Is This Michael Brantley's Final Year as a Cleveland Indian?

it's not a question i wanted to pose and i hate being a Debbie Downer, but i haven't been able to get this off my mind for some time now. i do NOT want to see this happen under any circumstances but, unfortunately, there are many reasons that support this as being a real possibility. so i figured i should just write a blog and list out exactly why 2017 could be Michael Brantley's final year as a Cleveland Indian.😟

before i get started though, i want to discourage any smart-aleck remarks that this blog might produce. i am fully aware that a lot of fans at this point in time don't think Michael is ever going to get healthy and be able to play baseball again. and i've seen the "Michael should hang up his cleats" comments and tweets from fans. those people probably wouldn't think twice if Michael wasn't playing on the Tribe past this season, but i didn't write this for them. i wrote it because, as much as i don't want it to be true, i know that it could be and i felt compelled to acknowledge that. and i'm certain that Michael has other fans out there like me, who believe in him, have stuck with him through his difficulties, want him to come back, and would be genuinely upset if he were to leave the Indians any sooner than he has to contractually. so please save the "who cares?" utterances because some people still do.

note: i read the strangely similar rant article published by Paul Hoynes on February 19 on cleveland.com comparing Michael to

Brantley News & Updates from November & December 2016

Happy New Year's Eve, Brantley fans! since the conclusion of the World Series, there really hasn't been a whole lot of notable information on the update front other than the plan for Michael's upcoming hitting progression being unveiled during the Winter Meetings. the rumor mill, however, was abuzz with unfounded gossip around the Christmas holiday. so before the clock strikes midnight and we start the new year, i present you with this last bit of news about Michael in 2016 from both November and December.


November News & Updates

November 4: the Indians twitter account reported that Michael is expected to resume baseball activities in December and be ready for spring training. Jordan Bastian followed up by tweeting the Indians are planning on Michael being ready for a normal spring training and will navigate the offseason with that expectation.

"Michael's progressing really well," Indians President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti said in Bastian's article on indians.com. "he's right on schedule for his rehab." and from a video on indians.com, Antonetti further elaborated, "he'll complete all of his normal physical work and then begin baseball activities at

Brantley's Second Half 2016

before i start posting all of my Brantley wrap up blogs, i have to post about his (atypical) second half of 2016. for the first time in Michael Brantley's Major League career, he missed out on the entire second half of the year. he was still on the disabled list when baseball resumed after the All Star Break, and then his season-ending surgery in August ensured that he would not be playing again in 2016. therefore, he remained on the DL and was merely a spectator for the whole second half.

consequently, this was a bit of a challenge for me because i've never previously written a second half blog where Michael literally had no statistics, so there was no template for me to go by. that said, i did manage to write it and filled in whatever sections i could. honestly, this post is more for documentation purposes than anything else, so if it has no appeal to you, i understand. more blogs will be published as the week continues, and hopefully those will pique your interest.


post-All Star Break in 2016, Michael had no numbers of any kind.

2nd Half 2016 batting average:

Brantley's September/October 2016 (w/ Sling Updates)

what's up, Brantley fans? thank you so much to all those who read my Brantley's August 2016 blog and Brantley's 2016 #s Through August blog. and hello to the people in Chile and Pakistan who've come here over the past month! welcome and feel free to browse through whatever posts you like!

because Michael did not play in any September/October games, most of the typical sections in this monthly blog are either devoid of stats or have been excluded. there was also a serious lack of information in regards to post-surgery updates, and the majority of what i wrote about that came from my own personal observations. otherwise, there wasn't a whole lot going on in terms of Michael news. in the end though, i did manage to create FOUR new blog sections that i think will be of interest to you guys, so read on!


notes: at this time, i always like to clarify that September and October are combined as one month. this is common practice throughout baseball when the regular season extends into the beginning of October because there's really no point in singling out October stats since so few games are played. (it's the same any time the season opens up in late March; March and April are always considered one month as well.) therefore, whenever "the/this month" is written throughout this blog, know that i am referring to both September/October as one month despite the fact that Michael didn't play in either September or October. i have also used "September/October" continually in each section below even if the particular thing i'm discussing occurred in only one of the two months and not the other (ie. the interleague series in early September).

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

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

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