Brackman Undergoes TJ Surgery

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Confirmation link from NYT. As we noted two weeks ago, those visits to Dr. Andrews tend not to have happy short-term endings.

Starter Andrew Brackman, the Yankees’ No. 1 pick in the June draft, had reconstructive elbow surgery last Friday, Brian Cashman said. The Yankees signed Brackman for a guaranteed $4.5 million on Aug. 15, and determined he needed surgery after his first few workouts in Tampa, Fla.

“We knew there was certainly a possibility when we signed him, but we had to wait and see,” Cashman said. “If everything goes right, he could be pitching in rehab games in August of ’08.”

About BJD95

1995 NC State graduate, sufferer of Les and MOC during my entire student tenure. An equal-opportunity objective critic and analyst of Wolfpack sports.

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43 Responses to Brackman Undergoes TJ Surgery

  1. partialqualifier 08/30/2007 at 9:45 AM #

    Well said Choppack! You gotta do what’s in your heart…that’s what we would all tell our kids. And if I had a son in Brackman’s shoes I would have said….”Hey, if you love baseball with all your heart then that’s what you need to do…full time. Ride that horse as far as it will take you.”

    On a side note:

    It is disturbing he chose Boras as his agent. Generally speaking I despise any player who goes with Boras. Players know his rep…and they also know many teams would rather sign a second rate player represented by another agent than deal with Boras’ underhanded tactics. It has been my belief….just looking at the players Boras has signed thelast 8 to 10 years that around 90% of those guys are just out to make all the money they can irregardless of anything else. I hope Brack hasn’t gotten to that point.

  2. crackdog 08/30/2007 at 9:48 AM #

    RAWFS, If he had gone unsigned while sitting out a year to transfer, would he have been eligible to enter the draft yet again?

    And I’m not sure he would have had to sit out, anyway, since he didn’t play bball last year and (I think) wasn’t on scholarship for basketball.

    Boras is good. No wonder teams hate dealing with him.

  3. noah 08/30/2007 at 11:09 AM #

    “Exactly my point. When he was only pitching 35 innings a season, it was not enough time to wear down his elbow. Apparently 78 innings was.”

    No. It doesn’t work like that.

    PQ – While I’m not about to become a defender of Scott Boras…isn’t your description of someone trying to make as much money as possible a pretty good description of just about every owner in baseball?

  4. partialqualifier 08/30/2007 at 11:47 AM #

    Noah- Yea…I agree that the owners are out to make all they can, but I always look at it like they are the ones footing the bill for the whole thing. If an owner loses his ass in a city like Tampa, it aint the players who lose. Instead it’s the city, the owner, and the fans. And I have no problem with a player trying to get what he is worth, but Boras is notorious for his dishonesty in negotiating. In most cases he is dealing with GM’s and Managers who are trying to work within the financial framework provided them by the owner of the team to put the best possible team on the field. Often times Boras’ dishonesty bites these guys in the ass. He negotiates contracts with these teams when his clients have no interest AT ALL in playing there in order to make other teams bid higher. The problem is the teams getting used as bait lose the chance to get some other guys because they are thinking they might get Boras’ guy. That is exactly why teams like Atlanta almost always refuse to re-sign guys who choose Boras as his agent (See Greg Maddux, Andrew Jones after this year, and Mark Texiara after next).

  5. redfred2 08/30/2007 at 1:13 PM #

    Has anyone here EVER said, implied, or even hinted at any time, that Brackman should have given up on his baseball dreams, for basketball?

    HELL NO!

  6. Dr. BadgerPack 08/30/2007 at 1:31 PM #

    It should be noted that Brack’s workload did not go 35-35-78. Pitchers throw countless “innings” in preparation for seasons, and in the offseasons; not to mention during bullpen sessions. Innings for pitchers aren’t typically the determining factor in these injuries. Noah said before that conventional wisdom says it is a cumulative injury. Another key factor in these injuries is how many difficult innings are thrown. Guys like Greg Maddux throw forever because they rarely throw more than 20 pitches an inning; real damage to a pitchers arm happens throwing pitches when tired (when you will alter your delivery).

