YANKEES' STRENGTH & CONDITIONING NOW IN QUESTION

Dana Cavalea... Who is this guy? A lot of people are asking about him, and with good reason. As far as we the fans know, he is the expert that is supposed to keep our guys in top shape and help prevent injuries. Keyword there is "prevent." After the onslaught of injuries this year people are talking about him and asking questions. It's not the first time, but after a disastrous season it's only natural. So, what do we know about this guy and what has he done?

Obviously, he is in the hot seat right now. You can't ignore this guy and not investigate. This guy is paid to keep these guys in shape and after this season, our boys were anything but healthy. We already looked at the Yankee coaching staff and started to make our own conclusions in WHICH YANKEE COACHES ARE ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK?, but this man should not be excluded and it's time to dig deeper.

No disrespect to Cavalea, because I have listened to so many interviews that he has done and you can tell he knows a lot about how the human body works. If you ever watched Yankees On Deck you also caught a glimpse of that too. He knows what he is talking about and he has the experience. Before coming to the Yankees he worked as a conditioning coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays. He graduated from the University of South Florida with a degree in Exercise Science and special certifications to go with it. In 2011 he even started his business call ML Strength as an off season project. He is knowledgeable, so where is the disconnect? Look at all of the injuries from this year and seasons past and you have to start to wonder....what's going on?

Some people have been quick to jump to the obvious argument of "Well....the Yankees are old. Their bodies are starting to give out." Sure, that makes sense to a point. But as an athlete keeping your body and mind in shape is your job and these guys have plenty of resources to help them do just that. If those resources don't help then it is time to start asking questions and fix the problem. Sure, the athlete has a big responsibility in that, but it is also the responsibility coach to step in and help train their bodies and correct any bad habits.

The Yankees are one of the oldest teams in all of baseball, that's a fact. But let's look at some notable injuries. Alex Rodriguez has had his fair share of hip injuries. In hopes to find a new solution to an old problem Rodriguez decided to turn to NBA star Kobe Bryant for his advice on a cutting edge treatment he received himself called "Orthokine" that has been credited to Dr. Mike Clark. It was risky and required him to travel to Germany for it. I find it weird how Cavalea signed off after everything was already explored and then jumped in to contribute down in Miami to help the rehab process. As rehab progressed, Clark explained that this was going to correct "the repetition of improper movement and the stresses they caused slowly broke down even a superior athlete," read more of that HERE. Anyone else find that statement a little odd? So, isn't Cavalea's job to mentor and teach good repetition and movements to these athletes to keep them in good condition? I thought it was. I may be reading too much into this. I am not a doctor, but it certainly is compelling.

And what about Derek Jeter? Come on, 17 games on the field is proof in itself. No doubt in my mind that Jeter's injury last season during the ALCS was crushing. At Jeter's age that is considered "old" in the baseball world and your body just does not recuperate the same way when compared to being in your 20's. Do I think the Captain pushed himself too much during the season to get back on the field? Absolutely. He is a gamer. But you mean to tell me after all of the workouts he had with Cavalea during his numerous trips to the disabled list that Cavalea didn't see something out of the ordinary? Or even think that Jeter was trying to do too much too soon? Again, I am no Doogie Howser, but the signs were all there. The frustration in Jeter's voice when he would talk to the press, the way he wasn't running full out when he came back and even how uncomfortable he looked at times while in the batters box were all good signs. Sure X-rays are a great thing, but even a clean picture can be deceiving as we now know. Once the break was healed there needed to be some more conditioning there, and he needed more time. The coaching aspect was probably a "miss" here.

Last but not least that sticks in my head is Mark Teixeira. Let's face it, he was a non-factor this year but he always seems to have some sort of nagging injury. Last year he missed a lot of time due to a nagging calf. The wrist has always been another issue for him, especially the left wrist that he has always talked about as being "weaker." This season he spoke about fixing his weak spots, and Dana Cavalea was supposed to play a big part in that, read HERE. They came up with this intense workout that was supposed to also help with his agility, which Cavalea says a lot of athletes don't pay enough attention to which is a big mistake. All of those extra workouts have yet to pay off for Tex, because after trying to make a comeback after wrist injury he eventually had to face fact that his wrist had not healed and undergo season-ending surgery. Since the initial injury Tex has said he may not use a weighted bat anymore. I wonder if Cavalea has changed his mind since giving THIS interview....more food for thought.

These are just the major injuries that come to mind for me. Let's not forget that other injuries like oblique strains have also been a huge problem for this team this year. I can't remember the last time I have heard of so many players suffering the same injuries. So far names like David Robertson, Brett Gardner, Joba Chamberlain, and Eduardo Nunez just to name a few. Surely, I can't be the only one who thinks that is a little overkill. If the Yankees are training and conditioning as needed this injury would not have been so prominent this year.

So maybe the Yankees aren't the only thing that has broken down this year. Maybe the strength and conditioning coach is a little rickety and is in need of some repair as well, but then again....what do I know? I just observe and write. I could be wrong, it wouldn't be the first time.




--Jeana Bellezza, BYB Senior Writer and Editor
Twitter: @NyPrincessJ


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