The Disabled List Sports Injury Blog

How to treat soreness in triceps – Mariano Rivera

Mariano Rivera is probably the greatest reliever to ever play baseball, but he isn't immune to injury, especially as he grows older. He's now 41 years old and has 17 seasons of professional baseball under his belt. Selected to play in the 2011 all star game, Rivera had to bow out due to triceps issues.

As he said about missing the game:

The reason why is because I want to make sure I’m 100 percent. I won’t be able to give what the team will ask me.

The interesting thing is that the Yankees have attributed the soreness in his triceps to inflammation as opposed to a strain. The difference being that with a strain you'll have tearing of the muscle fibers whereas inflammation could just be irritation of the muscle fibers.

How many baseball players will miss 2011 All Star Game

16 All Stars will miss the game in total.

2011 has seen a humongous number of all stars falling by the way side during the all star game. Injuries have to do with it, but also arcane rules about pitching.

MLB says that if a pitcher pitches five days prior to the all star game they are ineligible to pitch again.

Egads.

Here is the complete list of players missing and the reasons why:

1. Placido Polanco - Toe injury.
2. David Price - Pitched prior five days.
3. Derek Jeter - Emotionally exhausted.
4. Alex Rodriguez - Knee surgery.
5. Mariano Rivera - Right triceps injury.
6. CC Sabathia - Pitched prior five days.
7. James Shields - Pitched prior five days.

Can you play baseball with a back strain – Ryan Hanigan

Ryan Hanigan is a catcher for the Cincinnati Reds. His playing time is shared with another catcher, but that doesn't prevent the normal injuries that occur.

Recently, Ryan strained his back and it led to missing a game here and there. As he said at the time:

We're doing what we can to let it calm down. It's spasming. I could play if I had to. We're letting it cool down because it hasn't been getting better.

Back strains are something that are very touchy, because they can indicate a more serious issue or be a minor annoyance. It's hard to tell when it happens, so Ryan's strategy of letting it calm down is actually the right play.