    Brackman also had a phenomenal showing in the Cape Cod league after his second season (more innings) where he was hitting 99 on the gun (this is what vaulted him to the top of the draft boards). So the workload was more like on a nice upward progression, rather than a sudden jump. (Additionally, check out innings pitched from high school, then consider innings pitched in summer leagues, etc.– he’s thrown a ton).

  7. noah 08/30/2007 at 2:56 PM #

    Brackman was pretty consistent in his freshman and junior years. His ERA was up a little, but his WHIP and his K/9 were pretty consistent. His sophomore season was the aberation. His WHIP jumped pretty severely.

    Innings went 43-28-78 during his State career. None of those are indicative of overwork.

  8. Dr. BadgerPack 08/30/2007 at 3:08 PM #

    Tack on another 17 innings during his sophomore year in the Cape Cod league.

    So 43-45-78 “Competitive innings” with a reduced soph-junior year “break”.

    Good call on his second year WHIP. 1.98 is horrid, and indicates he probably had a plethora of very high pitch count innings.

  9. redfred2 08/30/2007 at 5:42 PM #

    So, what are we debating here, that he was overworked, underworked, or what? The question is whether his baseball skills and aspirations suffered while, or because, he was playing basketball. And the answer is: Definitely NOT.

  10. redfred2 08/30/2007 at 6:10 PM #

    “That’s right. Poor wittle Brackman…he’s completely incapable of making up his own mind. Those evil, moustache-twirling agents! Damn them! Don’t they realize that what’s most important is YOUR opinion?”

    Actually, as we all know Brackman, or any other kid, can decide whatever they choose. What kills me is all of the clingon’s that boldly step up and mouth off that the kids were exactly right in their decisions, no matter what they are. It’s just so easy, like let’s all jump on the bandwagon and follow the crowd mentality. The decision is already made and there’s nothing anyone can do to change it, so let’s all jump on board here and say that he was exactly right, whether or not we have even a clue what else could be in his future.

  11. Dr. BadgerPack 08/30/2007 at 7:44 PM #

    Red, I’m staying out of the “what should he have done” debate.” I tend to let the athlete make their decision, nod and move on. What is certain is that he opted not to play basketball, was drafted in the first round, and is guaranteed 4.5 million and the best medical care Steinbrenner can buy. Right or wrong, regrets or no regrets on Brackman’s part, things have worked out well in that he is set for life and still in all likelihood has a future in the “first choice” of his sports.

    It was definitely brought up in the thread that he was overworked this year compared to the previous seasons, and I thought it bore mentioning that that was not the case due to Cape Cod league play. That kept him on an active throwing program– and actively pitching– for about the same time frame as the last season.

    For “overworked” see Wood, Kerry– 250+ pitches during both ends of a doubleheader in high school. Those situations are when injuries will develop; throwing pitches dog tired when your mechanics fall apart completely. Once the damage starts, over time it will eventually require surgery. I watched a good number of Brackman’s starts this year, and he didn’t often really labor on the mound- and on occasions when he did, he was out after 4 or 5 innings. It’s also really hard to be overworked making 1 start per week– this is a strong indicator that the initial damage was old.

    On a side note, did the Yankees say if the ligament was actually torn, or damaged? Andrews has been known to preemptively strike in these situations. Heck, HEALTHY pitchers have ASKED for TJS due to the recent exceptional track record of the procedure.

  12. redfred2 08/30/2007 at 9:39 PM #

    As far as long term injury goes, hey, you’re the Doctor around here.

    I’ll try to end it here but all I’m saying pertaining to the running battle is that Andrew Brackman, very much like a Cedric Simmons who was drafted high but not really based on his performances at NC State, Brackman also has basketball potential that didn’t ever have a chance to bloom at NCSU either.

