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

Well Wishes For Bob Tayek

i thought something didn't sound right. literally. it was during the Arizona Diamondbacks versus Cleveland Indians game on August 12, before the rain delay/postponement, that i watched a video from my GameDay. and i could tell that the announcer in the background was not Bob, but i didn't think much of it at the time. he gets games off sometimes, it's not a big deal. shortly before 8 pm, the game was delayed due to rain. after a very long 3 hours and 40 minutes, they finally announced that the game would be postponed and it was rescheduled as part of a traditional doubleheader the next day.

so today, on August 13, before Game 1 of the doubleheader vs. the D-backs, i saw Hoynsie tweet that Bob Tayek would be out for the rest of the season due to personal reasons. and immediately i thought back to the video i watched last night and how that wasn't Bob's voice. that explains it.

but i'm thinking, there's still about 7 weeks left in this season. what kind of personal reason would keep someone out of their job for THAT long? can't be a death in the family. so my mind went right to health issues. and i really hope it's not cancer. now don't misread that, i have no inside scoop on his condition, it's just a process of elimination guess on my part. i tend to fear the worst in these situations, and the big C is definitely one of the worst things a person could encounter in life. maybe he needs to have a surgery that will take him a few months to fully heal from. i don't know, and i'm not going to pretend to know.

i think Bob is a guy who can sometimes be forgotten or taken for granted as part of our Tribe family. but he is very appreciated, as no other replacement voice can quite satisfy and due justice the way his can. so whatever the personal reason, i wish Bob all the best. i hope that the issue gets taken care of with ease and that he fully recovers, if a recovery process is necessary. here's hoping he'll be back at Progressive Field next year and ready to go for Opening Day 2015. til then, we'll miss you.