[Healey] The Red Sox announced that Caleb Durbin had surgery on his pinkie last week: “left fifth finger PIP joint reconstruction.”

173

u/ThurstyAlpaca 3d ago

Wild season for this dude. Happy he’s on the Sox

62

u/Atmosphericz 3d ago

Such a crazy turnaround from "why the fuck did we give up assets for this" to "I love this man so much"

28

u/ThurstyAlpaca 3d ago

I remember reading comments from people on Red Sox sub that they’re proud of their children for calling him “dirt bin”. Pretty disappointing parenting tbh.

5

u/Flock_Me_Amadeus 3d ago

Wasn't that said in more homage to the Dirt Dogs from back in the Trot Nixon/Pedroia vintage? he's definitely in that vein of player.

2

u/ScoresGalore 3d ago

Ya i called him dust bin cause hes willing to get dirt and dust on him to make great plays. A true dirtdawg.

2

u/Atmosphericz 3d ago

Wtf?? Wow.

I get that these guys are making above average if not crazy money to play a game and shouldn't necessarily be above reproach if they have a shitty attitude or are terrible people or something, but the entitlement from fans thinking they can just say anything to these players is nuts. They're people too and the internet has armed the worst of us with a tool to bring them down, unfortunately.

5

u/Nomahs_Bettah 5 3d ago

I'm vehemently against the people that threaten and target athletes, as well as people who cross the line into bigoted language or slurs. But is "dirt bin" really in the category of "saying anything to these players?"

2

u/Atmosphericz 3d ago

That's fair, I guess the point was more that parents shouldn't be teaching their kids to talk about players like that, I went off on a bit of a tangent probably because I was just reading an article about athlete death threats relating to sports betting lol

1

u/Nomahs_Bettah 5 3d ago

Yeah, death threats are way over the line and it's disappointing how prevalent it's become in part because of the increase in sports betting. I just also think that it's not really rational to expect sports without heckling and trash talk, and "dirt bin" is in the acceptable range.

3

u/Atmosphericz 3d ago

I can't imagine being in the spotlight in today's age of social media. And absolutely, I am definitely a heckler especially after a few drinks, but agree that there's a very clear line of acceptable vs unacceptable and "dirt bin" doesn't even register on the scale. I guess it's just, as a parent, I'm not sure I'd even want my kid referring to a player on our team like that - I am trying to make him not as much of a critical asshole like I am haha, but maybe that's an unfair expectation!

Also I gotta say, I always love seeing your name pop up lol. Nomar was by far my favorite player growing up and it took me until the age of 30 to finally realize that maybe, just maybe, I wasn't going to play shortstop for the Sox

2

u/ThurstyAlpaca 3d ago

You call a Yankees fella dirt bin? What flavor ice cream tonight buddy.

Sox players? Quick teaching moment of “hey, when they’re struggling we gotta rally behind them.”

2

u/Atmosphericz 3d ago

Hahaha exactly, you get it!

5

u/ChaimBloom 3d ago

Pretty crazy to look back at the trade now, when at the start of the season it looked like a huge miss.

Durbin turned it around and finished the season with 4.4 rWAR and 3.1 fWAR. Harrison then had the opposite effect after getting injured and being unable return to form during the second half, finishing the season with a 0.5 rWAR and 1.7 fWAR.

3

u/Atmosphericz 3d ago

Yeah I remember watching Harrison perform while Durbin struck out yet again like fuuuuuck. I knew Caleb was young and had plenty of chance to turn it around, but I'd be lying if I thought it'd be this much of a turnaround in public opinion haha

2

u/Blanketsburg 3d ago

Adding even more nonsense to the discourse is that many people who complained about Harrison being traded and doing well in Milwaukee were often the same people complaining that we got no one of value in the Devers trade, even though that's how we got Harrison.

They bitch about when they're doing poorly but then when they're doing well they pretend as if they always supported them.

38

u/FrostedZombie24 Durbinator 3d ago

Rest up my goat

21

u/undercoverbobross 3d ago

Now do Roman Anthony

30

u/Calm-Helicopter-1237 3d ago

Totally different injury. People should be glad they said it’s not a surgical procedure case. Surgery isn’t magic health.

36

u/Qeltar_ 3d ago

People hate uncertainty. Surgery sounds like "we found the problem and fixed it." No surgery sounds like "we don't know what the problem is."

Not true, but that's how it is.

3

u/Nomahs_Bettah 5 3d ago

People hate uncertainty.

Hey now, I also hate our medical staff!

(I am joking, but damn does it feel like we were the not-quite-walking wounded this season).

5

u/bag-skate65 3d ago

Given our emphasis on bat speed, I’m inclined to blame our training programs over the medical staff. Guys just keep getting hand, arm and core injuries that logically make sense as a result of more violent swings.

3

u/No_Design_4344 3d ago

Bingo. Injuries like Roman’s, Mickeys, IKF/Mayer are all not common injuries and were literally just from swinging a baseball bat. That’s not a medical problem, that’s a hitting problem.

