Ok so my last week at school has forced me to miss the Red Sox series at the Orioles.
Being a junior in college, you'd probably assume that my final exam schedule has me in the library cramming all night for tests and last minute assignments for the next day, leaving no time to watch the Sox. However, I only wish I was that productive. Seeing as the cable for my apartment was shut off this week for the summer months, my options for tuning in to the game are limited. So I am indeed in the library cramming for those dreaded exams, yet not all of my attention is actually directed towards my studying, as every few minutes or so I peer over at my computer screen and check the score via ESPN's GameCast.
For those of you that don't know, GameCast is a virtual scoreboard on the ESPN.com website where you can watch the basics of a game without actually seeing video. The scoreboard shows the players on the field, who's pitching, and the current batter, along with the pitch sequence. Just like watching a normal Red Sox game, every so often you might hear a cheer, applause or even an obscenity being uttered from me, followed by a friendly reminder that I am still in the Mantor Library, not Fenway Park. The makers of GameCast are truly geniuses, developing a way to tune into the game without using either radio or television. So as I’m thanking the baseball Gods for allowing me to catch my favorite team in action while studying for finals, Mike Lowell abruptly hits in to a double play with runners in scoring position to end an inning. Typical.
So with my attention being divided in half between the Sox game and my accounting notes (we’ll truly see where my attention was when during tomorrow’s test I can’t remember equations for income statement ratios), I check the team’s website to see who will fill the outfield hole left by (another) J.D. Drew injury. Scrolling down to see that Jonathan Van Every has been called up from Pawtucket, I also take notice that prized prospect Clay Buchholz was placed on the 15 day disabled list with a broken something. I’ll let you take a shot at what part on the human anatomy that Clay has broken.
Leg? Wrist? Ankle?...
Thankfully, it’s none of these. Clay has actually pulled a Paris Hilton and broken a nail.
That’s right, a fingernail. Now the common observer would think that this pathetic excuse for an injury belongs to a dainty cheerleader from Beverly Hills not a pro ballplayer, but alas, it can be a major pain for a pitcher. Buchholz injured the nail on his middle finger during his last start against the Minnesota Twins, which hopefully can explain his meager performance against a lineup that, on paper, would have a hard time teeing off against minor league pitching. While warming up for the second inning, the nail fell off Buchholz’s finger, as the rookie believes it was from throwing an excessive amount of two seam fastballs, which put added pressure on the finger. After hours of examinations and analysis, Red Sox team doctors issued an announcement about the injury, highlighted by a few statements;
“This is the type of injury that will be career threatening”,
“He’ll have a difficult time returning to form after this injury”
and,
“Maybe, just maybe, after months and months of rehab, he’ll be able to throw again.” –Team Medical Director Dr. Thomas Gill.
Now obviously those statements were fictional, as serious baseball players and fans know that pitcher’s fingers are very fragile, and even the slightest pain or ailment can cause a pitcher to not have his best stuff on the mound. Through the early parts of his career, playoff hero and ace Josh Beckett battled with blisters on his throwing hand, sidelining the young star for weeks at a time. Meeting with burn doctors in Miami, playing long toss with a sock on his throwing hand, as well as soaking his hands for hours to develop calluses didn’t seem to work. After trying remedy after remedy, Beckett finally found a solution and jumped back on the fast track to success.
Hopefully same can be said for Bucholz’s fingernail problem, and although Clay isn’t going to resort to Moises Alou’s solution of urinating on one’s own hands (to toughen them up, obviously), he seems competitive enough to want to get back to late season form of last season (and we all witnessed what he’s capable of, although tossing no-hitters in every start is a tall task). So even though broken nails and blisters don’t seem to be a big deal to the common eye, baseball is a game of inches, and any little thing can change the face of a game.
For Red Sox fans, we hope Clay’s fingernail problem will quickly heal and he’s back on the mound soon enough. For his sake though, I wouldn’t keep my fingers crossed on Paris Hilton calling about a manicure date anytime soon.
Go Celtics!
Keywords: blisters, Celtics, Fingernails, Gamecast, Paris Hilton
