Scratch that surgery thing.
Per Pete Abe, Brian Cashman has said that Alex Rodriguez not only has a cyst on his hip, but a torn labrum in the joint, but instead of having surgery, which would knock him out for four months, he’s going to try to play through it like Chase Utley and Mike Lowell did last year.
The cyst was large and the hope was having it drained will lessen the stiffness Rodriguez felt.
They’re going to cut down on his time in spring training in the hopes he can get through the season.
. . . Cashman refused to say what degree the tear was.
This is actually worse news than the surgery had been. Losing Rodriguez for the first six weeks of the season would have been acceptable had he come back at full strength and hit like he can the rest of the way, and if the Yankees had resisted making an unnecessary move to fill third base for those six weeks and simply given the job to Cody Ransom.
Instead, Rodriguez will be playing the 2009 season at less than full strength. Consider that Lowell, who was the same age last year that Rodriguez will be this year, played in just 34 games in the second half of last season and hit just .225/.286/.357 in those games, while Utley, after a hot start, hit just .273/.363/.472 from May 6 through the end of the season, well below his established level. If Rodriguez can repeat Utley’s line, that will be better than any alternative the Yankees could scare up at this late point, but one wonders how much of that reduced production Rodriguez would give back in the field if his shrinking range is further pinched by his sore hip.
The Yankees could have Rodriguez go under the knife in the hopes of returning around the All-Star break, but he’d be starting from scratch at that point, and a setback in his rehab could wipe out his season. Better to have him play through it, albeit with increased rest. The Yankees can survive this, but it’s not good news, and we’ll still be talking about it next year as he’ll need off-season surgery even if he makes it through the season.
Update: Pete Abe has audio of Cashman briefing the press. Cash says the Yankees noticed an irregularity in Alex’s right hip when Rodriguez had an MRI following his quad pull early last season, but it was not accompanied by any symptoms (pain, lack of motion, etc.). Rodriguez first reported some stiffness, but not pain, in the hip last week, prompting an MRI that detected the cyst, prompting the visit with Dr. Marc Phillipon in Colorado, who diagnosed the torn labrum. Rodriguez has had the cyst, which was caused by the labrum tear, drained and will see if the decreased pressure reduces his symptoms.
Cliff, I'm curious at to your opinion on why the Yankees didn't investigate this during the offesason? Why wait till ST if he's complaining about in July of last year?
I don't really know enough to comment on that.
[2] Come on, gut comment? :)
Part of me wants him to have the surgery just so all the “Brosius is a winner!” people can see what this team would be like without A-Rod for half a year.
It's funny; Teixeira almost seemed like a bonus when they signed him. Now imagine if they hadn't!
[5] Well, I wouldn't have to worry about getting out of work to watch playoff games this fall, that's for sure. I wonder what PECOTA will predict for the updated standings now.
I really wish we had signed Manny
I don't know when the tear happened, but if it did happen last year, here are some numbers to consider:
A-Rod from July 1 to end of year: .285/.382/.549
A-Rod after ASB: .290/.393/.563
A-Rod in Aug and Sept: .258/.366/.511
A-Rod in Aug: .243/.352/.495 (28 games)
A-Rod in Sept: .278/.383/.532 (22 games)
I'm really not sure what to make of these numbers, especially without knowing when the tear happened and how it might have gotten worse and affected him. But my thought is - if he can play through it and be 80% of typical A-Rod, that's still a damn fine ballplayer.
[7] Plus he'd be entertaining to watch at 3B!
[9]
But Pujols has played more games at 3B .... let's trade for him. :-)
[9] I thought this was a pretty middling offensive team *with* A-Rod. Without him, I think it can be downright lousy. Manny in RF would have offset four months of Cody Ransom.
[11] You are mistaking me, I'm not arguing with you about Manny. I was just imagining trying to convince him to play 3B as a joke, I need something to make me laugh right now.
[10] That's all we need, Diane - not one but two superstars, each with a lingering injury who might need surgery at any time, but who have instead chosen to play through it (and Pujols is on year 3 or 4 of playing through it). Think of the teeth-gnashing and garment-rending we'd have with both of them on the Yanks! ;)
On a MUCH lighter note, this great headline from The Onion ...
http://tinyurl.com/cwmwr5
'Play Every Day To The Best Of Your Ability' Clause Stalled Ramirez, Dodgers Talks
Can they just wrap the thigh somehow in order to lessen the weakness of a torn labrum?
Cashman better be on the horn looking for a good utility infielder who can play a lot of third base.
[15]
Have the Reds tired of Edwin Encanarcion yet?
I'm still waiting for the other shoe...
: (
[15] Every team will try to hold him up. If i was Cash, I wouldn't make a move until A-Rod proves he can play, which btw, I think he'll be able to do.
Hey .... this gives A-Rod justification to used HGH .... so he can rehab quicker from an injury, just like Andy did!
(trying to find some humor .... even if it is dark humor ... in this)
I vote Alex be ordered to stay completely away from all things Dominican until further notice, cousins and poolboys and even Madonna, who is probably Dominican by proxy now, included!
;)
Cliff: "Increased rest"
There is a long, long line at the DH wicket. Matsui was supposed to man it alone (and do so well, I was expecting) all year. Best laid plans of mice and Cashmen...
[16] I'm sure the Reds would trade Encarnacion if the price was right, but his defense is horrible. I think he's an outfielder or first baseman waiting to happen. Jeter and Encarnacion...I don't even want to think about it.
[21]
If this is "Of Mice and Cashmen", who is gonna tell us about the rabbits?
