MLB Playoffs 2011: Magglio Ordonez Injury Means Delmon Young Has to Heal Quickly

The Tigers need Delmon Young's strained left oblique to heal quickly now. Magglio Ordonez injured his ankle in the Tigers' Game 1 defeat, and x-rays revealed the worst. His ankle is broken.

This left the Tigers with a hole in their lineup, and few options to fill it.

The Tigers had no more position players, who had actually been playing somewhere to fill Ordonez's spot. The one player they had coming into the ALCS that wasn't covered in rust, Danny Worth, filled Young's spot.

That means Young is back on the Detroit Tigers' ALCS roster, as desperate times call for desperate measure. This may indeed prove to be wishful thinking for the Tigers, as Young may not be able to contribute at all.

According to Jason Beck, the Tigers are considering Young a game time decision for Game 2. If Young can go, Jim Leyland has him penciled in for batting seventh.

I'll be surprised if he can go. Here's why:

The Injury

Oblique injuries are especially troublesome for baseball players. Former Oakland Athletics trainer Steve Sayles talked to the USA Today about this:

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"They hit, they throw, everything's rotational. And that's basically what you're doing with your obliques, you're rotating your rib cage. When you send (players) back to activity, you have to train them for the high-speed movements they're making. If they were football players and everything was straight ahead, it wouldn't take as long."

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The injury is more troublesome for a pitcher than for a position player, but it is crippling all the same.

Recovery Time

In the above linked article, the USA Today cites a study of oblique injuries from 2002 to 2007. The study revealed that the average recovery time for a pitcher was 44 days. They said that was "about 50 percent longer" than it was for a position player.

That puts the average return for a position player right around 30 days.

Conclusion

The Tigers are hoping Young can come back in about a week from an injury that normally requires 30 days. That may be asking too much. However, it is the playoffs. There is nothing to hold back for. Young may be able to come and provide some decent, if not full-powered, hacks.