Michael Schmidt of the New York Times recently took a look at the rash of injuries around baseball and took a look at some possible reasons for the increase in injuries around the league.

Schmidt started the article talking about the Mets injury problems and how it’s been common place in the past few years across major league baseball. According the article, “the amount of time players were out with injuries increased 26 percent from 2006 to 2008. This year’s numbers, midway through the season, are similar to those from last year, when players spent more time on the disabled list than ever before.”

One theory is that with the increased testing for performance enhancing drugs (p.e.d.’s) less players are able to recover quickly or stay healthy longer. “What stimulants do is create an unrealistic self-confidence for the athlete, and they think their body can do things that it, at times, really can’t,” said John Hoberman, a professor at the University of Texas who has written frequently on doping. “These drugs postpone the symptoms of injuries, symptoms that restrain athletes from playing hurt. They are no longer there, and players are realizing that they can’t play hurt.”

Another theory is that clubs are just being more cautious with the amount of money being invested in these athletes. Also brought up is the use of the D.L. to be creative with roster space, or if a pitcher needs to work on his mechanics a phantom injury may be concocted. Ollie P anyone?

“Teams could be being more cautious with players, not letting guys play through things,” said Mets catcher Brian Schneider, who spent time on the disabled list this season with a back injury. “Everyone’s always heard of a phantom D.L. It might be that they’re doing it more for roster spots, not to lose guys to waivers, to keep guys up. There’s just so many different rules, so many different ways to go about it. It might be a coincidence. It’s just such a complicated question because there’s so much that can go into a D.L. situation.”

Stan Conte head trainer for the Dodgers says it’s not one thing that can be blamed. “There are a lot of theories around about why it has gone up, and a lot of them make sense, but I am not convinced that it’s one thing. Anyone who thinks they have the one answer is lying or wrong.”

The article quotes Peter Nash, the director of underwriting for Sportscover, a syndicate of Lloyd’s of London that insures contracts for teams and players. Nash says the recent injuries are part of a bigger trend. “We believe that injuries move in five-year increments: they go up for five years, then plateau, then go up for five years, and plateau, and over time, they are going higher and higher,” he said. “As long as athletes are pushing themselves as hard as they can, the number will continue to go higher and higher.”

Interesting article by Schmidt. I think it’s too hard to pinpoint one thing. Injuries are and have always been part of the game. It has been magnified on the Mets this season of course. The things is the last few years Reyes, Beltran and Delgado have played almost every game especially Reyes and Beltran.  This year’s injuries could be a toll taken from the past. I would never accuse anyone of taking drugs, because no will ever know anyway. In today’s game, sadly no one is presumed innocent either. Could injuries stem from players no longer taking p.ed.s? Sure but I’m not going to say that’s definitely it. I would love to think Beltran, Reyes and Delgado are and have been clean but would you really be surprised? Either way the injuries are an interesting trend to keep an eye in the future. Lets hope the Mets get healthy sooner rather than later. Special thanks to Pessimets reader Rammi Rehani for sending me the link to the Schmidt article.