Rant #913: Break Down

You know that the warmer weather is coming when baseball's Spring Training begins.

This annual rite of passage has been going on in both Florida and Arizona since the beginning of February, and the regular season is just about a month away.

Ballplayers get themselves ready for the season, and a slate of games is played to help them do that.

The goal is to get players in shape for the rigors of the 180-day, 162-game season.

Sometimes, trying to do too much in too little time gets some players into trouble.

There are plenty of injuries during Spring Training, most of the minor variety, some of the major variety.

But you rarely hear about a baseball front-office person sustaining a major injury during this time in Florida and Arizona, but yesterday, the unexpected happened.

Brian Cashman, the general manager of my beloved Yankees, broke his ankle, but not on the field.

The team reported on Monday that Cashman broke his ankle while skydiving with the Golden Knights of the U.S. Army at Homestead AFB, Fla.

He was doing this to raise awareness for the Wounded Warrior Project, and now he, himself, is wounded.

According to reports, he made one skydive, which went very successfully.

He decided to try it again, and that ended up being a major mistake.

Landing awkwardly, he suffered a broken right fibula and dislocated his right ankle.

He was scheduled to undergo surgery at Broward Health Medical Center yesterday.

While his goals were noble, the outcome wasn't.

All off season, Cashman has had to answer questions about players' health--namely Alex Rodriguez's surgery and his continued PED linkage, and Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera's returns from serious injuries--and now he, himself, gets downed by an injury.

You don't like to see anyone get injured, but this is almost funny, almost like the shoe being on the other foot.

Now players can be asked by reporters how their general manager is doing after surgery, just like Cashman used to be asked about their status.

So goes Spring Training, where Cashman has proven that anyone can suffer an injury, even if that person isn't even out on the field.

Better now than during the regular season, I guess.