Inside The Cage: Manny Machado's Injury And How It Will Affect The O's

Manny Machado leaving game vs. Rays after injuring his left knee [AP]

The baseball world was shaken up with the freak injury to young Baltimore Orioles third base rising star, Manny Machado. With that injury, O’s fans will begin to lose hope after the team lost both his glove and bat while trying to make one final push for the playoffs.

It was a routine play in the top of the 7th inning; the kind kids like Machado still hustle for and veterans chalk up to a can of corn. What happened next– well, it was hard to watch. Machado stepped on the right side of the bag as do most players in the league, only this time with a much different result than normal; his left knee gave out under the pressure and looked as if his leg had become a wiggly worm.

He fell down almost immediately after stumbling a bit and grabbed his knee. If you were watching on TV, you could see the grimace on his face from the pain. After first base coach Wayne Kirby signaled to the O’s bench, their training staff ran from the dugout and tended to the fallen 21-year-old.

Even concerned Tampa Bay Rays‘ team physician came out to look over Machado, before he was loaded onto a stretcher and driven off the field to be further evaluated.

Veteran second baseman, Brian Roberts, who was DH’ing in this game, was able to give the young infielder a hug in between innings. “I just hurt for him,” said Roberts, “you don’t want to see this happen to anybody, but when you see what kind of special player he is and special kid he is, [it's really tough]. But the great part is he’s 21-years-old. You've got to find a bright spot in it as best you can. You hate to hear people say, certainly the injured player hates to hear people say, ‘He’ll come back and he’ll be fine and this and that’– but they’re not the ones going through rehab and not the ones dealing with it.”

O’s Manager Buck Showalter had his most valiant face on, while talking to reporters after the game, “Crazier things have happened in six games. You know, from being around our guys, it’s– I don’t want to say depressing, it probably is, but more of what’s going on there, now is teammate-to-teammate with two guys who have gone down in the line of the fight.”

Showalter, of course, speaking of the injury suffered by infielder Alexi Casilla, after a head-on collision with teammate Nick Markakis, diving to catch a blooper hit by Rays’ outfielder, Wil Myers. Casilla was able to stay in the game despite being knocked unconscious for a short amount of time and will be kept overnight and monitored at a local hospital.

Machado had X-rays taken immediately at Tropicana Field, but with an MRI and other tests done in Baltimore yesterday, the injury is not looking to be as bad as one thought, originally. According to Showatler, they couldn't find the X-ray film after they were developed. “Doctors weigh in on something they shouldn't be, quite frankly,” said the Orioles Manager. “I've heard some early prognosis, but I think they should wait until they get all of the tests back. Everyone needs to be quick to paint something negatively,” he continued.

Now, I’m no pessimist, but that comment might have been directed towards me– indirectly of course. After all, the first thought that popped in my head was,” Wow, I hope that’s not his career.” I didn't mean that in a disrespectful way, but when I think of knee injuries of that magnitude — granted, we don’t know the complete diagnosis, but c’mon, knees aren't supposed to bend that way — players usually have a very tough road ahead, with the odds not always in their favor. Sometimes, they’re rarely ever the same.

But, looking at Manny’s highlights, his general play, and the fact that he’s never had any major injury aside from the one he suffered a few days ago, I believe he can come back from this; he has to, especially with the silver lining-type diagnosis he received yesterday. His star was just starting to burn bright, as he has yet to physically peak.

He’s still growing as a baseball player– no, as a person that gets paid to play a game that he loves. His rising talent cannot be stopped by the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. He may not be smashing the ball like teammate, Chris Davis, or a hitting machine like Miguel Cabrera, but the tools are there; at some point in his career he’s going to figure it all out, he’s going to put it all together. He’s already a good player, especially for being as young as he is, but when he puts everything together, he’s going to be one scary batter to face.

Until then, the only thing he needs to do is focus on resting his knee, then he can start rehabbing when the time is right. There’s one thing, however, I know he won’t do– lose hope.