Originally Posted by ifspuds
The office of Lennox Herrion, manager of the Elliott Springs Tornadoes
May 17, 2018
The atmosphere in the office was already approaching funereal when the Tornadoes' team doctor, Cakravata Smirti, walked in the door. Present at this small, silent meeting was the Tornadoes manager, pitching coach Ray King and the young Elliott Springs phenom, Jamie Wilder. Wilder wore jeans and a t-shirt, Herrion and King their uniforms. A combination that Herrion feared very much was going to be the rule, rather than the exception, for some time to come. He'd seen the barely concealed agony on Wilder's face when he'd come out of the game against the Greens. A game the team had won easily, 7-1, but one in which Wilder only threw 3 and a third.
Considering that Wilder had missed most of last season with a torn labrum, and struggling to regain his form, nobody expected the news from the doctor to be good.
The doctor took the empty chair. "It's not good."
Wilder clenched his jaw tightly. The 23-year old might be confident -- even cocky -- when he got on the hill, but in the clubhouse, he was still an uncertain kid. Herrion could tell it was taking a lot of effort for him to not show the obvious emotion he must be feeling.
A deep breath, a clearing of the throat, and Smirti explained. "You've been overcompensating for the shoulder, Mr. Wilder. It's caused undue stress on your arm... I fear very much that the bicep muscle is torn."
If the atmosphere was funereal before, it was... well, Herrion couldn't even think of a word to describe the chill hanging over the small gathering. Ray King finally broke the silence. "How long, doc?"
"There are two issues there. One, how to keep the shoulder recovering properly? Two, how to let the bicep heal?" Smirti shook his head. "I would guess eight months."
"Eight months!" Wilder burst out. "That's another entire season!"
The doctor just nodded. "I wish there was better news I could give you, Mr. Wilder, Mr. Herrion, Mr. King, but there just isn't."
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