Colorado Rockies Rundown: Injuries, Injuries, Injuries!

Sep 22, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies manager W. Weiss (22) oversees treatment due to an injury to third baseman N. Arenado (28) in the ninth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Nolan Arenado shaken, but OK

(via MLB.com)

Neck injuries are always scary, and when Nolan Arenado banged his head and neck hard against the ground with two outs in the ninth inning on Tuesday night, I for one thought back to the concussion sustained by Justin Morneau when he dove for a ball in May against the Los Angeles Angels.

It doesn’t right now sound like Arenado is as injured now as Morneau was then, but Arenado was immediately removed from the game on Tuesday night, and was not in the lineup Wednesday.

Updates from MLB.com on what went down after the game:

"The Rockies pulled Arenado from the game. Head athletic trainer Keith Dugger checked Arenado in the clubhouse postgame and said he did not appear to have a concussion, but Arenado will be checked again. “He’ll be fine,” Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. “He hit his head pretty hard on the ground. At that point, there was no sense keeping him out there.”"

[ Related: On the Colorado Rockies’ beat: crappy Denver sports media, part 1 ]

Having just read this incredible but very sad piece on traumatic brain injuries and concussions relating to football, I am probably in a more conservative mindset than most, but head and neck injuries aren’t a joke. We’ll have news about several players getting shut down below, but if Arenado is feeling head and/or neck problems in the next couple days, it might be worth it to shut him down, too.

I know, that’s all speculation — no word yet on if that’s happening. But it’s something of which trainers and coaches for the Colorado Rockies ought to be incredibly mindful. Arenado’s done enough this year, and the Rockies aren’t playing for anything; don’t mortgage a future with this kid if you don’t have to, because the Rox need nothing the rest of the way this summer.

Oh, BTW, add Charlie Blackmon to this list; he was a late scratch from Wednesday night’s game with a sore neck. Everybody is dropping like flies! Then Brandon Barnes, who replaced Blackmon in Wednesday’s lineup, strained his hamstring running out a fly ball and was removed from the game himself!

Injuries!

Next: Jon Gray gets shut down for 2015