18
2012
Don’t Shoot The Messenger: Concern Should Be About Medical Staff, Not Rubin
An article by 
Anthony Rieber of Newsday spoke to Ike Davis yesterday who said that he does not blame the medical staff for the treatment of a bone bruise in his ankle despite the setback that occurred after the team opted to put the ankle in a boot that restricted circulation in his foot and ankle and prevented healing.
“I wasn’t really angry because I didn’t know what was going on. I think that MRIs sometimes are misleading — now that I’ve had 55 of them, I’ve learned a little bit about MRIs. It’s so person-to-person how your bone reacts or how you heal. One guy might heal in two weeks. I took five, six months.”
“What I’ve learned from talking to doctors is they didn’t have an idea when it would heal. It wasn’t like a clear-cut ‘He broke his bone.’ It was like, ‘We’ll see.’ Because that’s all they could really do. I knew that it would heal eventually and if I had to get surgery to have a chance to play, I would have to do surgery. I think we made the right decisions, everybody, and the doctors were great at the end and not wanting me to do the surgery, too.”
Rieber also quoted Sandy Alderson who did not take issue with the medical staff’s treatment of Davis saying, “Our medical people kept us informed every step of the way. The treatment was correct and the recovery was just longer than we expected. We look for Ike to have an outstanding 2012.”
Soon after Rieber released his column, ESPN’s Adam Rubin unleashed a volley of tweets that chronicled a pattern of negligence and misdiagnoses on the part of the Mets medical staff. He didn’t pull any punches…
Sandy Alderson is quoted in Newsday re: Ike Davis as saying: “The treatment was correct and the recovery was just longer than we expected.” Except for the fact diagnosis of cartilage damage originally was missed and a boot Ike then wore constricted circulation and stalled healing. Sandy Alderson really is a straight shooter, generally, but that’s too much spin. One person begged me not to write Ike may have fracture as 2nd test approached. Turned out cartilage damage, not fracture, was missed.
Ike aside, historically most of Mets medical issues involve disregarding medical advice of team doctors and telling players to be tougher.
- Doctors advised J.J. Putz to have bone chips removed from elbow, which would’ve cost 6 weeks. Mets said shoot him w/ cortisone. He tore UCL.
- Ryan Church says to Brian Schneider, ‘Your knee looks swollen. Go see trainer.’ Schneider to Church: ‘They don’t want to hear it.’
- Thanks for reminding me about Ryan Church flying from Atlanta to Colorado with concussion. He said he felt like boater bobbing on Bering Sea.
- Mets exec calling Billy Wagner a wimp for complaining of elbow discomfort during sim game in Pittsburgh. Wagner needed Tommy John surgery.
- Still haven’t figured out rocket scientist behind having Jose Reyes bat righty vs. RHP after oblique injury. Injury lingered whole 2nd half.
- They announced Johan had pec strain and let him throw bullpen at Wrigley Field before diagnosing torn anterior capsule.
- Early in Reyes career, Mets wanted him tougher. They had Art Howe tell him “spit on it” to injury. Had undiagnosed fibula break.
- As I mentioned, the new front office is far more cautious. People mostly go on DL when prudent. Ike was just a screw-up.
I was surprised he didn’t mention the Beltran knee surgery fiasco in 2010.
If nothing else, it does make me wonder if the actual players get concerned about stuff like this and if that’s why Beltran, Reyes, Davis and Wright all sought out non-Mets doctors to confirm the diagnosis from the team’s medical staff.in the last 12-15 months.
Rubin is getting a lot of flack for tweeting what he did which was merely report what he knew in reaction to the Ike Davis news.
False outrage on a slow news day? Possibly.
Most of this was common knowledge and to pretend the way the Mets handled player injuries was anything but atrocious is very naive. Many Mets fans hate bad news even when it’s true and it’s always much easier to just shoot the messenger I guess.
Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog, spoke to Sports Illustrated’s injury expert Will Carroll today:
Matthew Cerrone: So, basically, according to your rating system, the Mets were worse than most teams over the last few years when it comes to losing impact talent to injury?
Will Carroll: Yes, but a LARGE portion of that was the one bad year.
Matthew Cerrone: Lastly, it sounds like from your responses that you also think they are worse than most teams in managing the information and public perception of those injuries?
Will Carroll: Yes, again I think their perception is far worse. The way the Davis injury was (and is) being handled is probably the best (worst) example of this.
Like I said, sometimes the truth hurts especially when it’s bad news about the team you love. But this outrage pointed at Rubin is ridiculous, point it at the Mets medical staff where it belongs.
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73 and '00, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.
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You could also mention the fact that Wright was playing with a broken back because the team never thought to take his evaluation a step further
I totally forgot about that, he played for over a month with that fracture.
If I remember correctly, I saw an interview with Wright where they asked him more than once to have an MRI on that back – b/c it was apparently bothering him before that play at third. He flat out admitted he balked at it. He went further to say something like ‘I guess my mindset was if I didn’t have that test, I wouldn’t have to find out about an injury and if I didn’t know about an injury, I could keep playing. I hate not playing’. He did follow up with it wasn’t the best decision he ever made and he hoped it was just a sore back that he could play through and would go away.
Now…should the Mets medical staff have insisted on that MRI? Good question. I guess if the player is trying to downplay an injury or how much pain he feels, they have to rely somewhat on what that ball player is telling them. But with the ease of getting these test for these same players (not like they’ve got to jump through hoops like I would), maybe they should have insisted and errored on the side of caution.
This is spot on, i love rubin, he’s a mets fan you can tell some of the stuff that have been done in the organization have bother him as well as any mets fan, only delusional fans think things are being done the right way, if is the same medical staff this type of thing will continue to happen, i am surprised ramirez is still with this team… IS amazing to tell you the truth how he’s survived all the screw ups in the past 4 years… ineptitude at its best with the new york mets…
Mine is love hate with Rubin. I think he works harder than any Mets reporter by far, however at times it is clear he has an axe to grind and I think there was some truth in what Omar said.
That being said, this appears to be just piling on. Everyone knows the Mets had medical issues. Going back and rehashing comments made by Church and Schnieder from now years ago is currently pointless in my opinion.
TRS, fair enough, good observation.. the point is, whether that situation with the mets was truth or not, it shouldn’t have been brought to lite the way it was.. if you apply for a job/position and you don’t get it, you wouldn’t want EVERYONE to know it, so i kinda understand his bitterness..
I agree it was an awful time to bring it up. However, that is also the danger when covering a team that you want to work for. You really can’t do either well.
The Mets ownership should be flipping out about the Mets medical staff. Their poor judgement and pushibg players to get more injured has probably cost the Wilpons hundreds of millions of dollars because of lost playing time which obviously lead to a worse team on the field. If the Mets had handled medical issues better (and had less DL time as a result) they probably would have won more games or even made the playoffs one of these last few days. The Mets medical staff is a disgrace.
Actually, I have a different take, I think they wanted their players playing-end of story. The Wilpons would have no problem collecting insurance money on injured players..as opposed to paying their salary. As far as Adam’s reporting, he works diligently to uncover any story, good or bad. His report on Bernazard s antics was the beggining of the end for Omar, Omars reaction was reprehensible. Only Adam knows if he truly had an axe to grind…but it was honest reporting and uncovering a real story that shook the foundation of the organization. The medical staff is ridiculed for their repeated misdiagnoses, its perplexing in this
day and age, with the technological medical
diagnostic advances how many mistakes have
been made…in this litigious age, to allow this to continue, is foolish, especially with the strength of the players union, the grievance procedure, and the dollar amounts involved in possible injury settlements..
