Alex Rodriguez will in fact have surgery, tomorrow morning, and is expected to miss six-to-nine weeks. It is likely that he will have another surgery after the season as well.
Two terrific games yesterday, and watching the emotion in the dugout shots felt like playoff baseball. If Taveras went on his own he may now need a bodyguard, if he was sent, Alou might need one.
So, does Cash make a trade for a utility infielder/4-6 week 3rd base platooner? And if A Rod needs to DH for the first while, or longer, we need one more. I suspect there are serious discussions going on as we speak, er, type. I also continue to wonder about catching. My own pref would be to identify one of the young Texas guys and trade decent value for him, as opposed to Pudge, the 2 hr yesterday notwithstanding. Montero may be the 2nd coming of Jorge Posada, but I worry about waiting on kids that young without fallback positions.
Loved the USA/Canada game, despite the mindless meandering of the announcers.
As for the injury, repair, and rehab, they haven't told us how bad it is or how much shaving and reshaping has to be done. Cannot imagine him sliding, diving, or colliding after the procedure. But who knows?
[1] i think it really depends on the surgey - specifically is it common enough that there is enough data on recovery and whether they do only the surgery they intend rather than see a worse injury during surgery.
to use an acl as example since i have been through it, it is a fairly common surgery and thus i think doctors and physical therapists are pretty accurate with the rehab time of 6-9 months - but then this is a pretty broad time range.
[2] i think the need for an upgraded uif will depend highly on the actual recovery time. the best case scenario is alex only missing a few weeks - i am not sure that necessitates a trade that requires the yanks to give up a very valuable piece. but if alex is going to need some regular rest, combined with the need to rest jeter some, then it makes sense to upgrade uif - but the problem is there still isn't much out there.
to your second concern hoss, you think the yanks should proactively get insurance for posada now?
If nothing else, if ARod is estimated to miss a month or less, it will be easier to get a UIF and 3rd baseman without bring robbed. Franly, even if he was having the 'bone surgery', it would be better to go public will this, then to announce now that ARod would be out for 2-4 months... or maybe more.
I wonder how serious the bone on bone problem can be if ARod has has little to no pain. Sounds like that would hurt even in the beginning stages.
just saw on espn news that the doctor said arod could swing a bat a week after the surgery. that seems a bit much to me, but if true it might mean this is not that intrusive as far as surgey on a hip sounds.
I'm pleased that Alex is having a surgery that will help relieve some of the pain though I would prefer that he has the more invasive surgery now so he can recover completely.
An upgrade at BUIF would be welcome in any case. It looked like the sinkhole at BUIF was solved when the team acquired Betemit, but obviously that didn't work out as planned. But they someone with a credible bat who can play a couple of IF position, to spell Jeter and A-Rod this year (let alone cover for injuries).
Of course, such a credible bat may not be a very good fielder, so you would also like to have a defensive replacement type. But that's hard to do so long as the team insist on carrying 7 men in the BP (including a useless long man) and/or three catchers.
[4] They seem to be overly optimistic even with fairly common injuries (hamstring strains, etc.)
I think part of it is people naturally tend to be optimistic. ("Optimism bias") And part of it is that pro athletes are not normal people. The stresses they put on their bodies are not ordinary.
That seems to be the case with shoulder surgeries (impingement, etc.). It's routine for normal people. For baseball players...half never play at the same level again after the surgery. Which is why shoulder surgery is pretty much a last resort for baseball players.
[9] Yeah, but that's Girardi and Cashman who are usually optimistic about hamstring strains and such. This is coming from the surgeon, who is one of the leading hip doctors in the world. I don't see what value there is in lying for him. If he says 6-9 weeks, I'll believe him.
Ugh. Melky just got picked off first. That's not helping your cause, Melky.
I think A-Rod has the same thing I do: Femoral acetabular impingement. Basically it's a bump on (in my case) the femoral bone which bumps into the socket joint. I'm still able to do Aikido, and there isn't much pain, though the hip at times feels achy, or sore or just tired. According to the doctor there is a newer procedure to shave it off arthroscopically, but they've only been doing it here in the US 5-10 years so the scientific data isn't there. The traditional way is to slice the hip open, dislocate the hip 8-0 (big eyes, open mouth) and then shave down the bone. Much more intrusive. Even if Alex had that surgery the day after the World Series ended I can't imagine he'd recover enough for opening day 2010. He'll probably miss the first month next year.
I'm contemplating the arthroscopic option in a year. In the mean time I manage the discomfort with ibuprofen. I can take 800 mg three times a day, but usually one 400 mg pill once a day works fine.
