fragile! Perhaps it is time for Joe to get us a new conditioning coach? Now Price leaves with a back issue, what's next? I don't know if it is Because Joe doesn't command respect or our guys party too much or both; but we have too many young guys going down because they are physically or mentally frail!

Good Lord!!!! Now Price's back issue is Joe's fault too? You are really becoming a joke foley, sorry to say. You are so wrapped up in your dislike for Joe that everything is his fault. Next thing you know it will be Joe's fault the concession stands ran out of hot dogs.............Give it a rest!

I think it's just bad posture. He's always leaning forward spitting sunflower seeds. He sits in one position too long. Just take two aspirin and call me tomorrow.

What one has to realize is Price is 6'4"or more and that alone puts a strain on a back coming off an unballanced hill..I spent many after games on the trainers table with pulls and muscle soreness..I spent the day after a game sometimes hurting to walk..Sometimes it's over throwing and other times just wear and tear...Price will be OK but he does stand a lot between games on the hard dugout floor..

I'm 6' 5" and I can relate to the lower back issue and I was also a pitcher......He will be fine, it is NOT tightness, just some minor soreness and it was his decision to take himself out to be on the safe side.

He knew he had a CG in his sights, but being a "team" guy, David made his own decision to leave the game. He won't miss his next start, he'll be fine. So don't anyone go heading for the bridge jumping spot on the Skyway Bridge!! LOL

It is just a little strange how many injuries our youngsters suffer. When I was training The Mets in the mid-late 80's our guys played as hard as anybody and partied even harder; yet, somehow they avoided the injury bug for the most part. Even with the drug usage, none of our guys were on the juice, well of course Lenny was but that wasn't until he got to the Phillies and met Darrin and the crew! These are the types of things that seem to happen when guys are cycling on and off.

Foly just look around both leagues, it isn't just the Rays.....I gave you a couple of weeks back a list and every single ML team had at the very least 3 and as many as 12 on the DL and a total of 192 players through June 1 were on the DL in MLB.....Nothing has changed in the way teams train and workout, so there has to be other reasons.....Does it mean every player is taking something? Of course not and the greater majority aren't......Pitchers you can understand somewhat because of their different types of motions and the strain put on shoulders, elbows, forearms, etc. Throwing a baseball is a very unorthodox method.

But the Rays have just been snake bit this year, but again they are not alone and I don't put any of the injury troubles on Joe or our trainers at all......As good as they are, the fact is both Longoria and Jennings may both be more fragile than first thought.......Both have had some kind of injury every single year both in the minors and ML. Maybe like other players past and present their bodies can't hold up to the rigors of pro baseball, which is much more difficult and a harder training regimen than high school or college.

Been there, done that for a 40 game season in semi-pro ...died
on the vine about game 30. Everything broke. :(

If you are not in good shape going into the season, the chances
of you lasting and playing at a high level for the whole 162 game
season are zero.

Lots of pitching problems are caused because NONE of the coaches
has ever taken a class in the biology and physics of baseball much
less know how to spell it.

For example: Having pitchers throw in back to back games will kill
you bullpen over the season ... Having starters pitch every 5 days
without taking off one start every month will mean you lose an
extra 10 to 20 games per season ... Look what happened to Santana
after he threw the no-hitter on 134 pitchers. He got raked in his next
start and the Mets lost the game. Now they might have lost the game
anyway with another starter but instead of Johann being mediocre
for two starts after his no-no, if they gave him the week off, he would
have been much better than he was. A rested Johann is better than
most, but one with a tired arm is not.

It truly comes down to conditioning..When we went to spring training,we were on the ground for hours doing stretches,bends and lots of jogging before we even took the field..And before a game like 3 hours or more we did the same....I don't remember that many poping Hammys or muscle rips..Heck the biggest problem was curing hangovers...

Sauce and juice, Casey, sauce and juice!