out 8-10 weeks per SI, I believe.
Can Bagwell’s shoulder handle the throw to first?
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If Brantley is ready for opening day, he’s a good choice for the leadoff spot until Altuve returns. He works counts and battles in his at bats.
I’d probably use a lineup of:
Brantley
Pena
Alvarez
Bregman
Tucker
Abreu
McCormick/Meyers
Hensley or Dubon
Maldonado
Is there any evidence Brantley could be ready for opening day? I haven’t kept up.
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About a week ago, Dusty said it would be close. But it sounds like he should be ready in early April, if not.
https://twitter.com/chandler_rome/status/1635279947383324677?s=46&t=J8i7q0F51Y4-d7E78YpG0Q
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I do not like Tucker leading off. He needs to be in an RBI spot. That said, there isn’t a great option. Brantley would be the obvious choice if he’s healthy. I guess if it’s Tucker, it’s Tucker, but it means he’s gonna get an awful lot of at bats with the bases empty.
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That seems optimistic. Maybe 8-10 weeks before he can start swinging a bat, but I would be pleasantly surprised to see Jose’ before June.
If I were mining the clouds hard, I’d say he would be fresh as a daisy in October.
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No, there damn sure isn’t. Brantley would be the best choice…if he’s available. Out of the other “every day players,” Alvarez has the highest OBP but you’re certainly not doing that. Bregman has the next best OBP and while part of me thinks his mental makeup could make that transition easily, I don’t know that I like him there either. Worry that he might try to do too much to get on base and pull another hamstring.
I think Peña is going to strikeout too much for that spot in the order but it wouldn’t be the worst idea. Have the same opinion about Chaz in that spot.
I don’t like Dubon there either. I actually don’t like Dubon as an everyday player.
While the sample size is extremely damn small, I think I’d put Hensley at second and bat him lead off until Brantley is ready….but that’s just me. I’d at least try it for a few games to see what happens.
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Peña could work, but he’d have to get on base a lot more than he did last year. Perhaps he can. But that’s a big if
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Nor do I. You are wasting Tucker in the leadoff spot.
I’m hoping Brantley is ready by the first week to 10 days of April at the latest, and he can be the primary leadoff man until Altuve returns. If somebody else needs to do it, I might consider Bregman before Tucker, though it’s a similar dilemma. Bregman is also good at working counts and battling in his at bats.
I really want to keep Peña in the two hole directly in front of Alvarez or Tucker. Since teams ideally don’t want to face Alvarez or Tucker with runners on, Peña should see more fastballs batting second and not as many breaking pitches out of the zone.
Bregman can at least get on base at a pretty good clip. He’s a better choice than Tucker, IMO, and certainly better than Peña or McCormick.
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Put me down for Bregman/Brantley as the leadoff options. My ideal lineup until Altuve gets back
Without Brantley
Bregman
Pena
Alvarez
Abreu
Tucker
Fill in the rest
With Brantley
Brantley
Bregman
Alvarez
Abreu
Tucker
Pena
Fill in the rest
Also I would start Hensley at 2B for the start of the season and hope he runs with it.
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What kind of thumb break requires surgery? Aside from some nasty compound fracture, which Altuve clearly didn’t have since he was splinted up and back in the dugout last night?
Harper had the same exact injury last year.
Had surgery missed 2 months ( injured 6/25, return 8/26).
Baseball prospectus says the average time missed for a hitter is 34 days for a broken thumb.
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Harper needed pins and I’m going to guess that Altuve will too. Harper had his pins removed about 3.5-4 weeks after the surgery.
Article on why surgery is the treatment:
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Here’s the part about pins being removed
I broke my thumb in a car accident (airbag got it on the steering wheel)
It was “healed” in few weeks but still not back to full strength for jearly a year.
Things like opening ziplock bags required me using my first 2 fingers instead of thumb-finger.
I’m sure the surgery allows for stronger/faster recovery.
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The kind I had. It split down into my palm, I played a year of soccer with a cast from my elbow on down, before every game the cast would get wrapped, heavily, and the ref would then check it out, squeeze it and say “if I see you hit anybody…”
I broke my thumb in highschool in a similar way to Altuve and I was out only 6 weeks.
I did however rebreak it because I came back too soon as it turned out. So lets not do that.
I was especially dumb back then, because I then broke the SAME thumb, playing football about 2 months after the second break.
Thumb breaks do fucking suck though
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