And in my case at least, this was not caused by steroids or any other PED.
[10] No, I don't think it's Girardi and Cashman who are being optimistic. I think they're just repeating what the doctors told them. It's the doctors who are optimistic.
Craig Wilson had impingement surgery on his shoulder. The doctor said he would be 100% by spring training. He wasn't. He couldn't pass his physical. As it turns out, it's not unusual. It often takes a full year or more for a pro ballplayer to recover fully...if he recovers.
wow, steve phillips just said Jon Lester is the BEST left-hander in the AL, better than CC. whoa, slow down, dude! lester signed a 5-yr/$30 mil. deal w/ the bosox...
Yanks should trade for mike Cameron ASAP. Sure it will be expensive but this team is on the bubble so the marginal dollars will be worth it. Cameron would be a one to three win upgrade over melky or Gardner, possibly making up for the loss of Alex for up to maybe two months. This is not the time or year to get caught up with fiscal discipline.
[14] The key phrase there is "Steve Philips." There's a reason he's an ex-gm, at an early age. Overall on baseball analysis I think MLBN is better than ESPN.
[16] i agree w/ you completely! unfortunately, i don't get MLBN. probably a good thing - i'd never get anything done. i'm sorry you have a bad hip. that is "doubleplus ungood".
I was hoping A-Rod wouldn't need the surgery this season, but now that he's getting it I'm kind of relieved.
I'm also relieved that Steve Phillips says Lester is the best left-hander in the AL. Until now I was worried that Lester might be really good.
well, i picked up my first few packs of 2009 bb cards. got the Topps series 1, with a-rod on the cover of the packs. there was an a-rod card, along w/ Quentin & Cabrera as last years' homerun leaders (3-in-1 Leaders Card).
as far as full yankee cards, i got - all in home uni's - giambi and a great shot of his porn 'stache of doom, dyed dark and a matsui, who appears to have 2 knees. could be photoshopped or airbrushed, can't tell. oh, and it what might be a sign, i got:
Cody Ransom. he's listed as 3B, specifically; not "INF", or anything like that. on the back, it reads:
A NICHE IN HISTORY:
Cody ripped four HR's in 43 AB's in 2008. The only Yankees hitters to need fewer AB's in a season to hit four were Dave Kingman (24 in 1977) and Bob Seeds (42 in '36).
Maybe am being over-optimistic but I think the offense can get by without A-Rod for a month..there's no way Cano will be as craptacular as last season, and Matsui at DH should be steady..with Tex in there I think they'll score enough runs for the staff. CC and AJ need to have a good April though..
[25] Anyone remember the name of the Joe D biography from a few years back? The one that brought out all his skeletons..heard it was worth a read, not too tabloid, just honest..
I wonder if the Angels would want to work something like Xavier Nady for Chone Figgins? It frees up RH DH ABs for A-Rod when he comes back which are probably easier on the body than playing third base. It keeps flexibility on both rosters, adds pop to LAA. I think that's a deal that helps both teams. Nady is an upgrade over whatever the Angels have at 1B and Figgins is better than Scranton potluck at 3B in New York.
[29] figgins might be nice to have, though i can't stand him (or his name!). i'm not so sure teams look at "X" as an infielder and lord knows, the Halos have an abundance of outfielders, even w/ G.A .here in Ga. i believe garrett's hurt already. we'll see, but i highly doubt he reaches his goal of 3,000 hits. will be sad that when A-Rod gets there, it'll be under a shadow of doubt.
i tuned in just in time to see Youk drive in Dusty McGritty-MVP w/ a 2-run (lumber)jack. better to see it w/ USA across the chest, rather than Boston, but man, do hate BOTH of those players...
i'm not a betting man, but what's the over/under on when the clocks here for the comments get caught up with daylight savings?! ; )
[27] i just learned quite a bit more about Cody, via a link Pete Abe has up. i won't give up the gist of the article, in case folks here wanna read it, but here were some cool Yankee facts...
- The utility infielder became the first man in franchise history to homer in his first two at bats.
- made the last putout in Yankee Stadium history (handed the ball to Mariano Rivera).
- His grandfather, Roy, was a Yankee minor-leaguer.
