ptatc

QUOTE (Elgin Slim @ Aug 9, 2008 -> 01:27 PM) Not meaning to hijack the thread, but with how we've seen things pan out with Crede's back, Can we safely conclude that Chris Williams' career with the Bears is over before it even started? Football is a much more violent sport than baseball, and this seems like the same injury as Crede. Actually, it will not be as serious for Williams. The spine is designed to take the stress of an up and down force much more efficiently than a rotation force due to the S-curves. From working with the various sports a baseball hitter will have much more difficulty returning to a high level of performance than a football tackle.

QUOTE (IamPabloOzuna @ Aug 9, 2008 -> 12:59 AM) let me clear this all up for everyone...i have literally the same problem as joe and have had a couple epidurals myself. Like this previous poster said, the term "epidural" simply refers to the region of the injection. I have a terribly herniated disc that is putting pressure on my sciatic nerve. without treatment it causes severe pain that is absolutely unbearable. I have had 2 epidurals in the last year for pretty much the exact same problem as joe, except i never had surgery. the surgery is only done as measure that could possibly end the problem for good. I never had it, and apparently in joe's case it didnt work very well. an epidural is a direct shot of cortisone that bathes the spinal canal between the vertebrae. think of it as a super potentially long lasting anti-inflammatory/pain killer. my last one was in may and it absolutely melted the pain completely away. the only problem with epidurals is that they are not completely reliable for long periods of time. the pain may go away for a week, it may go away for a year, it may go away forever....but you can only have around 3 in a year. joe had this done as a measure of pain relief, and if it works as well for him as it did for me, he'll be fine. as far as how the sox are saying they are waiting for the epidural injection to kick in, it takes about 3-4 days to take full effect. Just because he has some pain now doesn't mean the surgery did not work. As I stated earlier it's very possible it could be scar tissue and this could relieve it. It's also possible that it is a disc above or below the previous one and the injections can relieve it. There is also the possibility that the problem is not related to a disc at all, there are many other structures that can aggravate a nerve. The disc is by far the most common. The epidural injection in the case of nerve dysfucntions is usually an anti-inflammatory which means it's not a pain killer but attempting to decrease the cause of the pain. This is why they take a few days to work and can get rid of the pain for good or have the client return for no more than three per year.

QUOTE (Steff @ Aug 8, 2008 -> 10:08 PM) I'm not Dr. Ptatc, but having done a lot of research on the topic I'll add what I know from that and the doc's. Simply a form of pain management, the "block", level of medication, that Joe would be getting can't be very substantial as if it were he would experience loss sensation, muscle power, and posibly loss of function of the sympathetic nervous system, which controls blood pressure. A level at which he would still be able to function normally would only give relief for, at best, several hours. And in almost all cases the patient is recommended to be confined to a bed because side effects can be life threatening - mainly paralysis of the diaphragm, and loss of function to the heart itself, causing heart rate and blood pressure drop. I don't really understand why he would be getting one unless he is about to have more surgery. Anything else said other than "Joe had an epidural..."? An "epidural" describes the location of the injection. The dural layers are the covering of the spinal cord. There can be many medications injected there. As Steff said one is for numbing and pain. The one Crede probably received is for anti-inflammatory purposes. The big worry here is that the epidural means they suspect the problem is nerve related not superficial muscle or movement problems. Since the back surgery is fairly recent it could be scar tissue. Hopefully, it is not a disc problem again. Even though they did a partial discectomy problems can arise from the other discs taking the load or the same discs can have problems again. The torsion the back endures during a baseball swing is violent and could cause these repeated problems. I think we've all noticed his defense has been where it should be.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Aug 8, 2008 -> 07:40 AM) well, if Richard could succeed at Charlotte (and before him Heath Phillips), I have a feeling that the AAA international league struggles vs. soft tosing lefties who work fast (I am assuming Whistler does this) and throw strikes. I wouldn't be surprised if Whisler has some sort of hitch in his delievery thats throws some hitters off. You mean every team in the league is the Chicago White Sox?

QUOTE (danman31 @ Aug 8, 2008 -> 12:33 PM) If his stuff was that good he wouldn't be having such a tough year. Stuff does not make a good pitcher. There is a lot more to it. Everyone has good talent if they make to the high minors. It's the mental approach and mental toughness which can get guys with good stuff pushed out of baseball.

