http://m.startribune.com/brian-dozier-tries-fresh-start-with-washington/506610782/?fbclid=IwAR2D1C2o7u0rlvCMGLqHcbpw2OhGcDS89kLy1ho52gzWxjfe4mY277kN8Ug

 

Phil Miller went to West Palm Beach and spoke with Brian Dozier about getting traded, playing in the playoffs and World Series, free agency and more. No quesiton that Dozier wanted to stay with the Twins but the front office had no interest. 

He should have went on DL for 15 days or so.

It's great to hear how much he liked being here. Feels like the front office made the right decision in not extending him at this point, but it's still too bad it didn't work out. 

 

If he was truly impacted by the injury I'd be pretty disappointed. We've heard about athletes playing through stuff without telling the team for a long time; that stuff has to stop. Maybe the training staff has a solution or two. Maybe if the team shuts you down for a few weeks everyone would be better off for it. Or maybe they will suggest you can play through it, but leave that up to the experts I think the "just rub some dirt on it" mentality only helps to serve one's pride. It sounds like Dozier may realize that now.

From the piece:

 

"During a series at Yankee Stadium in late April, Dozier says, he badly bruised his left knee.... His instinct told him to play through it, and Dozier kept quiet about the severity of the injury, though it felt like bone-on-bone irritation to him. He wishes now that he had spoken up."

 

Yeah. Bad instinct.

He should have went on DL for 15 days or so.

 

From the piece:

 

"During a series at Yankee Stadium in late April, Dozier says, he badly bruised his left knee.... His instinct told him to play through it, and Dozier kept quiet about the severity of the injury, though it felt like bone-on-bone irritation to him. He wishes now that he had spoken up."

 

Yeah. Bad instinct.

I wonder how much this kind of thing happens to a lot of players, though -- and it only comes to light after they struggle. From Dozier's performance record in particular, it's not like an extended slump could only be caused by a severe injury, especially in his age 31 season.

 

Of course, that doesn't mean he's finished at age 32 either. I like the signing for the Nationals. I wonder if the Brewers should have done it, instead of moving Moustakas to 2B?

Well, I wish him luck. He was fun to have here.

It will be fun to watch the how the free agent second baseman perform this year.  Twins jumped on Scoop early, it will be interesting to compare him to see if they made the right choice.