Tampa, I think the problem, from reading Rubin’s info, is ownership, not the medical staff. It sounds as if ownership wanted players to ‘suck it up” and play through the pain rather than ask for examination. They balked at Carlos Beltran needing knee surgery (when he needed it), allowed Ryan Church to board a plane with a concussion, rushed Reyes back too soon in ’10, etc., etc. This is just my opinion, but it appears to me that the Wilpons got themselves so far in debt with funding Citi Field that they tried cutting as many corners as possible, particularly in regards to treating player injuries. They figured it was better for players to play through pain or spend a couple weeks on the DL rather than spend thousands on expensive surgeries and rehab. That’s just my opinion of course.
Well, if my luv Sandy says bad diagnoses are OK because they told him what they were doing, then so be it. Rubin is bad. Sandy is gOd. Sandy has fixed everything.
Ghost of Omar, there is no need to cloak your identity. As I warned you on Monday, if you can’t post anything but the same tired anti-Alderson comments that usually have nothing to do with the thread, I will simply just ban you because you are bringing nothing to the table. I know who you are, and you don’t leave comments like this on Mets Today. Why don’t you just chill out and share the same good opinions here rather than resorting to this tired act?
Dang IP addresses!
It would have been slightly more funny if the name was “I Wuv Sandy” just adds a little more juvenile/puppy love aspect
Man, I missed it. I thought he loved S and Y.
Like I said, this type of crap is exactly what caused the fall of the Metsblog comment section. While in the long run it helped a great site like this and produced my site as well it eventually has a negative effect. Luckily you are much more present and receptive to your site and the impact of the comment section than Matt ever was.
Even before you wrote your comment I had a feeling that was him. When he eventually gets banned he cant say he wasn’t warned.
Now I have to wonder if they are not all the same guy… LOL. I always had my suspicions back on Metsblog.
Nester,do you only comment to gloat about who gets banned or not??? is there any type of baseball discussion you can bring to the table?? i rather have 1000 omar’s in this site than 1 of you… seriosuly, go away…
See below, your question is answered.
TRS, trust me, he BRINGS absolutely nothing to the table.. he’s been in here a few times just gloating about who gets banned or not.. another jesseP… prob worst if there is such a thing..
Alex, if you don’t mind (just as I judge you based on your works) I will also judge him. That is why I get so upset when ghost or Bay puts me in some group with Jessup. I get even more upset when he lumps in SRT who if any of us is rational it would be her.
trs: if you ever want to be in my group, you can be. Maybe we can come up with an awesome nickname for it?
Cuz we’re the… 2 best friends that anybody could have
No?
Okay fine. Moving on!
Ah, what could have been. We could have been like the other group that is mythical as well.
Trust me TRS, you do not wanna join any group with that guy…
But imagine the imaginary battles we could have. Like Batman and Robin vs Penguin and the Joker. We could all pretend our groups exist.
TRS86,
fair enough…get a name and see if it fits… Sandy’s children would be a good start lol jk
Alex, my problem with it is I would get bored pretending the group actually exist. That is one of my flaws you are much more persistent than I am.
“That which we persist in doing becomes easier, not that the task itself has become easier, but that our ability to perform it has improved, We are made to persist. That’s how we find out who we are.”
The CORE….
Please do.
LMAO.. omar, this was funny.. but joe D is right, hell, i don’t like the man either, but let’s stay focus on baseball too man.. don’t let your hatred for the man get you banned out of here, The CORE need all of us..
Obviously, what would Wendy, Michael, and John Darling do without the guys from Neverland?
Oh well, farewell Harry, it was nice knowing you on MMO. I’ll still comment to you on the other Mets sites where you behaved so differently and had great opinions. Drop me an email and tell me why you chose to act this way on MMO, I really want to know what drove you to this.