QUOTE (BearSox @ Aug 6, 2008 -> 09:35 PM) Oh puh-lease. Pitch count is so overrated, it's not even funny anymore. Pitchers can easily throw 130 pitches a night, but because teams invest so much in pitchers now-a-days, GM's and managers baby the pitchers. Tell that to Zambrano who threw 130 one night and was on the DL after his next start. Too many pitchers today do not have the ability to reach that pitch count without breaking down. Most of the pitchers today would have blown out their arms in the minors and never seen the majors prior to 1980 or so. Expansion has created the problem of talented but fragile pitchers.

QUOTE (fathom @ Aug 6, 2008 -> 02:41 PM) Amphetamines has had a huge impact on baseball. More than PED, I think. Because while the PEDs were more obvious the Amphetamines were much more common. I can recall very few players NOT using them at least occasionally toward the end of the season.

QUOTE (lukeman89 @ Aug 6, 2008 -> 04:44 PM) miguel tejada, a-rod, michael young, grady sizemore, bobby abreu all of those guys, to name a few, play every day if they are healthy Well we know the reasons why Tejada and abreu didn't have drop offs (chemicals) Even if those players don't have decreased production at the end of the year you are talking a very few, usually younger players that are able to do that. To expect every player to do that is wrong. Again it is more mental than physical. Especially the older players who were used to the amphetamine boost at the end of the year.

QUOTE (beck72 @ Aug 6, 2008 -> 12:40 PM) I think it's also a matter of keeping fresh. Both guys have had some days off [which Swish has needed more than PK, who was off during his injury]. Rotating PK, Swish, Dye, Thome and Griff during the heat of August may see some dividends in Sept. with everyone being stronger. I agree. With the end of the season the older players will tire, more mentally than physically and the days off will help. It gives Ozzie a good balance to chose from. 2 lefties Griffey, Thome, 2 Righties Dye Konerko and one switch Swish (aliteration with the sw!!!). Now we just need the strating pitching to return to form and we're sitting pretty well.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Aug 6, 2008 -> 12:48 PM) To ptatc and thedoctor, agree to disagree. I am more a believer that, with the age of our players and lack of depth in our farm system, we should look to rebuild if we don't find the promised land again this year. I felt this way last year, and so far it seems like I was definitely wrong. But, the team is definitely getting older and I don't see that solving itself. Sooner or later it will probably have to be done, and that might just be my own opinion. And again, let me clarify that I'm not talking about a total rebuild, but more of sacrificing a couple of years to dump the older players, replace them with younger guys that may need some time to adjust, and keep the young guys we already have (Buehrle, Jenks, Quentin, Ramirez, Swisher, etc.). I'm not saying your wrong. Sometimes that is the best plan. I was just commenting on how this board would react and I'm not sure if most fans would agree with you.

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Aug 5, 2008 -> 09:20 PM) Yes, we can deal with having a couple bad seasons to replace the old guys. Not a total rebuild from the ground up, but sacrifice a few seasons for the bigger gain. Oh, I can't wait to see this board if KW allows this team to have a couple of down season's. Under his watch they have won a world series and only had one losing season and many on this board screams about how awful he is. Most people here tend to forget the decades of losing for the Sox and don't realize how good they've been lately. this really is a "what have you done for me today board." All that being said it is some of the most entertaining reading around...we going to the series....we suck....KW was good to CQ....KW sucks......we suck.....we're going to the series!!!!!!!!!!!

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Aug 5, 2008 -> 02:35 PM) That was Howry. Or both, but I'm pretty sure it was Howry. It was both. Although Howry was pretty good for awhile here. Erye wasn't very good at all. That was before the ADHD meds though. Of course, the meds are stimulants. What helps him more the increased concentration or the legal stimulant?

QUOTE (kwolf68 @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 08:07 PM) Unbelievable. CF is easier health wise than RF or LF? Then why the hell isn't Griffey still there? Or is Kenny the only one with this esteemed information? Whatever, I don't care about it anymore...lets just see what happens with the last two months of the season. The division is so there for the taking and after that anything can happen. Again, The point is not that CF is not difficult but the main attribute for a CF is to cover ground. The corner outfielders do not need to cover as much ground however the ball tends to hook or slice more thus making the read of the ball more difficult. It remains to be seen if Griffey can do that. As I stated when this started, you COULD make a case that the corners are tougher because of the more difficult read of the ball. In center the read of the ball is more true due to the lessened spin, you just need the speed to get there. I never said this was fact, just that from one perspective, it MAY be more difficult.

