Austin Jackson Should Be On The Disabled List

How long are the Tigers going to keep this up? I know Austin Jackson has been an important part of the Tigers “offense” this season, but this is getting a little ridiculous. Just put him on the Disabled List already. Heck, the Tigers could retroactive it, and this point, he would only be gone for 7 or 8 days.

There is a good chance that may happen when Ryan Raburn returns from the Bereavement List on Friday. And it should happen. It’s as if the Tigers front office is a love-struck teenager waiting by the phone for their crush to call them and say yes to going to the big dance. And while there is a lot to love about Austin Jackson this year, it isn’t in his, or the Tigers best interests, to continue this charade of being day-to-day. He isn’t.

Austin Jackson has already tried batting practice, and he came away saying he wasn’t comfortable.

Now, I’m not a medical professional. I don’t even claim to be one when talking to girls in the bar. I’m a pilot most of the time in those cases, but that isn’t the point. The point is, there is evidence out there that suggests an injury like Jackson’s takes some time to heal. Straight from the mouths and research of Dr. Joshua Dines and company, they concluded that from 1991 to 2010, that position players spend an average of 27 days on the D.L. with the type of injury that Jackson has.

Obviously, there are different levels of these strains, from very mild to severe, but even if it is mild, shouldn’t caution be exercised? After all, the very things that a player does every day can make the injury worse, you know, like throwing and swinging a bat. If Austin Jackson has a mild strain, which I am assuming it is given the Tigers reluctance to D.L. him, the Tigers are gambling if they don’t let it rest completely, because that mild strain could turn into something major.

We haven’t even talked about how this has left the Tigers with a short bench, and will continue to do so if the Tigers don’t D.L. Jackson tomorrow when Raburn comes back.

But that isn’t the major issue here.

The biggest issue has to do with Jackson’s health. He is the Tigers most valuable player thus far, and it’s not even close. Play it safe, go seven or eight more days without him. If they don’t, they could be losing him for much longer, and in this team right now, that could be devestating.