Matt Shoemaker is having surgery on forearm, ending his 2017 season

Well, we’ve had to deal with a dozen or so other gut punches, so what’s one more? Well, when it involves Matt Shoemaker, that “one more” could be the one that finally breaks me.

In case you’ve missed some talk here and there in the past few days, Matt Shoemaker had hit a big snag in his rehab; his radial nerve (right forearm), had been causing PIN Syndrome and the Angels had announced that he was trying out some things but that surgery was also an option. That’s not what we wanted to hear, especially with all the Wild Card potential the team had been showing, but it’s the Angels and we, as fans, SHOULD be somewhat used to these little earthquakes.

Yet, it does NOT get easier, not when you see guys like Shoemaker have such bad news hoisted upon them in a season where there were such good vibrations and expectations. The injury gods apparently have no appreciation for guys we love and who we emphatically and passionately root for; they are blind to everything, they just put dudes on the DL and that’s that. It’s a brutal game, and the Halos’ pitching staff is honestly snakebit something fierce the last two years; it’s just so, so unreal.

With that timetable for post-surgery rehab (12-14 weeks), that means Shoemaker’s year is done. Wow...hope for nothing but the best for Shoemaker and his family. Here’s to hoping they can keep their spirits up whilst dealing with this blow; Shoemaker will be back, because we know he’s a fighter. A screaming white bullet sent off a bat and directly into Shoemaker’s head couldn’t keep him off the field. Nobody believing in his talent couldn’t keep him off the field. This forearm surgery will not keep him off the field.

I’ll be counting the days till Matt Shoemaker is back on the MLB mound, but make no mistake; he WILL be back.