One thing he will need to work on in the offseason is shortening his swing if he is going to continue to swing as hard as he has been. He is still producing results, but it can't be good for his longevity. He's been in obvious discomfort and dealing with an issue in his right forearm since long before the WC game, which appears to be worsening and I have to believe it's coming from him trying to hit the ball 600 feet on every swing. He's been wearing a sleeve over that arm with tape under it, so I think he's battling tennis/golfers elbow (haven't seen DRS or radsoxfan post in a while- maybe they can give their $0.02?) Others have said wrist, but I think it's more of an elbow issue. His pain level after contact is unnoticeable, but it's very noticeable when he misses.
Going back to the series against the Nats:
Sun- 3rd AB, after fouling off a 1-2 pitch he's seen shaking his right arm; 4th AB swung hard at the first pitch and pulled the right arm off the bat early. Swung hard at 4th pitch (2-1 count, curveball) and dropped the bat in very obvious discomfort. Then he hit a line drive base hit to RC and drove in a run.
Sat- In his 2nd AB, he is seen flexing his forearm after a swing and miss, and later in the AB nails a HR.
Fri - Was wearing a sleeve but didn't have any swings and misses.
Going back further into the BAL series:
Thurs: He's wearing the sleeve still, and in his second AB swings and misses at an 0-1 fastball and shakes his right arm out afterward.
Wed: His sleeve is a shorter one, but the arm tape is still there. One swing and miss in his fourth AB; shook his arm a bit, but didn't seem that uncomfortable. In his 5th AB, swung and foul tipped strike three, again, didn't seem that uncomfortable.
Tues: Full arm sleeve; in his first AB after fouling off the first pitch, was shaking the right arm. He was also massaging his left oblique after some swings- might be another issue from swinging so hard.
Going back to the series against the Yankees, he is not wearing the right arm sleeve in the Saturday game; he's actually got a full sleeve on his left arm! I guess it validates Cora's statement that nobody is 100% this time of year. But, he had an awkward swing and miss at strike 3 in his 2nd AB. In his 3rd AB, he got a hit (first pitch swing), but after getting to first is kind of rotating and flexing that right forearm. In his next AB he now has some kind of sleeve on the lower half of his forearm before getting drilled in the side on the first pitch thrown to him. On Sunday he was wearing the full sleeve from the bicep to the wrist with forearm tape, so this evidence suggests it started Saturday against the Yankees. Until the AB late yesterday where he missed the 92 mph meatball, I don't think it's had a lot of impact on the results, but there's plenty to be concerned about here going forward. I would like to see him quit trying to hit the C ring with every swing, but I don't know if he can make that adjustment until the offseason.
I captured some screen shots before and after the forearm sleeve first appeared, but I don't see how to post them unless I have a URL.
