Metro Sports Report

MSR tops 350,000 page views in 6 months

My mother taught me not to brag, so this column could be difficult to write. On the other hand, Dizzy Dean said it ain't bragging if you can back it up.

Sorry, mom. It's time to brag a little.

The Metro Sports Report marks its six-month anniversary today on July 3. We officially launched the website on Jan. 3, not knowing exactly what to expect, but here we are.

To be completely honest, we did not expect all of this. We thought, and hoped, the Metro area would enjoy our little venture, but the response has been phenomenal.

Yes, that's the right word. Phenomenal.

We've had 356,008 page views on the Metro Sports Report website in six months. Let me say that again, in case you dozed off ... 356,008 page views in six months.

Please remember, we're serving a Metro area in Linn County of roughly 211,000 people, according to the 2010 census, and some of those kids can't read yet. So 356,008 page views seems pretty good.

Former Metro preps in pro baseball

RYAN SWEENEY (Xavier, Oakland Athletics) -- Did not play Monday in the Athletics' 2-1 loss to the Mariners.
Year-to-date: Batting avg. -- .286 (40-140), HR -- 0, RBI -- 10, 2B -- 5, 3B -- 1, R -- 15, SB -- 1.

MATT HOLLAND (Marion, GCL Phillies) -- Came in as a defensive replacement at first base and did not bat Monday in the Phillies' 4-2 loss to the GCL Braves.
Year-to-date: Batting avg. -- .333 (10-30), HR -- 1, RBI -- 5, 2B -- 4, 3B -- 0, R -- 10, SB -- 0.

SCOTT SCHEBLER (Prairie, Ogden (Dodgers)) -- Started in right field and was 1-for-5 with a triple, run scored and three RBIs Monday in Ogden's 13-8 loss at Idaho Falls.
Year-to-date: Batting avg. -- .338 (24-71), HR -- 2, RBI -- 15, 2B -- 4, 3B -- 2, R -- 10, SB -- 0.

KELLEN SWEENEY (Jefferson, Bluefield (Blue Jays)) -- Did not play Monday in Bluefield's 5-4 loss to Princeton.
Year-to-date: Batting avg. -- .114 (4-35), HR -- 0, RBI -- 1, 2B -- 1, 3B -- 0, R -- 4, SB -- 0.

NATE WOODS (Xavier, GCL Marlins) -- The Marlins were not scheduled to play Monday.
Year-to-date: Batting avg. -- .324 (11-34), HR -- 0, RBI -- 4, 2B -- 3, 3B -- 0, R -- 8, SB -- 0.

Kennedy-Jeff matchup highlights 4A pairings

The cutoff line has passed. The official announcement is a day away.

But that won't keep us from sharing our projections for the Class 4A substate baseball tournament pairings.

Based on the formula used by the Iowa High School Athletic Association* we have determined that four Metro teams will have home games when the tournament starts on July 15. This involves math, so I'm not claiming it to be correct to a tee (although my father was a math instructor (algebra, calculus, statistics -- not adding and subtracting), so I suppose I'm genetically predisposed. Of course my mom plays a role in this, too, and she didn't teach math).

Nonetheless, I feel comfortable with our projections.

Defending state champion Kennedy earned the No. 1 seed in Substate 3 and the Cougars will host sixth-seeded Jefferson at 7 p.m. This is the only first-round matchup of Metro teams. Kennedy beat Jefferson in the first round of the Bob Vrbicek Metro tournament May 23, and the teams play single games Monday at Jefferson and Tuesday at Kennedy.

Also in Substate 3, Xavier earned the No. 2 seed and will host fifth-seeded Dubuque Senior. Third-seeded Dubuque Hempstead must travel to Epworth to play No. 4 seed Western Dubuque. The IHSAA has a rule that if a school's field does not have lights and it can not secure a lighted diamond with no further travel for the lower seeded team, the game will be played at the lower seed's field if it is lighted. Hempstead has no lights, Western Dubuque does.

Baseball injuries: Research musings

Over the last 10 years I have performed many orthopedic physicals on major league pitchers and catchers in spring training with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Milwaukee Brewers organizations. A few weeks ago I was privileged to spend a weekend with the Milwaukee Brewers' athletic training staff and I was rewarded with great seats to watch their weekend series at Miller Park. Truth be told, major league players spend a lot of time in the training room, recovering from all types of injuries.

Here in Iowa, high school baseball season is in full swing. Most baseball fans wouldn’t guess that high school baseball players suffer many injuries, but just ask the team athletic trainer, coaches and parents.

Less than 1 in 200 high school baseball players in the United States will be drafted by Major League Baseball. Fortunately, between 5 and 10 percent of all high school baseball athletes will go on to play at the college level. Thus, staying healthy during the high school baseball season is paramount to staying on the field, and it will make a positive impact towards an athlete’s chances of playing at the next level.

Research tells us that the most common site of injury in high school baseball is the head and face area; followed by injuries to the shoulder; then a relative tie for injuries to the hand/wrist, arm/elbow, and ankle/lower leg; and lastly injuries to the thigh/upper leg. Injuries to the head and face occur more commonly by a batted ball than by a pitched ball.

Pitchers are the most likely high school player to suffer an injury that requires surgery, and pitchers are more likely to suffer a shoulder injury throwing during practice (rather than a game) that will put them on the sideline.