Get healthy, and everything else will take care of itself.
Blake Snell has taken this philosophy to the extreme with the Dodgers, but it worked last year and who’s to say it won’t work again this year?
A potential three-peat could depend on it, which is why Snell’s start on Tuesday night against the Kansas City Royals will be the most important start made by any Dodgers pitcher this week – and that includes Tarik Skubal’s home debut at Dodger Stadium the night before.
Manager Dave Roberts said he spoke to Snell in recent days and was encouraged by how the two-time Cy Young Award winner sounded.
“He’s on a mission,” Roberts said. “I like when great, talented players have that mindset. He hasn’t, unfortunately, been a part of this whole season. But from here on out, it’s a sprint and he’s very focused and, like I said, he’s on a mission.”
Snell, who will start for the Dodgers for the first time in three months, has pitched even less than he did last year.
Which is another way to say he’s barely pitched at all.
Last year, Snell made two starts before he was shut down with a shoulder injury. He missed four months and pitched the final two months of the regular season.
In the postseason, he was phenomenal – until he wasn’t.
As the team’s No. 1 starter, he won his first three games. He delivered the performance of a lifetime in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, blanking the Milwaukee Brewers over eight innings. He struck out 10 and gave up only one hit.
The victory came at a cost, however, as his shoulder pain returned.
“After that start,” Snell recalled this spring, “it was like, ‘Holy s—.’”
Snell started twice in the World Series against the Blue Jays and lost both games, but he contributed 1 ⅓ innings of relief in the Dodgers’ epic 11-inning victory in Game 7.
The experience shaped how Snell prepared for this season – or, more specifically, the upcoming postseason.
The talented lefty spent the winter getting physical therapy on his shoulder. He hired a nutritionist in hopes that it would eliminate what he described as “inflammation-based” injuries.
Because of his emphasis on recovery, Snell came into spring training behind the other starting pitchers. He wasn’t about to repeat the mistake he made last year, when he pitched through discomfort because he wanted to be ready for the start of his first season with a new team.
He opened this season on the injured list and started a minor-league rehabilitation assignment in late April. He made two starts in Class A, after which the Dodgers suggested he continue building up his arm in the major leagues. He pitched three innings for them on May 9, giving up five runs in a loss to the Atlanta Braves. This time, when his elbow flared up, Snell listened to his body.
The 33-year-old underwent a procedure to remove loose bodies from his elbow. Surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache used a new surgical device called the NanoNeedle 2.0, which is considerably less invasive than a traditional arthroscope and significantly reduces recovery time. Skubal had a similar operation this year.
Whereas Skubal resumed throwing a week after his surgery, Snell waited 2 ½ weeks.
“It’s the best I’ve felt in three years by far,” Snell said a couple of weeks ago.
Snell also took a deliberate approach with his rehabilitation assignment, pitching four games for triple-A Oklahoma City. He gave up three runs in 3 ⅔ innings in his last start, but threw 73 pitches.
“I think if we can get him through five [on Tuesday], we should be great, and which I know he expects, then I think that we should be able to treat him like a normal starter,” Roberts said.
Roberts said that even with Shohei Ohtani not pitching, the Dodgers plan to stick with a six-man rotation.
If Snell pitches about once a week, he should be able to make seven or eight starts before the end of the regular season. Then his real season will start.
In Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tarik Skubal, the Dodgers have the best 1-2 pairing in baseball. If Snell can rediscover his old form over the next couple of months, they will have a historic 1-2-3.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
