgically and naturally. The labrum is instead unable to be strengthened through any means. If Casey was willing to sit out and recover, he could return healed in two-three years... Which obviously isn't an option for a young pitcher who had just figured it out.

Here's a little bit of information more relevant to Janssen himself. His tear is small and starting from the anterior, says the Globe, which is actually good news for athletes. It's also known as a SLAP tear (Superior Labral tear from Anterior to Posterior), which occurs at the point where the head of the biceps tendon attaches.

I'm sure you're probably wondering... How did this happen? Well, it's caused mainly when a pitcher throws too often or when they are fatigued. Before everyone starts flipping about how "It's Gibby's fault because he pitched Janssen too much last year!", I'm going to reinforce this... Every arm is different. It's very possible Casey didn't even know he was experiencing shoulder fatigue (many don't know) and it's not really possible to pinpoint if and when a tear will happen... It just does. You can't "baby" a pitcher to avoid it. If it's going to tear, it's going to tear, unless the pitcher stops throwing all together... Which kind of defeats the whole point when talking about salvaging a pitcher's career.

Now we'll talk a little bit about the procedure to fix this little problem. Non-surgical means include strengthening exercises, icing, medications, and anti-inflammatories. However, the healing process through these means is long... As mentioned before, 2-3 years. Of course, there is a surgical process. Essentially an orthopedic surgeon would repair or remove the torn part of the labrum through arthroscopic surgery or through a full open shoulder procedure. Sounds fun.

The rehab process from the surgery itself lasts about 3 to 4 months... Which pretty much jives with the time that Ricciardi gave of Janssen picking up a ball in 4 months. The problem is, he's going to be as weak as a baby chick for a while and we're going to have to keep out fingers crossed that he can get back to where he was. He has a long road ahead of him, probably being unable to move his arm for the first six weeks. Unpleasant.

With all that being said, we have to be a bit realistic here... The torn labrum is a pitcher's worst enemy, and the chances aren't great. I'm sure by now you've read the excellent (albeit discouraging) article by Will Carroll (see link below) about the torn labrum and how it destroys pitchers. In the article, you're looking at about a 3% chance we'll see Casey being Casey again. Freaking ouch.

Personally, I'm choosing to take the optimistic approach. Robert Gordon, An orthopedic surgeon in Toronto with a background in sports medicine, claims that although a torn labrum can be a career killer... That doesn't mean that it necessarily is. He claims Janssen's chances are 50/50. I like that a whole lot better than 3/97, personally. Really, Casey is looking at the best case scenario for someone with a tear. He's young (he'll recover more quickly than an older guy would), it's small (according to JP anyway, for what it's worth), and it's an anterior tear, which is better news than a posterior tear for an athlete. I think the fact that JP considered letting him pitch through it initially is either a good sign that it could be a good deal worse or that JP is a jackass. I'd bank on the former, actually. According to Jeff Blair, he did tell Janssen it was an option, but he didn't like the idea. He might have favoured it if Janssen was a veteran guy with mileage, but since he was young... He didn't want to risk it. Some guys do actually pitch with tears, and pitch quite well. Finally, I think Janssen's "bulldoggedness" (as JP put it) is going to keep him from giving up. No doubt that this kid is going to fight for it, and I don't think there's going to be a Jays fan in the world that won't be cheering him on.

Where does this leave the Jays? Well, it leaves them in a good position still, but with slightly less depth. Think of it this way... There were plans for a Janssen-less bullpen, and there were plans for a Janssen-less rotation. Janssen was an asset, no doubt... But they can hold down the fort without him. I don't like the idea of Purcey being the next in line if and when Burnett goes down, but I guess we'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it. Though I'm not 100% sure JP is going to be comfortable with that approach; we may see a trade a-brewin'.

I think the heavier impact of this is on a personal level for Janssen. Can you imagine having the best year you've had, doing something you love, and then suddenly finding out you may never be able to do it again? I'm sure Janssen is well aware of what he's facing, and it probably scares the bejebus out of him. Ricciardi claimed he was "crushed", and I think that's pretty fair. It's an awful thing to happen to anyone. I think the fact that Janssen is such a nice, young, talented kid makes it that much worse.

I guess at this point we just have to hope JP is right. Janssen's a young kid, having his surgery, putting it behind him, and moving on. Also, we can laugh about how freaking sad it is that I looked this much into it.

If you're looking for more information, or just want to see my sources:
Baseball's most fearsome injury - By Will Carroll
Shoulder Pain Info - Labral Tears
Janssen sidelined for season - Robert Macleod
Janssen's injury sends shock waves - Jeff Blair

Notice what I did there? I sprinkled in all those pictures to spare you the pain. Too bad that didn't work.

Minor note:
Also, Lind, Thigpen, Diaz, Coats, Purcey and Inglett were optioned to Syracuse today. Lydon and Patterson were reassigned to the minor league camp. This leaves:

Pitchers:
Randy Wells
Armando Benitez
Shawn Camp
Jesse Carlson
Lance Carter
Kane Davis
Mike Gosling
John Parrish

Position Players:
Sal Fasano (C)
Hector Luna (IF)
Matt Watson (OF)

With the exception of Wells (who can't be sent down, but only returned to the Cubs)... Those men are all non-roster invitees. Meaning they sent down everyone that they could without losing anyone.

For those of you that have been bitching about it... We're going to see a lot more play out of our regulars from here on in. Time to see what these boys can do during fake play.

On a final note, in honour of Zaun absolutely nailing it in the game today... Have some Ninja Zaun.

Also, TSN can blow me for making the lack of ST success seem like more of a big deal than it is. It's because of comments like the ones they're making that make the "the sky is falling" crowd come out. "None of the projected starters on the Jays has an ERA under 4 this spring" they say in a sad tone. Who the fuck cares? FAKE GAMES, TSN. FAKE GAMES.