Baseball

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

McCarthy in good spirits

Injured pitcher tweeting away as usual from hospital

By: Janie McCauley

Posted: 09/10/2012 3:18 AM | Comments: 0

SAN FRANCISCO -- Brandon McCarthy is back to his Twitter-happy self, a positive sign for the Oakland Athletics pitcher struck in the head by a line drive this week.

The 29-year-old McCarthy underwent two hours of surgery late Wednesday to relieve pressure on the brain after the ball hit the right side of his head. He experienced an epidural hemorrhage, brain contusion and skull fracture on the play off the bat of the Angels' Erick Aybar.

McCarthy, Oakland's opening day starter, is 8-6 with a 3.24 ERA this year in his sixth big league season and second with the A's. He went 9-9 with a 3.32 ERA last season.

McCarthy joked Saturday: "The good news in all of this, is that I set up my fantasy lineups beforehand. So there shall be no excuses at this point."

Earlier, he made a funny reference to how "crazy" he is for the children's pain medication he gets -- and "can't believe they give it to kids." In response to a get-well greeting from 49ers All-Pro linebacker Patrick Willis, McCarthy quipped, "Thanks, buddy, I feel like I just got hit by you."

His lighthearted posts came a day after trainer Nick Paparesta said in Seattle that McCarthy was still in a "life-threatening" situation.

McCarthy is recovering in a Bay Area hospital. His wife, Amanda, also has been regularly posting on Twitter as usual.

Before the Dodgers-Giants afternoon game at AT&T Park, players in both clubhouses were eager to hear updates about McCarthy's progress.

"That scares me so much," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said while seeking an update on McCarthy's injury.

Paparesta said McCarthy's long-term health and wellbeing -- not his baseball career -- is the priority.

Everyone is concerned.

"Oh yeah, guys talk about it to see what happens," Los Angeles manager Don Mattingly said. "It kind of reminds you just how dangerous, what can happen and how fast it can happen. It puts it in perspective of what you're doing."

Dodgers second baseman Mark Ellis played with McCarthy for part of 2011 with the A's before being traded to Colorado. While Ellis said it's always good to see someone get up from such a frightening moment, that doesn't always mean everything is OK.

"It's especially hard when you played with a guy to see something like that," Ellis said. "You're happy to see him get up, but I'm so glad they did all the tests to make sure."

-- The Associated Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 10, 2012 B5

Fact Check

Have you found an error, or know of something we’ve missed in one of our stories? Please use the form below and let us know.

* Required

In which story did you find the error? *
Please post the headline of the story or the title of the video with the error.
What was the error? *
Please post exactly what was wrong with the story.
What should we have written?
Please indicate your source for the correct information.
Who else should we interview to improve this story?
Please include any contact information you may have.
Can we contact you in the future for advice on stories about this topic?
Yes

No
First Name: *
Last Name: *
E–mail Address: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Phone: *
This will only be used to contact you if we have a question about your submission, it will not be used to identify you or be published.
Colour:
Are you blue? If you can see this, leave it blank and get some CSS support.
Enter the words that you see: * This is to prevent our forms from being filled out automatically.
You have failed to correctly identify the words in the box above. Please try again.

More Baseball

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

Have Your Say

New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.