CLEVELAND: The wait for a Cleveland title is finished. The wait for Michael Brantley’s return continues.
After having his workload “ramped up” last week, Brantley felt discomfort in his biceps and lower shoulder area. He had a lighter day on Monday and was diagnosed with right biceps tendinitis.
The Indians flew Brantley to Dallas to meet with Dr. Keith Meister and get a second opinion. He also has received another MRI and a second cortisone shot. It’s more reason for concern that Brantley’s return will come later rather than sooner.
“Even though he was doing front-toss flips, the intensity was getting ramped up,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “The examination went really well — structurally sound. His biceps, that’s where the soreness is coming from. In the grand scheme of things, this is great news. … And if this is what it is, they can knock that out and he will get back on the path of coming back.”
That path was already being traveled slowly, as the Indians proceed with caution after Brantley twice tried to return and twice had to be shut down. The Indians were pleased to see nothing structurally wrong, but multiple cortisone shots, opinions and stints on the disabled list has made his return a tricky case.
June is nearly coming to a close, and the Indians are still searching for answers with how to get Brantley back into the lineup.
Time off
Juan Uribe was unavailable for several days after he was hit in a sensitive region with a hard-hit ground ball in Los Angeles. The Indians have had an odd month with that type of injury, as Yan Gomes also needed time off with a testicular contusion.
Since returning to the lineup on Saturday, Uribe has taken off at the plate, hitting home runs in four consecutive games, including a solo shot in the eighth inning Tuesday night. He had only hit two home runs prior to the injury.
“His bat looks quick,” Francona said. “I think, too, when you take a good swing, it kind of locks you in a little bit. He’s become very dangerous. … It’s been nice, hovering in that 6, 7, 8 spot, doing some damage.”
It wasn’t a comfortable time off, but it might have had some positive effects. At the very least, Uribe got something out of it.
“What I was thinking about in the days that I was off and wasn’t able to play was to let the ball come to me and use my hands and not try to look for a certain pitch, just let the ball come to me and hit it,” Uribe said.
Since then, Uribe has been on a tear, driving the ball at a better rate than he had in the season’s first two months.
#Allin216
To celebrate the Cavaliers’ title and Wednesday’s championship parade, the Indians are offering $16 tickets on all upper deck seats when purchased at indians.com or at the Progressive Field ticket office to Wednesday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Indians on Monday also celebrated the Cavs’ championship win by showing highlights from Game 7, inserting some of LeBron James’ routines and celebrations into the hot dog race and displaying a picture of James kissing the Larry O’Brien trophy during a “kiss cam” montage.
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at www.ohio.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RyanLewisABJ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RyanLewisABJ