abben
04-05-2007, 09:02 PM
I was just reading the latest in Petrel's excellent "Even The Braves" Dynasty, where he is covering yet ANOTHER Yankees/Giants World Series battle, as they seem to be the only two teams to ever make it in his dynasty. It was really interesting because it looked like the Giants were going to sweep the Yankees, but the pinstripes came back to win the next three in a row. BUT the Giants were without their major slugger, Bob Johnson.
Entering the dramatic game seven, here is the passage from Petrel's Dynasty:
It was the biggest game of the year. The Giants/Yankees battle would come down to one last game, but the Giants players waited to see if Bob Johnson, with his 34 home runs and .346 batting average, would help the Giants stem back the Yankee insurgency.
(* * *)
Johnson put on his uniform and limped to the shortstop position. Giants coaches hit some grounders towards him, but Johnson was as immobile as a lamppost. He would make tenative stabs at ground balls going by with his arm, and he would occasionally run after a ball, only to come to a dead stop for seemingly no reason. "I was taking aspirin like you couldn't believe, knee packs, everything. I actually felt worse out there on the field than I did before I came in."
Finally, after 15 minutes of hope against hope, Mele called the drills off. "Bob," he said, "I don't think I can use you today." They would have to go with Billy Hunter at short and pray for the best.
I would have liked to see Bob Johnson play through his injury for the Giants in that game, and I think it is very realistic to think teams would try to play their superstars through injuries in certain circumstances. We hear about it all the time. Curt Schilling in 2004. Jim Edmonds through basically the whole season in 2006...
Now, to condense this whole idea into bullet points...
For certain, less severe injures, there should be an option to play through them OR to play it safe and let the guy heal.
If they play, the player runs the risk of further inflaming and worsening the injury. OR, of just being ineffectual because of his injury.
If they play, certain player ratings might be reduced, to reflect the injured condition of the player.
Different injuries = different effects. A hamstring injury might slow a guy down, but he could still have his home run stroke, for example.
Entering the dramatic game seven, here is the passage from Petrel's Dynasty:
It was the biggest game of the year. The Giants/Yankees battle would come down to one last game, but the Giants players waited to see if Bob Johnson, with his 34 home runs and .346 batting average, would help the Giants stem back the Yankee insurgency.
(* * *)
Johnson put on his uniform and limped to the shortstop position. Giants coaches hit some grounders towards him, but Johnson was as immobile as a lamppost. He would make tenative stabs at ground balls going by with his arm, and he would occasionally run after a ball, only to come to a dead stop for seemingly no reason. "I was taking aspirin like you couldn't believe, knee packs, everything. I actually felt worse out there on the field than I did before I came in."
Finally, after 15 minutes of hope against hope, Mele called the drills off. "Bob," he said, "I don't think I can use you today." They would have to go with Billy Hunter at short and pray for the best.
I would have liked to see Bob Johnson play through his injury for the Giants in that game, and I think it is very realistic to think teams would try to play their superstars through injuries in certain circumstances. We hear about it all the time. Curt Schilling in 2004. Jim Edmonds through basically the whole season in 2006...
Now, to condense this whole idea into bullet points...
For certain, less severe injures, there should be an option to play through them OR to play it safe and let the guy heal.
If they play, the player runs the risk of further inflaming and worsening the injury. OR, of just being ineffectual because of his injury.
If they play, certain player ratings might be reduced, to reflect the injured condition of the player.
Different injuries = different effects. A hamstring injury might slow a guy down, but he could still have his home run stroke, for example.