Everyone's pretty negative right now. Many of those who consider the Dodgers' 2005 season wiped out are willing to use injuries as an excuse; others think the team has found its true level. Few are offering praise, but Will Carroll on Baseball Prospectus proposes that the team deserves some credit for even hanging around this long. ..

Some teams have been done in by injuries while others have been able to avoid them or overcome them. I hope to have some stats for you over the break and a discussion of what teams are doing on the medical front. The Dodgers, Braves, and Yankees deserve special mention for having a ton of key injuries yet staying within hailing distance of the playoffs. Instead of blaming the medical staffs or the GMs, we should be giving them credit. It's true that the Red Sox made it to the promised land while also having a bottom five injury profile last season, but it doesn't often work out that way. More research is necessary to figure out just which injuries, what values, and what roster moves help these teams succeed in the face of adversity.