[33] you're not myself! who invited you in this conversation?! ; )
yeah man, i've always liked ol' Nick, too. he reminded me of a mix between Eddie Munster & Babe Ruth. he sure is an on-base machine when healthy... the Meathook (Dimtri Young) still on the Nats? for some reason, i thought i read they released him this off-season, or something. i dunno, i read sooooo much baseball news every single day, it all runs together sometimes... : ~
nope, no job right now ... they dissolved my department and outsourced the work
just chilling right now, waiting on a job prospect to play out.
listening to the new phish shows, which have me excited to see them whenever it is that they find their way out west (probably late summer/early fall).
oh, boo. i'm sorry you're outta work. i'm sure it won't be long and you'll be up and runnin' again soon! looks like we might need a 3rd baseman, if ya wanna suit up! ; )
yeah, i heard they were getting back together for a tour, or something. my best friend is a huge Phish-head. he's out in Denver and i'm sure he's gonna catch a few shows.
they appear to have come back to play, which is something you couldn't really say the last time ... they didn't even bother to rehearse specific songs for the MSG NYE show, which was borderline inexcusable.
we'll see where the jamming gets to, but they've been playing the hard stuff and playing it quite cleanly, so it's encouraging.
i guess this all means Trey is outta prison?! seemed like he was in quite a bit of trouble there for a minute. glad to hear they're firing away on all cylinders, with intention!
I wonder if Pete Abe's rule of sports injuries applies. ("Whatever rehab time the team or athlete tells you, double it.")
Two terrific games yesterday, and watching the emotion in the dugout shots felt like playoff baseball. If Taveras went on his own he may now need a bodyguard, if he was sent, Alou might need one.
So, does Cash make a trade for a utility infielder/4-6 week 3rd base platooner? And if A Rod needs to DH for the first while, or longer, we need one more. I suspect there are serious discussions going on as we speak, er, type. I also continue to wonder about catching. My own pref would be to identify one of the young Texas guys and trade decent value for him, as opposed to Pudge, the 2 hr yesterday notwithstanding. Montero may be the 2nd coming of Jorge Posada, but I worry about waiting on kids that young without fallback positions.
Loved the USA/Canada game, despite the mindless meandering of the announcers.
As for the injury, repair, and rehab, they haven't told us how bad it is or how much shaving and reshaping has to be done. Cannot imagine him sliding, diving, or colliding after the procedure. But who knows?
[1] i think it really depends on the surgey - specifically is it common enough that there is enough data on recovery and whether they do only the surgery they intend rather than see a worse injury during surgery.
to use an acl as example since i have been through it, it is a fairly common surgery and thus i think doctors and physical therapists are pretty accurate with the rehab time of 6-9 months - but then this is a pretty broad time range.
[2] i think the need for an upgraded uif will depend highly on the actual recovery time. the best case scenario is alex only missing a few weeks - i am not sure that necessitates a trade that requires the yanks to give up a very valuable piece. but if alex is going to need some regular rest, combined with the need to rest jeter some, then it makes sense to upgrade uif - but the problem is there still isn't much out there.
to your second concern hoss, you think the yanks should proactively get insurance for posada now?
If nothing else, if ARod is estimated to miss a month or less, it will be easier to get a UIF and 3rd baseman without bring robbed. Franly, even if he was having the 'bone surgery', it would be better to go public will this, then to announce now that ARod would be out for 2-4 months... or maybe more.
I wonder how serious the bone on bone problem can be if ARod has has little to no pain. Sounds like that would hurt even in the beginning stages.
just saw on espn news that the doctor said arod could swing a bat a week after the surgery. that seems a bit much to me, but if true it might mean this is not that intrusive as far as surgey on a hip sounds.
I'm pleased that Alex is having a surgery that will help relieve some of the pain though I would prefer that he has the more invasive surgery now so he can recover completely.
An upgrade at BUIF would be welcome in any case. It looked like the sinkhole at BUIF was solved when the team acquired Betemit, but obviously that didn't work out as planned. But they someone with a credible bat who can play a couple of IF position, to spell Jeter and A-Rod this year (let alone cover for injuries).
Of course, such a credible bat may not be a very good fielder, so you would also like to have a defensive replacement type. But that's hard to do so long as the team insist on carrying 7 men in the BP (including a useless long man) and/or three catchers.
[4] They seem to be overly optimistic even with fairly common injuries (hamstring strains, etc.)
I think part of it is people naturally tend to be optimistic. ("Optimism bias") And part of it is that pro athletes are not normal people. The stresses they put on their bodies are not ordinary.
That seems to be the case with shoulder surgeries (impingement, etc.). It's routine for normal people. For baseball players...half never play at the same level again after the surgery. Which is why shoulder surgery is pretty much a last resort for baseball players.
[9] Yeah, but that's Girardi and Cashman who are usually optimistic about hamstring strains and such. This is coming from the surgeon, who is one of the leading hip doctors in the world. I don't see what value there is in lying for him. If he says 6-9 weeks, I'll believe him.
