The Training Room is Full and the Front Office is to Blame

By Rita Schultz · Tigers critic for The Motor City Dispatch · Thursday, March 23, 2051

The Tigers are breaking down. It is not bad luck. It is bad preparation. The front office hired the strength and conditioning staff. Now they must answer for the results. We are watching a rash of preventable soft-tissue issues deplete this roster.

Look at the pitchers. Jon Oviedo suffered a finger blister while pitching. Alex Morales was shut down with a tired arm. Sergio Arellano battled back stiffness. Sang-yeon Kim suffered a mild hamstring strain while pitching. Pitchers get fatigued. But a tired arm and back stiffness point directly to poor workload management. The front office built this pitching staff. Now it is evaporating because the bodies cannot handle the stress.

The position players are faring no better. Arturo Arambula triggered back spasms while throwing the ball. Matt Gray strained a hip flexor while running the bases. We even had a player sidelined for a day due to dehydration. Dehydration. In professional baseball. That is a fundamental failure of the training staff. The organization is supposed to monitor hydration.

The team calls these day-to-day injuries. That is the standard excuse. But day-to-day adds up to lost weeks. Gray is out for up to three weeks. Arellano is out for two. Arambula and Oviedo are missing a week each. The front office loves to talk about organizational depth. Depth does not matter if the backups are just as fragile.

The general manager and the head of strength and conditioning made the decision to run this program. They need to fix it immediately. Stop calling it bad luck. Fix the conditioning. Hold the staff accountable.

Notebook

2051-03-07

[G]Promoted from the international complex to Rookie League 21 New York A (DSL21).
Placed LF Willie Figueroa on the 14-day injured list, retroactive to 03/06/2051.
Placed LF Willie Figueroa on the 14-day injured list, retroactive to 03/06/2051.
Promoted C Julio Vasquez from Double A Erie to Triple A Toledo.
Promoted SS Aidan Anderson from Double A Erie to Triple A Toledo.
Promoted 2B Nate Augustus from High-A West Michigan to Double A Erie.

2051-03-08

[W]Was selected to the 2051 International League All-Star Game.
[I]Injured (finger blister),day-to-day for one week.

2051-03-10

[I]Injured (hamstring tendinitis),out for 4 days.

2051-03-11

[I]Injured (tired arm),day-to-day for one week.

2051-03-12

[I]Injured (back stiffness),day-to-day for 2 weeks.

2051-03-14

[I]Injured (mild hamstring strain),day-to-day for 2 days.

2051-03-15

[G]Signed a minor league contract with the Houston Astros organization.
[G]Signed a minor league contract with the Houston Astros organization.
[G]Signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles organization.
[G]Signed a minor league contract with the Houston Astros organization.

2051-03-17

[I]Injured (back spasms),day-to-day for one week.

2051-03-19

[I]Injured (hip flexor strain),day-to-day for 2-3 weeks.

2051-03-23

Placed LF Willie Figueroa on the active roster.
Activated LF Willie Figueroa from the injured list.
Optioned RF Matt Gray to Triple A Toledo.
Optioned RP Sergio Arellano to Triple A Toledo.
Placed RP Sergio Arellano on the International League 7-day injured list, retroactive to 03/20/2051.
Promoted 1B Elijah Jenkins from High-A West Michigan to Double A Erie.