Bayern Trupp » ed trial, and a day bef

Youd be hard pressed to find a man whos had a greater impact on baseball over the past 40 years. Were not talking about Hank Aaron, or Bob Gibson or Roger Clemens, Cal Ripken Jr. or Barry Bonds. Were talking about Dr. Frank Jobe who passed away Thursday night at the age of 88. He is the surgeon who pioneered the ulnar collateral ligament transplant surgery that saved so many elbows and prolonged the careers of so many players, pitchers and position players alike. Dr. Jobe first performed his landmark surgery in 1974. He was actually in the stands watching at Dodger Stadium when Tommy John, for whom the operation will forever be known, blew out his elbow in a game against the Expos. John was out of action for 18 months after the surgery. But he not only returned, he flourished. Tommy John was named Comeback Player of the Year in 1976 and went on to win another 164 games with the Dodgers and Yankees before retiring at age 46. He finnished with 288 victories and a 3.34 ERA. He appeared in three All-Star Games after his surgery. He was never the best pitcher of his generation or anything close to that, but his career numbers and the fact he rebounded from this operation the way he did should in the Hall of Fame in my mind. Just how important has this operation been? Well before last season, 124 of the 360 pitchers on the opening day rosters had undergone at least one "Tommy John". Its not just the pitchers though, whove gone through this career-saving surgery. Carl Crawford, Rafael Furcal, ex-Jay Kelly Johnson and current Jays catching prospect A.J Jimenez have all undergone this elbow surgery. The first Blue Jays pitcher I could find who had the operation was David Wells back in 1985. But the list grows from there. Jimmy Key in 1988, former skipper John Farrell in 1991 while he was pitching for Cleveland and the list goes on. You have Billy Koch, A.J Burnett while he was with Florida, Jason Frasor who had it done twice, B.J. Ryan in 2007, Dustin McGowan, Shaun Marcum, Josh Johnson while with Florida and Chris Carpenter with St. Louis in 2007. All owe their careers to Dr. Jobe and those surgeons who have followed his trailblazing path. The disturbing thing is the way elbow injuries have increased. There were 24 documented "Tommy John" surgeries in 2013, including those of Mets star pitching prospect Matt Harvey and Blue Jays journeyman pitcher Ramon Ortiz, who underwent the operation for a second time. But the worst year by far was 2012, when there were 46 "Tommy Johns" including four to Blue Jays Drew Hutchison, Kyle Drabek, his second, Luis Perez and the aforementioned A.J. Jimenez. There are two known pitchers who actually had three elbow ligament transplant surgeries. Jose Rijo who helped spark the Reds to victory in the 1990 World Series and Jason Isringhausen, who turned from a top starting prospect with the Mets to a standout reliever later in his career. Rijo is truly a remarkable story. After being named an All-Star with the Reds in 1995, he suffered a serious elbow injury and was out of the game for five full seasons. He finally battled back in 2001 as a reliever with Cincinnati. It was said after three "Tommy John" surgeries and two other arm operations, his elbow had almost no ligament left. But ironically, the arthritis in his elbow, the scar tissue and the fact he had built up the muscles in his forearm to such an extent, he was still able to throw against all odds. Rijo retired in 2002 but not before winning the final ball game ever played at old Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. One pitcher who doesnt need to worry about his ulnar collateral ligament is Blue Jays knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. Thats because he was born without one. Like Rijo, Dickey has defied the odds with many a doctor saying Dickey shouldnt be able to pitch without that ligament in his elbow. Yet two years ago, he won the Cy Young Award with the Mets and is still going strong with the Blue Jays at 39. At least 85 per cent of "Tommy John" patients make a complete recovery and in most cases, their elbows are stronger than ever. However, there are some who dont make it all the way back. Blue Jays closer B.J Ryan was never the same after his surgery in 2007 and was out of the game within a couple of years. But cases like that are the exception rather than the rule and the game would be a pale shadow of itself without the medical marvels of Dr. Frank Jobe. As a footnote, we should also mention Dr. Jobe pioneered a surgical technique on another Dodgers star, Orel Hershiser. It was a less invasive shoulder procedure that reduced the risk of collateral damage to the shoulder structure and sped up the recovery time. This and That Phillies infielder Freddy Galves will one day be the answer to a trivia question. On Thursday, he became the first player to hit a home run off the Yankees Japanese phenom Masahiro Tanaka. I try not to get too caught up in the struggles of pitchers in spring training since theyre often just working on command or one specific pitch but Ive got to admit on Wednesday, I was a little bit concerned when Brandon Morrow gave up five runs on six hits over three innings to the Pirates. Then I noticed on the same day, White Sox ace Chris Sale gave up six