Ugh. Melky just got picked off first. That's not helping your cause, Melky.
I think A-Rod has the same thing I do: Femoral acetabular impingement. Basically it's a bump on (in my case) the femoral bone which bumps into the socket joint. I'm still able to do Aikido, and there isn't much pain, though the hip at times feels achy, or sore or just tired. According to the doctor there is a newer procedure to shave it off arthroscopically, but they've only been doing it here in the US 5-10 years so the scientific data isn't there. The traditional way is to slice the hip open, dislocate the hip 8-0 (big eyes, open mouth) and then shave down the bone. Much more intrusive. Even if Alex had that surgery the day after the World Series ended I can't imagine he'd recover enough for opening day 2010. He'll probably miss the first month next year.
I'm contemplating the arthroscopic option in a year. In the mean time I manage the discomfort with ibuprofen. I can take 800 mg three times a day, but usually one 400 mg pill once a day works fine.
And in my case at least, this was not caused by steroids or any other PED.
[10] No, I don't think it's Girardi and Cashman who are being optimistic. I think they're just repeating what the doctors told them. It's the doctors who are optimistic.
Craig Wilson had impingement surgery on his shoulder. The doctor said he would be 100% by spring training. He wasn't. He couldn't pass his physical. As it turns out, it's not unusual. It often takes a full year or more for a pro ballplayer to recover fully...if he recovers.
11-0 Yankees over Tigers. Neither Robertson nor Willis pitched well. I wonder if the Tigers have anything to trade for a good young Yankee arm.
wow, steve phillips just said Jon Lester is the BEST left-hander in the AL, better than CC. whoa, slow down, dude! lester signed a 5-yr/$30 mil. deal w/ the bosox...
Yanks should trade for mike Cameron ASAP. Sure it will be expensive but this team is on the bubble so the marginal dollars will be worth it. Cameron would be a one to three win upgrade over melky or Gardner, possibly making up for the loss of Alex for up to maybe two months. This is not the time or year to get caught up with fiscal discipline.
[14] The key phrase there is "Steve Philips." There's a reason he's an ex-gm, at an early age. Overall on baseball analysis I think MLBN is better than ESPN.
[16] i agree w/ you completely! unfortunately, i don't get MLBN. probably a good thing - i'd never get anything done. i'm sorry you have a bad hip. that is "doubleplus ungood".
i must admit, it's nice to see old friend Ramiro Mendoza wearing #55 and pitching for Panama. i always liked him...
I was surprised to see that, considering that he failed his physical with the Brewers.
Apparently, Tavarez went on his own in yesterday's game, and to noone's surprise Papa Alou was NOT happy.
I was hoping A-Rod wouldn't need the surgery this season, but now that he's getting it I'm kind of relieved.
I'm also relieved that Steve Phillips says Lester is the best left-hander in the AL. Until now I was worried that Lester might be really good.
cano w/ a lazy single thru the hole between 1st & 2nd.
[17] Thanks. Yeah, I can see myself watching more MLBN and less History/Discovery/Military/Science. My IQ will be dropping.
holy crap - a Ruben Rivera sighting. versus the ever-ugly julian "freddie krueger" tavarez. some matchup! ; )
DR looks like they want to move on to the next round.
On a more somber note, today is the 10th anniversary of the passing of Joe D. :-(
well, i picked up my first few packs of 2009 bb cards. got the Topps series 1, with a-rod on the cover of the packs. there was an a-rod card, along w/ Quentin & Cabrera as last years' homerun leaders (3-in-1 Leaders Card).
as far as full yankee cards, i got - all in home uni's - giambi and a great shot of his porn 'stache of doom, dyed dark and a matsui, who appears to have 2 knees. could be photoshopped or airbrushed, can't tell. oh, and it what might be a sign, i got:
Cody Ransom. he's listed as 3B, specifically; not "INF", or anything like that. on the back, it reads:
A NICHE IN HISTORY:
Cody ripped four HR's in 43 AB's in 2008. The only Yankees hitters to need fewer AB's in a season to hit four were Dave Kingman (24 in 1977) and Bob Seeds (42 in '36).
seems like a stretch...
[26]
Wait .... is that "niche" speaking of the fewest ABs in which someone hit four homers? What about Kevin Maas ... Shane Spencer?
Maybe am being over-optimistic but I think the offense can get by without A-Rod for a month..there's no way Cano will be as craptacular as last season, and Matsui at DH should be steady..with Tex in there I think they'll score enough runs for the staff. CC and AJ need to have a good April though..
[25] Anyone remember the name of the Joe D biography from a few years back? The one that brought out all his skeletons..heard it was worth a read, not too tabloid, just honest..
