Major League Baseball Injury Report – Part 2
The New York Yankees have been among the top three teams in Major League Baseball this season. As always, they have been among the news as well, more so because of their achievements. Derek Jeter completed his 3000 career hits to become the first ever player
to do so with New York Yankees. He fought hard to come back from the disabled list to do so and is still not completely fit. He missed the All-Star Game this season to avoid risk of being injured.
The Yankees suffered a major blow when their star player Alex Rodriguez was ruled out for at least four to six weeks due to a knee surgery. He is currently placed on the 15-day disabled list but is expected to stay out of action for more than that.
Eduardo Nunez has replaced A-Rod on third base but has still not been able to match the class of Rodriguez. Greg Golson has now been called from Triple-A as a replacement for A-Rod.
A-Rod is the leading home-run hitter among the current pool of players. He has 626 career home-runs and no current player is even near that mark. He has not been among the home-runs this season but his presence continues to haunt the pitchers. The Yankees
will want Rodriguez back in the bull-pen as soon as possible to help the Yankees for the World Series spot.
The Boston Red Sox are two games ahead of the Yankees in the American League East Division and are top contenders for the World Series from the American League. Their win-loss record is the second best in the Majors at 59-37 (.615) behind Philadelphia Phillies
who are at 61-36 (.629).
Boston is currently the best batting outfit in the League. However, sustained success is not possible without all departments performing efficiently and Boston has shown precisely how to go about it. Josh Beckett and Jon Lester have formed an excellent rotation
for the Red Sox thus far but Lester’s injury and his subsequent transfer to the disabled list has caused a panic situation in the bull-pen.
This season, Lester has started 18 games for the AL East leaders and pitched a total of 114.1 innings. He has bagged 110 strike-outs and given away just 44 runs. His win-loss record is exceptional at 10-4 and the Red Sox will need more of these performances
if they need to stay aloft the Yankees in their division.
Lester was placed on the disabled list on July 6 for a 15-day period due to a strained left lat muscle. This period is now over and Boston will now hope that Lester returns to the rotation as early as possible.
The Atlanta Braves are going strong this season with a win-loss record of 58-41. This record is better than many teams in the league but they continue to remain at the second spot, behind Philadelphia in the National League East Division due to the supremacy
of the latter this season.
The Braves, nonetheless, are still pressing hard and need just four good games to match the Phillies. Braves’ star third baseman Chipper Jones is out due a knee surgery and is expected to remain out for another three to four weeks. He was in line to begin
his rehab assignment on Friday, July 22 but is most likely to miss it as he still is not completely fit. Jones has 17 years of experience and the Braves will need him to help their cause of pushing hard at the Phillies.
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