Beckett on his way out? Not just of Boston...

[HeadOfSoxNation]

I wasn't quite sure the proper place to put this, but I heard something rather disheartening at my softball game last night...

 

My buddy Brian was in the Rangers farm system for the past couple of years...he was good friends with a guy who worked out with Beckett in the off-season. According to Brian's friend, a doctor who examined Beckett prior to his trade to the Sox said that his arm "is going to go at any day". We didn't hear it up here, because all we were concerned with were his blisters and what not, but apparently, anyone who knows Beckett and is in the baseball industry was absolutley SHOCKED at the Sox accepting the trade after that doctor's report. Needless to say, not what I wanted to hear about our young gun, especially after we gave up Hanley for him...

[ORS]

He was seen by Dr. Andrews pre-trade. That guy is the best in the business, and he cleared him to play. There were rumors about a bad doctor report floating around during the time of the trade, but they were never substantiated. In the end, that possibilty holds true for every pitcher. Worry about it when it happens, IMO.

[jsinger121]

He made every start this year and was cleared to be in good health by the best in the business. he is fine.

[AlexanderTheGreat13]

I remember Peter Gammons was talking about an MRI that Beckett took and he said something like it looked like a train wreck. That said I doubt every pitcher in the majors have clean MRI's. He made every start this year so I guess hes fine.

[riverside sluggers]

Its one of those heard from a friend of a friend of friend, etc. stories. Anyone back in younger school years play that game called "Telephone"?

 

Until I hear otherwise from a valid news source, Beckett is good to go

[HeadOfSoxNation]

I don't know...clearing someone to play, and saying that their arm is in good shape and in 26 year old shape are two entirely different things. I just can't see how one doctor's opinion can be soooooo far from anothers. There must have been some kind of indicator that something was up.

[a700hitter]

I don't know...clearing someone to play' date=' and saying that their arm is in good shape and in 26 year old shape are two entirely different things. I just can't see how one doctor's opinion can be soooooo far from anothers. There must have been some kind of indicator that something was up.[/quote']It's hard to throw 95 mph with a bum arm.

[SchillingIsTheNatural]

It's hard to throw 95 mph with a bum arm.

 

Consistantly too. I train wreck of an arm that throws 95 mph+ thoughout a whole season. Imagine if he was healthy....might throw 110 mph.

[example1]

I could see LL pulling the trigger on a deal for Beckett even if Beckett had a weak labrum (or whatever it is). He was the one who pushed for it, as Theo wasn't ready to give up on both Hanley AND Sanchez. So that's possible.

 

However, with the way Beckett pitched this season I just don't buy it. He may have had a little less velocity than he did the past few years, but radar guns are fickle and I definitely said "damn, he throws hard" numerous times this season. For whatever reason he didn't throw his breaking stuff much, or his changeup. Actually, he really only threw his fastball.

 

He threw 204 IP though, which is great. Particularly when you account for the fact that this guy didn't tend to get as deep into games as a lot of top-notch pitchers do. If he reduces his per-inning pitch count he will go deeper into games and pick up more innings for the same amount of work.

[SCM33]

I remember Peter Gammons was talking about an MRI that Beckett took and he said something like it looked like a train wreck. That said I doubt every pitcher in the majors have clean MRI's. He made every start this year so I guess hes fine.

 

Every pitchers MRI looks like s***. Pitching is such an unnatural ,otion for the arm and every time you throw a pitch you are tearing away at muscle and tendons. I had one done after my freshman year in college. My primary said it looked awful and that I should see a specialist. The specialist told me that it was pretty normal for anyone who throws a baseball as much as a pitcher does.

 

That being said, I worried so much about my shoulder that I blew out my elbow instead.

[jacksonianmarch]

He was seen by Dr. Andrews pre-trade. That guy is the best in the business' date=' and he cleared him to play. There were rumors about a bad doctor report floating around during the time of the trade, but they were never substantiated. In the end, that possibilty holds true for every pitcher. Worry about it when it happens, IMO.[/quote']

 

As you all know, Hipaa prevents the release of info from the doctors point of view. Hence, if there was a bad report that the sox chose not to listen too, there is no real proof and there is no way to quash it. If Andrews gave him the okay, then I think he was alright, although if I remember correctly, andrews is mostly specialized into TJ (elbow) vs shoulder. I could be wrong though.

[mosox]

If he is injured, most liklely his arm will drop lower during his delivery, as what happened with Pedro this year.

[example1]

As you all know' date=' Hipaa prevents the release of info from the doctors point of view. Hence, if there was a bad report that the sox chose not to listen too, there is no real proof and there is no way to quash it. If Andrews gave him the okay, then I think he was alright, although if I remember correctly, andrews is mostly specialized into TJ (elbow) vs shoulder. I could be wrong though.[/quote']

 

 

HIPPA prevents the doctor from releasing that information unless he gets consent from Beckett. The Red Sox probably have some release of information signed by Beckett allowing them to talk about his physical ailments. In either case, Beckett can talk about whatever he wants.

[RedSoxRooter]

It should also be noted that with the Red Sox essentially out of the playoffs by Sept. 1, Beckett pitched all the rest of his games. If the Sox thought he may have arm issues, they probably would have shut him down just to be safe.

 

Like someone else already mentioned, until something pops, rips or snaps, you just gotta keep pitching him like he's healthy.

[jacksonianmarch]

My point was that there can be tons of rumors about doctor reports, but nobody will ever know for sure. The Red Sox do have access to exams that they foot the bill for, but they dont have to tell the entire truth. What happens if Andrews gave a green light, but 9 other ortho docs gave thumb down. Essentially, the sox and Beckett control the flow of info, and no independent reporting can hunt down documents to prove otherwise because of hipaa.