PhilsWeek! – MRSA, MRSA Me: Freddy Galvis – and possibly the entire Philadelphia Phillies clubhouse – suffers a MRSA infection
By Mike Lacy
Freddy Galvis. Image Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Welcome to PhilsWeek! – a fun* look back at the week that was and all the exciting happenings surrounding everyone’s favorite major league baseball team: The Philadelphia Phillies!
*Note: Amount of fun experienced may vary.
Super Big Phillies Issue of the Week: The Phillies Clubhouse May be Infected with MRSA
It looks like Jimmy Rollins might not have much to worry about after all. Freddy Galvis – the man who would presumably replace him in the lineup – has been out of action for most of the last week, and there’s a good chance that he’ll be starting the season on the disabled list.
The problems started when Galvis suffered a cut on his left knee during an exhibition game. The situation worsened when an abscess was removed from the knee and an infection was detected. Next thing you know, Galvis is being hospitalized with MRSA, and the entire Phillies clubhouse is being disinfected.
MRSA is a staph infection that is notoriously resistant to antibiotics. It’s also extremely contagious, which is why the Phillies have taken precautions to ensure that it doesn’t spread any further within their clubhouse.
The Phillies are the second major professional sports team to deal with such an issue in the past year. Eagles fans may recall that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers also had to disinfect their clubhouse before the teams squared off in October.
Much like the Phillies, the Bucs were receiving a lot of media criticism about the team’s performance and other issues when the MRSA story broke. Is it possible that MRSA doesn’t actually exist and is only something that sports teams invented to distract people from the more important issues? Or perhaps MRSA infections only occur on dysfunctional teams? Or maybe Florida is just a horrible breeding ground for the infection.
Either way, let’s just hope that Freddy Galvis recovers quickly.
Pennant Year Song of the Week
Winning the National League pennant isn’t something the Phillies do all that often; it’s only happened seven times in team history. Each week, I’ll take a song from one of those years that somehow ties into the events of the past week.
Dirty Laundry – Don Henley, 1983
It isn’t clear what caused the MRSA infection. Could it have been unsanitary conditions in the Phillies’ clubhouse? Maybe they needed to clean things up better. That means a little more hand washing, and maybe a little less dirty laundry hanging around.
Right Player, Wrong Uniform
There are some players who played their entire careers with a single team, and it’s impossible to imagine them in a different uniform: Mike Schmidt with the Phillies,Cal Ripken with the Orioles, and Derek Jeter with the Yankees are prime examples. On the other hand, there are some players who you might associate with a certain team…but they also had a forgettable stint (or two) with another team. You might not remember their time with those other teams, but the internet never forgets!
Mike Piazza had a long, successful career, and if he hadn’t played during the steroid era, he’d probably be a lock for the Hall of Fame. He had prolific stints for both the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Mets. But does anyone remember how he got from the Dodgers to the Mets?
In 1998, the Florida Marlins were engaging in yet another round of payroll shedding. They pulled off a mega trade that not only involved Piazza, but other notables like Todd Zeile, Jim Eisenreich, and Gary Sheffield. Any excitement that Marlins fans might have had upon receiving Piazza was quickly squashed when they traded him to the Mets a week later.
But for that one week…magic!
The Week Ahead
The Phillies will have to make decisions this week regarding the fate of non-roster players Bobby Abreu and Ronny Cedeno who can become free agents if not added to the major league roster. Due to the Galvis situation as well as Darin Ruf‘s injury, there is a high likelihood that they are indeed added.
With Galvis likely out of the picture for the time being, the battle between Cedeno and Reid Brignac for the utility infielder spot should be fascinating. Or at least, it should be as fascinating as battles for bench jobs between non-roster invitees can get.
Inane Rap Lyric of the Week
“He may be very sexy or even cute, but he looks like a sucker in a blue and red suit” – Sugarhill Gang, Rapper’s Delight
I always thought Superman had an iconic look.
See you next week for another installment of PhilsWeek! Be sure to follow me (@MikeLacy_215) and That Ball’s Outta Here (@FS_TBOH) on the Twitter!