When Madison Bumgarner got injured at the end of Spring Training in 2018, there was exactly one finger to point. Spring Training is too long, we’d say to each other. This was just a tune-up start, and why’d he even make it anyway, and the season is ruined because of it, and it’s not fair.
This year, Spring Training was literally as short as MLB can possible make it, and we still had multiple injuries that meant guys missed Opening Day. Evan Longoria got the worst of it, of course, with his injury knocking him out until May 11, but Tommy La Stella and LaMonte Wade Jr were also out for extended stretches at the beginning of the year.
They all came back, though! They all came back, eventually, and sure, Longoria’s been bad, and La Stella’s looked bad outside of one great game, and Wade got injured again, but that just…
Wait, Wade got injured again? Well, at least that is it for recent inju-
Dammit, Baggs, why’d you have to go and sum it up like that?
Yes, that post-Spring Training spate of injuries has reared its head yet again, with Wade suffering a recurrence of his bone bruise, Casali having a concussion, Belt dealing with the bad knee that’s been a recurring problem for a few years now, and Slater suffering from wrist inflammation. And that’s without even mentioning the longer-term injuries to Anthony DeSclafani and Steven Duggar, or the back problems that have Jake McGee on the IL, or Joc Pederson’s since-resolved abductor strain, or Alex Cobb’s since-resolved groin strain, or the COVID outbreak that swept through Mike Yastrzemski, Zack Littell, Dominic Leone, and Brandon Belt.
It has been too many injuries in a month and a half for one team to handle with aplomb, and, sure enough, the Giants have handled them without even a trace amount of aplomb. In the month of May the team has struggled to an 8-12 record, with an offense that has looked generally uncompetitive against good pitching and a pitching staff much more prone to the big inning than they had been over the last couple of years.
Some of this is due to bad luck. The top of the third in last night’s game was a clear example, with two weak Mets infield hits followed by a pop up with a 1% probability of being a hit that Darin Ruf couldn’t get to, and then finally the backbreaking three-run homer. The three balls before the homer had no business being hits.
But even there, you can see the effect of the injuries. Maybe, with a fully healthy roster, Ruf is DHing instead of playing left field. Maybe the left fielder is fast enough to catch that ball easily and we have no idea how bad things were about to get. Or maybe Ruf is still in left, but he’s shaded an extra step towards the line because the team trusts Slater in center more than (checks notes) the guy they got from the Mariners a week ago.
Or maybe it would have played out exactly the same way. There’s no way to know, but not having your best players on the field sure doesn’t help you win games.
So having considered all that, here’s my proposal:
The Giants shouldn’t get injured so much.
I mean, just think about it. When good players get injured, they are replaced by players who are (presumably) worse, thus lowering the overall talent level of the team. It’s bad! It’s just a bad deal! Sure, you’ll give someone a chance who otherwise wouldn’t have one, thus getting the occasional Luis Gonzalez out of it, but on the whole it’s just a bad deal.
So no more injuries, Giants. I’m putting my foot down. Until you get at least — at least! — three guys back from the IL, you’re not allowed to have any more injuries. Otherwise, so help me, I will make you strain every ligament in the box. Don’t test me, Giants. I’m sick of your bad decisions and it’s time you learned your lessons. Stop it. Just stop it.