Ball keeps finding Shaw’s foot, leg
LOS ANGELES – If the rules would allow it, Travis Shaw might wrap his right leg and foot in bubble wrap during at-bats these days.
It has been a rough month for the Brewers third baseman in terms of fouling pitches off his lower extremities. In the same at-bat on Aug. 12 against Cincinnati at Miller Park, Shaw fouled pitches off his right foot and leg just below the knee, leaving painful bruises and welts.
Shaw was just starting to feel good again when he fouled a pitch off the same foot, in nearly the same spot, in the ninth inning Wednesday in San Francisco.
He wore a walking boot to Los Angeles but shed it and was in the starting lineup Friday night against the Dodgers.
“It hurts; I’m not going to lie,” Shaw said before the game. “It’s not great but I feel like I can still help. The last couple of weeks had been tough. Running is not going to be easy.”
Shaw had been wearing a protective guard on his leg below the knee but not on his foot when it was struck again. Against the Dodgers, he did wear a foot guard at the plate.
“I’ll go through spurts where I’ll (foul pitches off his leg and foot) frequently but then I’ll go through spurts where I don’t do it for months,” he said. “I’m in one of the bad spurts now. If it hurts too much, I’ll come out (of the game).”
Manager Craig Counsell said he had one piece of advice for Shaw going forward.
“Try to hit them over the fence instead of off your foot,” Counsell said with a smile. Too much, too soon: Because righthander Corbin Burnes has had such a banner season in the farm system, some have wondered if he might be considered for a September call-up. General manager David Stearns said there are no plans to do so, mainly because Burnes is just getting his pro career started after being taken in the fourth round of the 2016 draft out of St. Mary’s College.
“It would be unusual for a player with that level of experience (to be summoned),” Stearns said. “He has just over a year of pro experience. That would be a highly accelerated timetable.”
Burnes, 22, began the season at advanced Class A Carolina, going 5-0 with a 1.05 ERA in 10 starts. He was promoted to Class AA Biloxi and hasn’t missed a beat, compiling a 3-3 record and 1.97 ERA in 14 outings.
Overall, Burnes is 8-3 with a 1.57 ERA in 24 starts, with 136 strikeouts in 137 2/3 innings, 0.89 WHIP and .195 opponents batting average. He is the leading candidate to be the Brewers’ minor league pitcher of the year.
“He has had a great year,” Stearns said. “Regardless of what happens, he should be extremely proud of this year. He has an impressive future ahead of him.”
Leading the charge: The Dodgers’ Dave Roberts, named the 2016 NL manager of the year for leading L.A. to the NL West crown despite an avalanche of injuries, is the favorite again this season, thanks to his team’s historic winning pace. Counsell said Roberts deserves credit for keeping his team focused in a unique market.
“He has done a great job,” Counsell said. “Having just played in L.A. briefly (in 1999), and understanding the city and the challenges and the market, he’s done a wonderful job.
“L.A. wants stars; they want individuals. To keep it together as a team is the thing he’s done a great job at.”