    Just something to think about, but let’s go back, let’s say Sidney Lowe had taken over a year or two earlier, remembering what he accomplished with a skeleton crew this past season. Let’s say Andrew Brackman is there and now has a real reason to play basketball, a reason to fire his competitive fire, but the same reason that he missed out on because of the lack luster program that he started in. Now he’s a motivated basketball player in his soph and junior season’s, he scored 16 points and grabbed 10 boards in the ACC finals, another win over UNC, and NC STATE’s first championship in, oh, I can’t keep up how long it’s been now. The basketball program is on the rise and along with it Andrew Brackman is a force to be reckoned with in the ACC and nation wide. BUT also, not forgetting that EVERYONE ia very aware and no one denies that his professional fortunes lie on the baseball diamond. If that was the scenario, and that was a very likely scenario if he had been out there on the court last season, I have to believe that there wouldn’t be quite as many people out there saying that simply sitting out a season while still attending school “was the only wise decision for him to make”. I am not even saying that there wouldn’t always be a need to weigh the decision to play one sport over the other when a professional contract is in the balance. What I am saying is that I wish him well, and that even though he is now a muti-millionaire, Andrew Brackman, was robbed, and money or his baseball contract has nothing to do with it.

  13. noah 08/30/2007 at 9:52 PM #

    I just can’t get over Brackman not calling some of our fans and asking for guidance. I mean…who is HE to judge what’s best for him? He doesn’t know how good a basketball player is. OUR FANS do.

    God, what an a-hole he is. No wonder he tore up his elbow.

  14. redfred2 08/30/2007 at 10:02 PM #

    noah, is your tongue stuck out and thumbs in your ears with your hands waving. If you’re over that now, please go back and read my previous post again.

  15. noah 08/30/2007 at 10:03 PM #

    “So, what are we debating here, that he was overworked, underworked, or what? The question is whether his baseball skills and aspirations suffered while, or because, he was playing basketball. And the answer is: Definitely NOT.”

    He was neither overworked nor under-worked. He had a pretty typical workload for a college pitcher.

    But, I don’t know where you got the “Definitely” part. His worst season on the mound was his sophomore year…when he was playing basketball. Once he committed completely to baseball, his numbers improved significantly, even with the increased workload.

  16. redfred2 08/30/2007 at 10:13 PM #

    I pecked this out last night and decided to let it go, but I think now maybe it’s good to go.

    As for my sparring partner in this little debate, he has kind of an excuse in the Brackman situation. You see, this all started way back before last basketball had even started and back when he had already completely written off the our coach, as well as NC State basketball in general, at least for all of last season, if not longer. Before the first game was ever coached he was boldly proclaiming that the team would be, and I quote, “the WORST ever in the HISTORY of the ACC.” So of course, since there are so many young fans that don’t remember ’83, or know anything about Sidney lowe, he may have sounded like he knew what he was talking about first espoused that Brackman “made the only wise decision” in quitting basketball. That would have to some anyway, but not all.

    I’m pretty sure that we all know better than that now.

    noah, I love ya man, but you are about as far off base in this instance as you were with your earlier prognostications.

  17. redfred2 08/30/2007 at 10:42 PM #

    Sorry noah, that was a pretty cheap shot. My apologies.

    As far as a comparison of Brackman’s seasonal numbers, I don’t have access to them, but from what I read here and there, there was no quantum leap accomplished after quitting basketball. One article stated that he was progressing pretty much like any other kid/baseball player/pitcher would from one season to the next. Just normal progression, nothing to jump up and down about, especially not because he quit basketball.

  18. Dr. BadgerPack 08/30/2007 at 11:54 PM #

    Redfred-

    Nah, I’m not a medical Dr. I have coached baseball since I was 12 though (month shy of 30 now), mainly working w/ pitchers (and I read medical journals in my spare time).

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