6

u/Qeltar_ 3d ago

I used to think so too, but all teams are using these programs. So why is it only a problem here? Something is not adding up.

3

u/55ludovicoplace 3d ago

Other teams' coaches are coaching in a way that doesn't cause the same injuries. Using the same broad-strokes "program" doesn't mean identical coaching.

And even if these problems exist to begin with, a competent coaching and medical staff would notice these patterns cropping up and make adjustments. What framework you use is irrelevant, you need to make adjustments if you see something going horribly wrong.

Seigler's injury was from swinging a bat as well.

2

u/No_Design_4344 3d ago

Forgot about Seigler too. There’s also a clear communication issue within the organization, again when you have an entire hitting staff that has never played baseball they probably have no clue how to communicate and work with medical to adjust the programs and vise versa.

1

u/Qeltar_ 3d ago

Yeah I am not saying I have the answer, just that I don't think "bat speed" and "Driveline" are the answers.

It's not like the "top 50 bat speed" charts are full of Red Sox. The highest ranking in 2026 was Contreras.

1

u/Traditional_Half842 3d ago

Dodgers are one of the biggest proponents of bat speed and Driveline in baseball.

8

u/Reasonable_Crab_1584 3d ago

People downvoting you for speaking facts, classic Reddit moment.

Not everything can be fixed with surgery you doofuses

2

u/ThurstyAlpaca 3d ago

Was commenting the same thing! Yeah let’s just replace his finger with a much stronger bionic one. Sound good?

3

u/DrDH21 3d ago

I mean…yea

2

u/ThurstyAlpaca 3d ago

Okay, but that’s not a thing yet. I was trying to be sarcastic 😅

3

u/Nomahs_Bettah 5 3d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/Ie97ZND9e4GkfGsTN2

Seemed to work out okay in the end in this case…

2

u/ThurstyAlpaca 3d ago

They won’t let him into the HoF cuz they’ll be asking if it was him or the bionic finger.

2

u/Nomahs_Bettah 5 3d ago

Fun fact, Bert Shepard pitched against the Sox (for the Washington Senators, IIRC) in relief in the mid-40s on a prosthetic leg. Only MLB player in history to do so!

4

u/Infinite_Response113 Yoshida is the GOAT 3d ago

So you’re saying he hasn’t even reached his peak form yet?

1

u/ScoresGalore 3d ago

He started slow first couple years. Hoping for a fast start and rest next August if his production slows cause we need him.

2

u/todays333 3d ago

that's tuff

1

u/ScoresGalore 3d ago

I will meditate on Roman Anthony becoming a sultan of swing injury free next season but ultimately up to Roman Anthony and his circle.

3

u/MidwestHockey 2d ago

Performance Improvement Plan joint? Like written warning surgery?

2

u/Horrison2 1d ago

Pinkie improvement plan?

1

u/AbleCap5222 1d ago

It's clear he was bothered by it late in the season. He deserves a ton of credit for a serious turnaround. A lot of guys might have folded if they went through a stretch as bad as he did. But he had a nice season in the end.

1

u/ScoresGalore 1d ago

Where can I order this Driveline? Is it available on the sega genesis? I wanna see if I can play along at home and see if i can develop the most bat speed and exit velo of any couch potato.

-3

u/Wise_Material_5812 3d ago

and roman anthony will miss 75% of the season

-4

u/ChipotleGuacamole 3d ago

Now do Roman’s hand

-1

u/55ludovicoplace 3d ago

Okay so that's three players who were playing injured, four if you count Contreras. They need to do something about their medical staff, right? Right? Please?

6

u/Mahog11636FM 3d ago

Stop. Everyone knew about the injuries and the players wanted to play. If the players sit they’re soft and if they play injured, it’s the medical staff’s fault.

1

u/55ludovicoplace 3d ago

It's irresponsible on both parties' side to let someone with a severe injury - and I would say a requirement for reconstructive surgery is severe - play baseball. The players are not medical experts. How they feel and what's safe for them to do aren't the same thing. The medical staff's job includes telling them that they shouldn't be playing baseball in their condition.

Better getting called soft by assholes online than permanently disabling themselves and ending their careers prematurely, in my opinion.

1

u/Modano9009 2d ago

I assume it's the type of injury that's not going to get worse playing through it so it's up to the player if they want to.

0

u/Mahog11636FM 3d ago

If someone from the medical team concludes the player should not be playing, that information is normally relayed to the manager. Durbin’s pinkie was well known. He popped the bone back in place in order to play. People loved it!

-5

u/Disastrous-Window-76 3d ago

Hopefully he’s not damaged goods. Anything joint and tendon related is always scary

2

u/ThurstyAlpaca 3d ago

Yeah. He is a tough one tho. I’m sure he’ll be forced to rehab it right and he’ll be on track in no time.

We shall see tho.

[Healey] The Red Sox announced that Caleb Durbin had surgery on his pinkie last week: “left fifth finger PIP joint reconstruction.”

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