I wonder if the Angels would want to work something like Xavier Nady for Chone Figgins? It frees up RH DH ABs for A-Rod when he comes back which are probably easier on the body than playing third base. It keeps flexibility on both rosters, adds pop to LAA. I think that's a deal that helps both teams. Nady is an upgrade over whatever the Angels have at 1B and Figgins is better than Scranton potluck at 3B in New York.
Way off topic, but the Red Sox are talking about cutting George Kottaras.
http://tinyurl.com/d56uj9
Last year he hit .243 /.348 /.456 in AAA, which translates to .217 /323/.421.
http://tinyurl.com/bv8ef3
By contrast Jose Molina hit .216 /263 /.313.
http://tinyurl.com/d82ov4
And Kottaras is on the right side of 30 (and 27) so that he's likely to improve while Molina is not as likely.
If Kevin Cash was worth taking from the Red Sox...
[27] dunno.
[29] figgins might be nice to have, though i can't stand him (or his name!). i'm not so sure teams look at "X" as an infielder and lord knows, the Halos have an abundance of outfielders, even w/ G.A .here in Ga. i believe garrett's hurt already. we'll see, but i highly doubt he reaches his goal of 3,000 hits. will be sad that when A-Rod gets there, it'll be under a shadow of doubt.
i tuned in just in time to see Youk drive in Dusty McGritty-MVP w/ a 2-run (lumber)jack. better to see it w/ USA across the chest, rather than Boston, but man, do hate BOTH of those players...
i'm not a betting man, but what's the over/under on when the clocks here for the comments get caught up with daylight savings?! ; )
big dunn-key, strong like bull. what a waste he will be on the Nats...
[27] i just learned quite a bit more about Cody, via a link Pete Abe has up. i won't give up the gist of the article, in case folks here wanna read it, but here were some cool Yankee facts...
- The utility infielder became the first man in franchise history to homer in his first two at bats.
- made the last putout in Yankee Stadium history (handed the ball to Mariano Rivera).
- His grandfather, Roy, was a Yankee minor-leaguer.
[32] I feel the same way about Nick Johnson. On the Nats and as a backup!
abreu still terrified of the wall. too funny! i've always loved boBBy, however, will miss him and follow his #'s this season...
apparently, i enjoy typing to myself! : ~
[33] you're not myself! who invited you in this conversation?! ; )
yeah man, i've always liked ol' Nick, too. he reminded me of a mix between Eddie Munster & Babe Ruth. he sure is an on-base machine when healthy... the Meathook (Dimtri Young) still on the Nats? for some reason, i thought i read they released him this off-season, or something. i dunno, i read sooooo much baseball news every single day, it all runs together sometimes... : ~
[36] I was a Nick J fan too but at this point I think I'm more likely to play a full season than he is..
thelarmis, some promotion work is coming my way soon, get in touch and let us book your trio over here later in the year!
[36] you linked yourself - you're typing to yourself also, just like me; i knew we got along for a reason! ; )
holy cow, that sounds *amazing*! i'll get in touch soon...
[37] well, i'd hate to leave you typing to yourself
how go things in the ATL?
[38] hey, it's nice to hear from ya, man! things are status quo here in the ATL, which is to say all is fine, everything considered!
how is it over in La-La Land? it's MannyWood now! you at the same job and contact info? will they send you to Atl this year?
nope, no job right now ... they dissolved my department and outsourced the work
just chilling right now, waiting on a job prospect to play out.
listening to the new phish shows, which have me excited to see them whenever it is that they find their way out west (probably late summer/early fall).
oh, boo. i'm sorry you're outta work. i'm sure it won't be long and you'll be up and runnin' again soon! looks like we might need a 3rd baseman, if ya wanna suit up! ; )
yeah, i heard they were getting back together for a tour, or something. my best friend is a huge Phish-head. he's out in Denver and i'm sure he's gonna catch a few shows.
they appear to have come back to play, which is something you couldn't really say the last time ... they didn't even bother to rehearse specific songs for the MSG NYE show, which was borderline inexcusable.
we'll see where the jamming gets to, but they've been playing the hard stuff and playing it quite cleanly, so it's encouraging.
i guess this all means Trey is outta prison?! seemed like he was in quite a bit of trouble there for a minute. glad to hear they're firing away on all cylinders, with intention!
yeah, he's supposedly clean and sober now, here's hoping he manages to keep things that way
gotta run, but glad you're still hanging around BB ... opening day can't come soon enough
sounds great, man! glad you followed the new address and are back here - see ya soon 'round these parts! : )