March 5, 2009

A-Rod: No Surgery (For Now)

Alex Rodriguez's cyst was caused by a torn labrum in his right hip. The cyst was drained this afternoon and the Yankees hope "rest and rehab" will be enough to get him through the season.

Pete Abraham:
[Brian] Cashman just said A-Rod will need the surgery at some point. The tear won't just heal.

They're hoping he can get through the season then have it. So this could be an issue all year.
Cashman:
There are two courses of action. Treat it conservative with rest and rehab, or surgery. We're treating it conservatively. ... We are hoping he can play with it. That's the gray area, that's what we are all trying to figure out. He's such an asset that we want to try this way first.
Looking at the 2009 season -- to say nothing of the next nine years of Rodriguez's contract -- why not get this taken care of right now and have Slappy back after the All-Star break? A "wait and see" approach seems like a big gamble. But, again, the MFY have not made a final final decision. They could still decide on surgery next week.

***

ESPN's Stephania Bell, on the reported recovery times of 6-8 or 10 weeks:
If Alex Rodriguez is set to undergo surgery on his injured hip, as reported today, he faces a lengthy recovery that could keep him out of action longer than the reported 10 weeks. The reported recovery period suggests an underlying injury, perhaps to the labrum. Labral tears of the hip are usually the result of repetitive trauma, and in the case of a power hitter the rapid torsion that the hips are repeatedly subjected to during the bat-swinging process is the likely culprit. ...

[I]f he does have a labral tear, it's a more complex situation. [Chase] Utley, for one, had labral surgery in late November and is optimistic that he'll be ready for Opening Day. "Optimistic" is not "certain," though, and the time lapse between Utley's surgery and Opening Day will be 19 weeks, not 10.
It will also be about 19 weeks for Mike Lowell, as well.

12 comments:

Benjamin said...

The first paragraph of the MLB.com article is ridiculous: "The Yankees plan to treat Alex Rodriguez's troublesome right hip with a conservative approach, hoping to nurse the superstar third baseman long enough that he can postpone a surgical procedure until after the season."

Actually, that's the risky approach. The conservative approach would be to do the necessary treatment now and get it out of the way. Taking a chance and postponing it until later just adds risks. It's not like they're hoping the labral tear's going to just heal on its own without surgery.

It may be risky rather than reckless, but it certainly isn't conservative.

Mylegacy said...

My heart goes out to the Yankees, their supporters and of course, AFraud and his family of drug dealers and enablers.

Thank GOD he took those Roids - otherwise he might now be coming down with something really serious - like a conscience or a set of morals.

andy said...

Thank you for making these two separate posts. They really are two different stories. I think all of it is horse shit. And who is to say that his injury isn't in part caused by steroids? It is fucking possible to have what he has because of roids. People who use steroids for weight lifting don't move around as much. Alex runs around with a parachute attached to his back every day for a few months. In one month last year he had to run around the bases a lot. If you overgrow your muscles you can get this kind of injury. I don't think this can be a coincidence. Conspiracy theory time. The league suspended him but agreed to make it look like an injury. He goes away for a while and the rest of baseball goes on. People forget and the pressure is lifted to release all the names. Barry Bonds as Dr. Evil.

andy said...

What the hell do morals have to do with this? Because America made it illegal to use drugs like this means that they are bad all around? He did not abuse them he used them. He does not look like that Dr Jekyl character in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. He looks like he could have not used. He used them correctly. America is not the moral police.

Chiswick93 said...

Benjamin-

I bet that this is the conservative approach until they make a trade for someone to play 3rd base, in hopes that they can make that deal without seeming desperate.

Once that is done, then we'll learn that R&R isn't helping as much as hoped, and the surgery will happen, because you are absolutely right. They have way too much money invested in him to incur the risk of playing hurt.

9casey said...

The question remains why wasn't this fixed earlier, Giradi said he played with the hip problem last year.......with guys like A-rod and JD Drew, where millions are invested so these guys can play baseball, it seems as though when the season in over, it is out of sight out of mind, why aren't they monitored on a regular basis.....I don't get it...something ain't right here...And Andy if you are saying this injury was caused by steroids was Lowell's as well......

Pokerwolf said...

It's the "conservative" approach because it's not invasive surgery that could cause him to miss five months of the season. Of course, by doing this they could be making the injury worse, so it's a real roll of the dice.

tim said...

2009 avvy! w00t!

Benjamin said...

Pokerwolf said...
It's the "conservative" approach because it's not invasive surgery that could cause him to miss five months of the season.


It's surgery either way; the only question is whether to do it now or to wait and do it later.

If you have a strep infection, the conservative approach is to get on antibiotics right away, not wait a few weeks before getting on them.

Non-treatment is only the "conservative" approach if there are big risks to undergoing the treatment AND the treatment isn't inevitable. If it's inevitable, then the conservative approach is to do it now, not take a chance and hopefully getting away with waiting until October.

andy said...

For me steroids is not a stigma. If Lowell used and that eventually got us a WS trophy so be it. Professionals should be able to use any edge. Amateurs should not. ARod is being paid very well for some years off his life.

TGTfan said...

look, athletes often get injuries related to the excessive strain they place on their bodies. it's ignorance and possibly prejudice to leap to the conclusion that steroids caused the problem.

via river ave blues, gary wadler defending Arod: http://tinyurl.com/anw6vs

injuries are a hazard of the profession. This particular injury is more likely due to the strain of being a ballplayer than anything else. Sure, Arod did steroids, but that doesn't mean that everything bad that happens to him for the rest of his life is a direct result of 'roids.

it's too bad, really. Mike Lowell's labrum tear definitely affected his performance. It would be *such* a shame if Arod's performance was similarly impacted this year. Go Sox!

andy said...

I am just not going to blindly say that steroids had no effect. There is as much evidence saying it was caused by steroids as there is saying it wasn't. I would not believe yankees doctors if they told me i had two arms. Which barring anything catastrophic I do. On the ballfield front this is awesome news. Not so much that he was a contributor but because the yankees just cant catch or buy a break. This may be fate.