runs on six hits and a walk in just 2-2/3 innings against the Padres. Then, the Cubs Jeff Samardzija surrendered three runs on four hits in three innings in a 7-5 loss to Colorado. At that point, I realized its too early to be making hard judgements. Nike React Element 55 Heren Sale . His fellow Finn, 21 years his junior, had just arrived in Anaheim and was hoping to stick with the Ducks. Nike Vapormax Sale Nederland .28 for a combined time of 1:14.70, also an Olympic record. Lee won the gold medal, defending her title from the Vancouver Games. http://www.vapormaxsalenederland.com/. First, Ivan Nova decided to have season-ending Tommy John elbow surgery. Then Michael Pineda was suspended for 10 games for using pine tar. Nike React Element 55 Nederland . -- LaMarcus Aldridge returned to the Trail Blazers lineup, happy to know that things didnt go awry without him. Vapormax 2019 Heren . The American secured his first back-to-back ATP match wins since June to leave Tsonga relying on his performance at next weeks Paris Masters to clinch one of the final three places for the season-ending event in London. Tsonga would have moved up one spot to No. 6 with a win over Querrey at the City of Arts and Sciences, but his serve deserted him in the second set as the 116th-ranked American broke twice to reach the quarter-finals.PRETORIA, South Africa -- Oscar Pistorius has an anxiety disorder that may have contributed to the fatal shooting of his girlfriend, an expert testified at his murder trial Monday, prompting the chief prosecutor to say the double-amputee Olympian should be placed under psychiatric observation. The judge has not yet ruled on prosecutor Gerrie Nels application that the court considers a period of mental evaluation for the world-famous runner. Dr. Merryll Vorster, a psychiatrist called by the defence, testified that a series of events in Pistorius turbulent life, including the amputation of his lower legs as a baby, his parents divorce, his late mothers habit of sleeping with a gun under her pillow and his own fear of violent crime contributed to his "increasing stress." "Overall, Mr. Pistorius appears to be a mistrustful and guarded person," Vorster testified. She said he has "many features of anxiety." Vorster said Pistorius anxiety combined with his physical disability may have caused him to act differently from other people when he shot four times through a toilet stall door in the early hours of Feb. 14, 2013, killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Pistorius, 27, claims he mistook Steenkamp for a dangerous intruder when he shot her with his licensed 9 mm pistol in the pre-dawn hours. Prosecutors say he killed the 29-year-old model after an argument and shot in anger and not fear last Valentines Day. Pistorius chief lawyer Barry Roux said at the start of defence-led testimony that the double amputees vulnerability and disability was at the centre of his case of a mistaken killing. But prosecutor Nel questioned Monday if Pistorius was merely trying one of a number of defences for shooting his girlfriend. "There must be some reason why Mr. Roux decided to call this witness. It might be the third defence that we have," Nel said. Pistorius, the first amputee to run at the Olympics, testified at his trial that he fired his gun accidentally at the toilet door. That aappeared to contradict his initial statement in court documents last year that he shot in self-defence because he believed his life was in danger.dddddddddddd Nel said if Pistorius had genuine anxiety issues, Judge Thokozile Masipa should order him to be evaluated. Responding to a question from a reporter after the trial was adjourned, Pistorius said "Go read the law." As the athlete sat in the Pretoria courtroom earlier Monday making notes and occasionally looking up at the witness stand, Vorster outlined his apparently unhappy childhood and a life story in contrast to the smiling, triumphant disabled runner who made history at the London Olympics in 2012. Vorsters testimony raised the question of whether Pistorius was now claiming "diminished responsibility" for the shooting, Nel said, because of a possible mental illness. Nel also asked the psychiatrist if someone who was suffering from such an anxiety disorder, and had access to guns, would be a danger to society. Vorster said the person would, indeed, be a danger. Vorsters testimony came at the start of the eighth week of the globally televised trial, and a day before Pistorius defence had predicted it might wrap up its case. It now appears unlikely that the defence will rest Tuesday. The prosecutions cross-examination of the psychiatrist could continue on day 31 of proceedings after Nel asked for more time to look at her report on Pistorius. Vorster reached her opinion after meeting with Pistorius on two occasions this month, and also from interviews with his family, friends and agent, she said. Pistorius and his brother and sister "were reared to see their external environment as threatening," Vorster said, and this played a part in his actions on the night of the shooting. Vorster said Pistorius was more likely to try and "fight" what he thought was an intruder than run away, because his disability meant it was harder for him to flee. Pistorius was on his stumps when he shot Steenkamp. ' ' '