SAN FRANCISCO –- The Giants might be reeling after losing three late leads and getting swept by the Colorado Rockies, but at least Buster Posey is clear of mind.
Posey came out of Sunday’s eventual 8-7 loss in the fourth inning after he took a particularly hard foul tip off the mask. Posey had a headache in the dugout, so Giants manager Bruce Bochy sent up Hector Sanchez to bat in the bottom of the inning.
But Posey said the headache didn’t last long, he passed all the concussion tests and he expected to fly with the team when they leave for Chicago on Monday.
“I feel fine,” Posey said. “It stung me a little bit but everything feels normal. They’ll check in with me later tonight and tomorrow morning, just to make sure nothing has changed.”
Posey was checked by head athletic trainer Dave Groeschner after Rockies catcher Mike McKenry fouled back a pitch from Madison Bumgarner that caught Posey flush on his hockey-style mask. Posey finished the half-inning.
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“He thought he could continue but once he got onto the dugout, he was getting a headache,” Bochy said. “You hear that and you can’t let him go back out there.”
Said Bumgarner: “You could see paint flying everywhere, chips or something. It was pretty solid. He usually doesn’t act like nothing is bothering him unless it’s really bothering him.”
Posey took a hard foul off the mask earlier in the week against the Washington Nationals; there is plenty of anecdotal evidence and also published studies that have demonstrated repeated shots to the head usually have a cumulative effect.
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“As a competitor you want to stay out there,” Posey said. “But when it comes to your head feeling weird, and taking a couple hard ones, three or four in the last couple days, it was the right move.”
Posey said he hasn’t been diagnosed with a concussion other than one time at Single-A San Jose when he was hit by a pitch and missed time on the disabled list. Even then, he said he didn’t experience any significant symptoms.
The Giants don’t have a third catcher on the 40-man roster, so they’d have to do a bit of juggling if they needed to purchase the contract of Guillermo Quiroz from Triple-A Fresno. It appears that won’t be necessary.