QUOTE (Flash Tizzle @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 05:30 PM) This is just from your experience, which I'm sorry to say is wrong. CF is the most difficult OF position to field and there shouldn't be any debate. Lets just throw Dye or Quentin in CF and see what happens. Remember Mackowiak, or Podsednik? They were LFers who failed miserably in CF. It's not from my playing experience, I've never played at a high level. It's from talking with major and minor league players in the dugout. Most told me that at the corners it can be tougher to judge the ball off the bat due to the hooks and slices the ball takes. The only part of CF that is tougher is you need to cover more ground and bad jumps make it look even worse. Dye and Q could n't play CF because they don't have the speed to cover the ground. It's not that it's a more difficult position they just don't have the skill set to play it. LF's who fail in CF just can't cover the ground to be effective. That is speed not difficulty.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 05:12 PM) Ask Carlos Gomez about how easy it is to field a ball in CF at the Cell. Torri Hunter even made some terrible plays there. i never said any of them is easy. I just said that LF and RF tend to be more difficult. I've tried fielding balls during batting practice and while I'm a decent athlete I didn't have a chance reading the balls off the bat correctly.

QUOTE (Flash Tizzle @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 05:02 PM) Anyone hear Williams quotes concerning this trade? ESPN had a quick segment from him where he said CF is the easiest of the positions to field. There's something wrong with someone who belives that. And no, I don't believe he was "purposely doing this to deceive the media" or any other excuse some of you may come up with. Depends on your perspective. It's easier because you get a more true read on the ball. Balls hit to center tend to be hit straigher with less spin. Balls hit to right or left tend to have more spin and will hook or slice more. With how hard the MLB players hit the ball, that spin causes a great deal of movement. On the other hand the CF needs to cover more ground and needs to get a better jump. So as a great philosopher once said "it is true, from a certain point of view."

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 11:02 AM) The M's have really hurt John in the past. It's really about time for John to show them what's up. I thought we were playing the twins again not the Mariners.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 04:40 PM) I have a feeling we're going to be big time Furcal players in Free Agency. Furcal and Alexei is slick in the IF. Alexei will be at SS next year. If furcal agrees to play 2B it could be possible but that's as likely as Griffey will win the GG is CF this year.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 01:08 PM) Have you actually seen Lannan? Because I just can't full believe that Richard has better stuff than him, not when Lannan has an ERA in the low 3's. Even in a pitcher's park and in the NL, that's still a damn good ERA. "Stuff" does not make a pitcher. Take MLB results over stuff. Although, Lannan did his work in the NL so I'm not sure how that would equate to the AL. The deal would depend on the other pieces.

QUOTE (Jimbo's Drinker @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 10:52 AM) ESPN News its on...they are panning the sox using Grif in CF. According to them the sox are possibly finishing the season in forth place behind the Royals. If you look at the comments before the season.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 08:34 AM) Andruw Jones says hi I think there was a different reason for that one (chemical) which I don't think is involved with PK. He could be washed up but I think it's unlikely.

QUOTE (quickman @ Jul 31, 2008 -> 08:12 AM) this whole thign is becuase konerko is washed up. If konerko was hitting this would never happen. Konerko is done. Konerko is not washed up. I think he is still hurt and you'll see him go on the DL when this deal goes through. You don't see a drop off like this at 32.

QUOTE (tommy @ Jul 26, 2008 -> 11:38 AM) inflammation of the posterior of his right shoulder - does anyone know if that's serious or will he be back in 15 days throwing strikes? I assume the inflammation is in the rotator cuff. That's usually where it is. If that's the case it is a waste basket term for "well there's a problem but we can't pin point it." MR scans will show any fluid as white. It can find a large tear in the rotator cuff but not small ones or undersurface ones. The MR probably showed a little fluid and that's why they are saying inflammation. It's a good sign in that nothing major was found. Hopefully, he'll get this break and not have one of his post-ASB disasters. i haven't heard anything definite so I'm betting that's what it is. 15 days should calm down the inflammation. He will then need to work back some strength.

Some of my professional credentials Part Time Air Traffic Controller (actually its Physical Therapist, Athletic Trainer Certified but the other sounds better)

QUOTE (smalls2598 @ Jul 10, 2008 -> 08:37 AM) Isn't Hawk the one who nicknamed Barry Jones the Vulture? Or did Jones have that nickname before coming to the Sox? The original "Vulture" was a pitcher named Phil Regan. He pitched in relief in the 70's (and 60's I think). Back when the relief pitchers pitched more than one inning and rarely got the win. He had years when he seemed to get these types of wins and was given the nickname due to swooping in and getting the opportunistic win. Hawk did call Barry Jones this as well.