Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Brantley's 2016 #s Through August

by now i'm sure everybody has heard that Michael Brantley's 2016 season officially came to an end when he underwent biceps tenodesis for his chronic right biceps tendinitis on August 15. the good news is he's expected to make a full recovery in four months. the bad news is he has no chance to build on his numbers for the year anymore. as a result, this is going to be another "#s Through" blog much like the previous two i've posted. once again, if you see (unchanged) next to a section, it means nothing was added to it, and sections without that marking include new/different information from the last time you viewed them.

note: even though Michael's season is over and his statistics will not be changing, i am going to continue using the present tense when listing them below. i'm also still going to address his numbers and stats throughout this blog using the terms "through August" and "after five months" simply to keep the timeline of the season straight. however, i am no longer using "so far" and "thus far" when describing his stats because they are indeed final.


in 2016, Michael has 43 plate appearances and 39 at bats in 11 games (89.1 innings). in total, he has 9 hits, 2 extra base hits, 7 singles, 2 doubles, 7 RBI, 1 sac fly, 5 runs, 3 walks, 1 intentional walk, 1 stolen base (3rd), 1 GIDP, 6 strikeouts (3 swinging, 3 looking), 1 first at bat hit, 11 total bases, 14 left on base, 18 putouts, and 1 assist.

2016 batting average through August:

Brantley's August 2016 (w/ Post-Surgery Interview)

hey, Brantley fans! as always, i want to start out by expressing my usual gratitude. thank you to everyone who took the time to read my Brantley's July 2016 blog and Brantley's 2016 #s Through July blog, as well as the three surgery blogs i wrote this month AND the three rehab blogs that i posted. there was a lot going on that i needed to address separately from here, so i appreciate people checking all that out. i also want to say a special hello to my new viewers in Sint Maarten, Taiwan, Egypt, and South Africa! welcome and thanks for stopping by!

now on to the sad news. if you don't already know, Michael's season is over. that's right, he will not be returning this year after all on account of the biceps tenodesis (surgery) he had mid-month. give the man props for putting everything he had into his many rehab attempts in order to rejoin the Indians on the baseball field, but apparently it was not meant to be. regardless, the blog must go on!

because Michael did not play in any August games, this will be a lot like the June and July blogs once again in that many sections are bare and some have been altogether omitted. this post heavily features his DL updates and post-surgery news. i did try my best, however, to incorporate some interesting things despite Michael's absence from games, so be sure to read the new "Did You Know?" and "Hammy Says" sections of the blog down below.


August Overview

the Indians had a packed schedule this month, playing a total of 30 games in August. and for the third month in a row, Michael played zero. the Indians went

Sunday, August 21, 2016

Brantley's Overall 2016 Minor League Rehab #s

as promised, here is the blog featuring Michael Brantley's overall 2016 minor league rehab numbers. if only i was posting this because he was back in the big leagues again. sigh. unfortunately, Michael just had season-ending surgery on August 15. therefore, there is no more wondering about when he will resume his rehab, cause it's done.

this blog combines Michael's rehab numbers from April with his rehab numbers from July. (oddly enough, Michael played as many rehab games this year as he did regular season games with the Cleveland Indians.) he spent time rehabbing with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, Lake County Captains, Akron RubberDucks, and Columbus Clippers. i have done a cumulative breakdown of Michael's overall numbers as well as broken down his total numbers from each minor league team he played with.

THERE ARE FIVE SECTIONS OF STATISTICAL BREAKDOWNS IN THIS BLOG. FEEL FREE TO SKIM THROUGH CERTAIN PARTS AND/OR JUST FOCUS ON WHAT YOU MOST WANT TO READ ABOUT.


i'm beginning with how Michael did in his OVERALL 2016 minor league rehab assignment, which incorporates stats from his appearances with the Scrappers, Captains, RubberDucks, and Clippers all together.

