Each Sunday evening we will review our favorite and least favorite events of the previous week, and share our perspective on how the team is doing. Please enjoy responsibly.
Cheers! (Best event/news of the week)
Concussion Can’t Keep Luc Down: When Jonathan Lucroy suffered a concussion a few weeks ago, some of us feared the worst. Our fears were laid to rest Thursday when Lucroy returned in a pinch hit capacity and singled.
[mlbvideo id=”500016983″ width=”400″ height=”224″ /]He followed that up by going 4-for-6 with 2 RBI in the next two games. It looks like it will take more than a little concussion to keep Luc down.
But alas, it wasn’t all good news on the head injury front for the Crew…
Buzzkill (Worst event/news of the week)
Nelson Shut Down After Line Drive to Head: Although Nelson’s scary run-in with a batted ball to the noggin didn’t result in a concussion diagnosis, it was serious enough to shut him down for the remainder of the year. It’s understandable that the Brewers wouldn’t want to take any chances, but listening to Nelson’s explanation of the situation may leave fans feeling uneasy:
“Since the ball hit my head, I’ve felt great,” Nelson said. “I’ve never, through the whole process, had any symptoms of a concussion. Even the doctor said I never had a concussion or a fracture in the skull or anything.” […]
“What shows up on the CT scan is a dime-sized bruise,” Nelson said. “They put me through a couple hours of mental and physical tests. They said I passed with flying colors. I was cleared to do literally everything — throwing, running, working out — except for pitching [in a game]. They said I can’t be back in that scenario where something can hit me in the same spot, because it could be career-ending if I got hit in that same spot.
I’m not licensed to practice medicine in most U.S. states, so I wonder – does a brain bruise heal just like an ordinary external bruise? Or will Nelson be risking a career-ending injury any time a batted or pitched ball comes close to that spot? Is it just that spot that’s an issue, or could anything that jostles Nelson a little too hard put his career in jeopardy?
Technically, all pitchers are at risk for taking a line drive to the head, and all batters are at risk for taking a pitch to the head/face. Nelson’s brain bruise just adds an extra layer of anxiety.
Have One on the House (Brewers player who deserves a drink)
Zach Davies: The Brewers had another losing week as they shuffle listlessly toward the offseason. One bright spot (in addition to the comeback win today in St. Louis) was an excellent performance by Davies against the Cubs, which earned his second victory in five starts. His first win was against the lowly Marlins, which was remarkable in its own right, but a victory against a contending team that was still in the mix to host the Wild Card game is damn impressive.
[mlbvideo id=”498101583″ width=”400″ height=”224″ /]It would be brilliant if this little guy could end up being a sturdy piece of the Brewers’ 2016 rotation. He will need a clever nickname based on his diminutive size. I’ll updated this post if I think of anything.
Time to Sober Up, Pal (Brewers player who made me want to drink)
Wily Peralta: Peralta became the latest Brewers pitcher to fall victim to the shut down blues after his recent loss to Chicago. Peralta has been experiencing a “recurrence of discomfort in his right oblique” so there’s no sense in trotting him out there for one or two meaningless starts. Peralta has the right attitude and he says he plans to “work harder than I’ve been working before” in the offseason. And he needs to work hard – his 2015 season (5-10, 4.72 ERA) was a real downer compared to 2014 (17-11, 3.53 ERA). Peralta is eligible for salary arbitration and will have a nice pay increase coming, so hopefully that provides some additional motivation.
Back on the Wagon (Thoughts on the week ahead)
We’ve finally made it to the last week. Even when the Brewers are not in contention, the end of baseball season is usually bittersweet since it marks the passage of time and reminds us that another Wisconsin winter isn’t far away. I usually feel a bit of melancholy even when the Crew has underperformed. But this year, I would say the end of the season is a welcome relief.
There will be a couple of interesting things to watch this week, notably the debut of the Brewer’s Minor League pitcher of the year Jorge Lopez in San Diego on Tuesday. And presumably there will be some amusing anecdotes when David Stearns meets his team for the first time. Other than that, it will be good to put this year behind us. Let’s pretend this never happened.
(Image: Morry Gash/Associated Press)
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