Scott Baker got TJ surgery

[ashbury]

Yes, they go in not knowing for absolute sure and the patient is prepared for them doing "whatever needs doing". However, I remember a video I saw of an interview with Baker where he was talking about his injury and said something like, "the good new is, the ucl looks fine". Yow. When they give these results they sound so sure. They should say "the MRI has been interpreted as..." and also say MRIs are not always crystal clear. People probably don't know they aren't.

Patients sometimes interpret what the doctor tells them, differently than the doctor thought he was saying.

[StormJH1]

Not to sound arrogant, but I actually am a doctor (family medicince resident) and here are my two cents: MRIs are great, but they depend on the quality of the study (how much the patient moves, etc) and the person reading it. It sounds like they got 2 opinions on the read, and based on that the MRI didnt show the injury. As an isolated incident, not worth calling for the medical staff's collective head (but bad news for Baker and the Twins). But, with everything that has happened recently with injuries (especially 2011) it makes me wonder about the Twins medical staff. There seemed to be a lot of misdiagnosed, mistreated, undertreated and/or questionable medical decisions made (ie. bilateral leg weakness).

Again, Im not a radiologist or surgeon, so Im far from an expert.

Interesting, thanks for sharing. I think a lot of people are starting to wonder about the Twins medical staff, for the reasons you cited.

 

In the case of Mauer and bilateral leg weakness, however, I think that was a different situation. The perception (and perhaps the reality) is that Mauer operates under a different set of rules, and they weren't really able or willing to monitor his offseason activities while the hometown boy was "wintering" down in Florida. I think the public is right to question what was really wrong with him in 2011 because we STILL were not given a true medical explanation for what his problem was.

 

Remember that when Magic Johnson was diagnosed with HIV, he officially had "flu-like symptoms" for two weeks while they debated how/if to tell the public. Obviously, I'm not saying Mauer had anything nearly that severe. But if you sign a gigantic contract and then miss that kind of time in its first year without even providing a sound medical reason for what is wrong with you, people will speculate.

[ghostofgleemansflab]

Barreiro nailed it today. Baker wasn't comfortable with the elbow, but the Twins brass wouldn't listen. Is there a training staff/organization that makes this mistake more than the Twins?

[nicksaviking]

From just before the second opinion (in the papers)...

 

 

Asked if the team is frustrated with Baker, Ryan said, "No. It's legitimate; he just doesn't feel right."

Ryan said the Twins are trying to get Baker some peace of mind. "He's trying. He works hard. What are you going to do? He just doesn't feel right," Ryan said.

 

Is Terry Ryan the worst ever at calling someone out or did you maybe try to make something out of it that wasn't there?

 

People just like to make trouble.

That's true, but that wasn't the song Ryan was singing when the team was forced to retroactively place Baker on the DL so he could strengthen his arm in the minors. He didn't flat out call Baker a cry-baby, he just passive aggressively implied that Baker should have been ready to go already and that he needed to suck it up and get back into the rotation.

 

The fact that the they needed a second opinion probably tipped him off that something might be amiss. I don't think most people are blaming Ryan though, he's getting the same faulty information the public has been getting. I don't know what the normal accuracy of a medical diagnosis is, but the guys performing the Twins exams are surely well below average in that department. Fair or not they are going to face the repercussions. These mistakes are bringing too much heat to the front office and coaching staff.

[Riverbrian]

Not to sound arrogant, but I actually am a doctor (family medicince resident) and here are my two cents:

First off... I loved your post... It's great to hear from someone with a degree on the subject. Family Medicine is the greatest thing for worried moms... For Dads... We'd appreciate a wet bar in the waiting room. Since I'm thinking about it... Don't put the Television up so high in the corner. I'm only 5-9 and tippy toes at my age and weight is not a good thing to watch something else beside Oprah.

 

2ndly... I just had to marvel at your first line. I believe it is possible to say I'm a Doctor. Without anyone assuming arrogence. lol...

[ghostofgleemansflab]

First off... I loved your post... It's great to hear from someone with a degree on the subject. Family Medicine is the greatest thing for worried moms... For Dads... We'd appreciate a wet bar in the waiting room. Since I'm thinking about it... Don't put the Television up so high in the corner. I'm only 5-9 and tippy toes at my age and weight is not a good thing to watch something else beside Oprah.

 

2ndly... I just had to marvel at your first line. I believe it is possible to say I'm a Doctor. Without anyone assuming arrogence. lol...

I think the funniest part is imagining this person typing the post. You know the emphasis was on "actually", while holding a slight smirk that said, "take that the rest of you peasants"

[BobAzar]

I think the funniest part is imagining this person typing the post. You know the emphasis was on "actually", while holding a slight smirk that said, "take that the rest of you peasants"

Yeah, pretty much... ;-)

Like I said, Im not a surgeon, so it wasnt as condescending as it could have been...

[Rosterman]

I suspect that Baker will get multiple short-term offers (a base salary for 2013 with a nice option for 2014) from numerous teams, hoping that he recovers. Hey, the Twins gambled a million almost on Zumaya...just for a nice short look (explain how that happened and why they didn't just 60-day him to control him for the remainder of the year, at least). I doubt the Twins will be in the running...unless Baker really likes being here.

[BobAzar]

Per multiple sources on Twitter, it sounds like Baker was told there was a 20% chance of TJ surgery before the procedure started. And, the ligament wasnt torn, just stretched beyond what is normal, especially for pitching. so, I guess the MRI wasnt totally wrong.