Thursday, August 18, 2016

Brantley's July 2016 Minor League Rehab #s (2nd DL Stint)

this is the second part of Michael Brantley's rehab information accumulated during his second DL stint in 2016. it contains Michael's numbers and statistics from his second minor league rehab assignment of the year, spanning between July 11 and 17. if you're looking for a very thorough account of his daily hitting progressions and the details about all his rehab game plate appearances, then please read this in conjunction with my previous blog: Brantley's May - August 2016 DL Stint Updates & Rehab Game Details.

note: if you are wondering why i didn't post Michael's July rehab numbers at the end of July, here's why. initially, i anticipated Michael would be continuing with his rehab assignment sometime in August. and, since it would have occurred while he was on the same DL stint (stemming from May 14), i planned on combining his rehab numbers from both July and August, as i saw no reason to split the July and August numbers. but because Michael recently had surgery and is not going to resume his rehab this season, i can now post his rehab stats from his second DL stint, consisting of games in the month of July only.


like earlier this season, i'm first going to break down Michael's overall July rehab numbers, and then separately break down his stats from

Brantley's May - August 2016 DL Stint Updates & Rehab Game Details

originally, i had a very happy introduction planned for this blog that was fixated on Michael Brantley's activation from the disabled list. unfortunately, Michael will not be returning to game action this year because he just had season-ending surgery. thus, my lede had to change.

Michael has had a rough time this year, to say the least. he began the regular season late because he was on the 15-Day DL, still recovering and rehabbing from his offseason right shoulder surgery for a torn labrum. he played seven games on a minor league rehab assignment before being activated on April 25. between his activation date and May 9, he appeared in 11 total Indians games over 15 days. it came to light on May 10 that he was feeling soreness and his shoulder was not bouncing back like they'd hoped. after a few days off, Michael was re-evaluated on May 13, but we didn't get any news until May 14. that's when it was announced that Michael was placed on the 15-Day DL with right shoulder inflammation and would be visiting with his surgeon, Dr. Craig Morgan, in Wilmington, Delaware on May 17 for a checkup.

that was your little season summation through May 14. next are all the Michael updates from this most recent stay on the DL.

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

What Is Biceps Tenodesis?

if you recall, after Michael Brantley had his labral tear surgery on November 9, 2015, i did my own research in order to get a better idea of what he'd just endured. so you should have seen this coming lol

what exactly is the biceps tenodesis procedure that Michael had done to his right shoulder on August 15 in Dallas, Texas by Dr. Keith Meister and Dr. Mark Shickendantz? i'm sure most of his fans want to know, none more than i. while Indians' head athletic trainer James Quinlan shared in Jordan Bastian's article on indians.com that it consisted of cutting the biceps tendon and anchoring it to a different part of the shoulder, i wanted more details.

following a quick google search, i found two articles via shoulderdoc.co.uk and rothmaninstitute.com that helped explain the procedure and its purpose further. basically, it involves detaching the long head of the biceps tendon from its superior labrum in the shoulder and reattaching it to the humerus bone just below the shoulder. in doing this, the pressure is relieved from the

Brantley Undergoes Biceps Tenodesis, Recovery Will Take 4 Months

as i previously posted in my most recent blog, Michael Brantley was scheduled to have season-ending shoulder surgery yesterday on August 15 in Dallas, Texas in the hopes of relieving his chronic right biceps tenditinis. today, on August 16, some information about the surgery was announced. according to the Indians Press Release, Michael underwent a 45-minute procedure called biceps tenodesis to address the biceps tendinitis in his right shoulder. Dr. Keith Meister and Dr. Mark Shickendantz both performed the operation. while doing so, they confirmed that Michael's labrum repair was intact and the remainder of the shoulder joint looked good. he is expected to make a full recovery in four months.

photo cropped off indians.com

via Paul Hoynes' article on cleveland.com, the Indians believe Michael should have

Saturday, August 13, 2016

Brantley To Have Season-Ending Right Shoulder Surgery

i wish i had better news to report. let me just cut to the chase and give it to you like i'm ripping off a band-aid--quick and painful. Michael Brantley's rehab attempts are officially over now because today, on August 13, Terry Francona announced that he will need to have another surgery on his right shoulder, which will ultimately end his 2016 season. it's scheduled for Monday, August 15 at TMI Sports Medicine in Dallas, Texas. Dr. Keith Meister and Dr. Mark Shickendantz will both perform the operation of which the specifics were not yet released.

8/13/16, photo courtesy of Chuck Crow via The Plain Dealer