Joe D, i understand this is your site, but i don’t think there’s a need to inform in front of everyone when someone gets banned or not, maybe behind the scenes you have told him to stop, but imho there’s no need for that.. omar is as passionate as everyone in here and is not afraid to tell it how it is.. is a shame he acted this way, but it seems to me the wrong people in this site get banned. people who instigate, act in a snark way and try to bait people get the nod, while others who try to defend themselves and sometimes they bite on the hook and get baited do not get the benefit of the doubt…
“people who instigate, act in a snark way and try to bait people get the nod”
Wouldn’t that also apply to you Alex? I think it’s clear as a blog owner myself you don’t ban unless you have to and you only have to when that person refuses to reason.
I chose to do it this way because he registered with a false email that bounced back after three attempts to email him.
Nope, i am not like that.. i respect everyone’s opinion if so, but this site is full of people who does that, trust me, i’ve been here longer than you and this site lost many good people because of the way some of this ppl were acting, especially on the chatbox who was a constant debate machine… guys like donal and jesseP were instigating everyone and anyone just to get them banned, also, a few females in here were just baiting to use the “he insulted a female” card to get people banned.. compare to what this site used to talk about is not the same, now, everyone is concern on draft picks and SA instead of winning…
Yet anyone rational understands that right now the Mets are not going to win and there was nothing Omar, Sandy or you or I could do right now to change that.
TRS86, is that our excuse? mets are not gonna win? so is ok to give sandy a pass based on that?? seriously.. he gets a pass because the mets are not gonna win.. wow.. so is that why he doesn’t care???
I don’t think the point on this is do some fans want to give this FO a pass or not. To each his own with their opinion on that.
The point is those small handful of posters who can’t state their opinions without the usual childish personal taunts of ‘yo mama’ and ‘moron’ and a dozen other insults I’ve been reading from some here over the past year. It was 10 times worse in the Shoutbox which is why I’m assuming it was eventually shutdown.
Don’t know why some have to take a difference of opinion involving baseball so personally.
Ever since that Minaya press conference from hell, Rubin has become a lightning rod and the most polarizing beat writer that covers the Mets. He is also the best beat writer that covers the Mets, and without him I’d bet half of the content we see on other blogs would just disappear. I can see why Mets fans would be very anti-Rubin, but I don’t get it when sites who thrive on his content bash him unmercifully. There’s an old saying, don’t bite the hand that feeds you. As for me, Rubin is an enigma. I don’t know what to think of him or what to make of him. All I know is that nobody else works harder than he does and he always gets to the crux of a story long before his colleagues do. So if I have to put up with an occasional rant against the Mets I just grin and bear it.
At least you are able to keep your class and dignity through all of this..
I’m real curious as to why Rubin went off on a rant last night on all things Mets medical.
It’s not like those question marks are anything new. It’s not like that Ike controversy on treatment of his ankle wasn’t discussed at length last year.
I’ll be the first one to admit Rubin is probably one of the best Met beat writers who covers them extensively and doesn’t just skim the surface. He apparently works hard. He is though quite snarky at times, which is more evident on his weekly chats than anywhere else.
I’d love to know what? who? tripped his switch last night….
Why is Alderson allowing this training staff to continue working for the team? If they don’t want to hear about ailments to the players then they should be sent packing. Another bang up job from our GM.
#FactsWithoutWikipedia
So, does this nullify the excuse makers who try and claim that the failure of the last few years was “just bad luck” and it was all the players not playing their hardest?
When team execs do that crappy a job handling injuries, it is a mark against them, not an excuse.
And I’m sure these and far more stories have made their rounds through the league so now prospective free agents have another reason not to come here, even if there was money to spend on them.
Truthfully, I don’t know if the Mets are that much worse than any other team.
I do a lot of reading across several team’s blogs and I’ve read the Red Sox fans accuse the FO over and over on hiding and mishandling injuries.
I’ve heard the same across some Philly blogs as well.
So I have no idea if:
- it’s just common practice across most franchises to down play injuries
or
- it really is ‘practicing’ medicine and every time fans hear ’1-2 weeks for X injury’, and it turns out longer b/c that’s just how long it took to heal, fans immediately jump to the FO lied.
Probably a little of both.