[19] I would not be opposed to rehabbing players use HGH under a league sanctioned doctor.
update with link to Cashman audio from Pete Abe above . . .
Tommy, I can now answer your question above. The Yankees didn't investigate, because Rodriguez didn't complain about it until last week.Never mind, I just say the Girardi quote which contradicts Cashman. Man, what a mess.
[7] Manny would bring distractions. Some people feel that this team has too many distractions already. And we know distractions outweigh actual baseball production, hence the desire to trade the distractions for lesser distracting (and producing) players.
/snark off
Actually, Manny's production would be a nice offset to Arod's inevitable decline this year. But where would he play? DH? Then we have Matsui play left? Swisher in center and Nady in right?
Our offense would be great. But woe to any non-groundball pitchers on our staff.... We might give up as many runs as we score.
So wait, the link cited above from Pete Abe suggests that A-Rod, as of all of last season and so far this season, doesn't have any pain, just stiffness. That's a good thing, right? Stiffness is a lot easier to swing through than pain. If it took a full season and offseason for stiffness to develop, maybe it will take the whole season for pain to manifest? Hoping?
[26] Which quotes? What's your comment?
[28] With the stiffness also comes weakness, probably getting worse and then eventually pain.
Manny could have played right field.
RLYW pretty much sums it up:
http://tinyurl.com/ddxvds
It seems like swapping Matsui for a good glove at 3B, and letting Posada and ARod split DH duties might insure we have at least one of those bats in our lineup, and maybe both for 1/3 of our games.
All in all, this just sucks. Whether he has surgery or not, there's no guarantee he'll be the player he was.
I think Cashman should start looking around for a third baseman. Or it's going to be like last year, where we were relegated to praying for Chad Moeller to clear waivers.
I still think the Yankees should have a mandatory full MRI for everyone on the 40 man roster at the end of each season. That way unknows will be turned into knows (hopefully)
My mind is still reeling at the prospect of mainlining some pure, unadulterated A Rod. Too bad it's not gonna happen. Though I think him playing through this injury might provide a little more drama than usual, it's just not the same as the Rod set loose on the world, without baseball to distract us.
Btw, this Matsui trade stuff is pure pie in the sky, as it always is.
OMFG..woke up to see this news...speechless...too bummed to go back and read all the comments now..
I'm not that pessimistic about this season. If he can operate at even 75%, that'll be okay. The other players just need to do what they need to do. We can't have any more of BS from Cano, Posada needs to stay healthy obviously; etc, etc. It becomes more of a tightwire act, but in some senses it was gonna be one in the first place. If A Rod ends up missing substantial time, then things get more dicey, of course.
It's A Rod's contributions in general, going forward that are depressing to consider. It does seem like this might be the writing on the wall. This man is due to be in pinstripes till he's what, 43? Holy smokes, the plot thickens.
from a poster on Lohud:
"Sherman on with Kay again - Alex did have an end of the year MRI and they didn’t see anything at that time. "
From Pete Abe:
Pete thinks Cashman is trying to fake the other teams out, so he won't be too badly screwed when trading for a third baseman. And he names a bunch of possibilities: Scott Rolen, Bill Hall, Brandon Inge, Chone Figgins, and others.
I still don't understand why the Yankees didn't catch this sooner. If he was complaining about it since last summer...how did they not find it? Especially before signing the guy until he's in his forties?
[39] Jeez..Scott Rolen? Bill Hall?? It doesn't matter, there's no one outside of Pujols who puts up A-Rod's numbers..as someone said earlier, Matsui and Posada better have monster years, otherwise...
All the conflicting information is annoying too..wish the Yanks would just be upfront about the details!
Hmm. Can Brett Gardner play third base? I hear he's tearing it up in spring training.
Brett Gardner is the rabbit Diane was asking for, above. [23]
Diane, I don't (really don't) want to start figuring out who the little puppies are, ok?
I actually feel better about Yankee medical/management competence if an early mri didn't show anything. (I know that sounds backwards, but I simply assume if something was there to be seen it would be seen. At least they looked!)
I also found the rlyw analysis kind of pointless. If A Rod misses a whole season and the Yankees play Cody Ransom + Angel (God help us) Berroa a whole season, we lose 6-8 games in the standings. But A Rod is not slated to miss a whole season and if he is going to, we will not go with AngelCody for a year. In that case Cashman will certainly deal for a 3rd baseman.
Actually, I'll change tack: it is oddly comforting to think that a half season of Berroa holding us for Ransom at 3rd, only loses 3-4 games as opposed to playing the best player in the AL. (Yes, I know 3-4 games can be the diff between playoffs and out in the AL East, but still...)
Conclusion? This is a team sport.
Brett Gardner is left-handed, alas. Speedy as he is, I don't think he can play 3B.
I wonder if the Pirates would part with Andy Phillips. He's been on a tear in spring training.
And, um, not to be a Debbie Downer, but after Joba gave up 5 runs without getting an out today, I was reminded of this article.
Thoughts of Brandon Inge made me cry a little.
I'll admit, I sort of imagine a future where Chamberlain is a footnote. I wish the opposite is true of course - he's a fun presence on top of everything else - but there are always those guys, the shooting stars that don't quite work out. I'm not saying it's gonna happen, but with all the hype, it's easy to just assume greatness, or at least decent-ness. The fact is, physically he may just break down quickly.
I'm now reading that Torre book, and the revenue sharing/FO IQ section is really remarkable. I never realized the extent to which things changed, and how difficult it is for the Yankees as an organization to keep up. Having great pitching prospects for the Yankees for the first time in a long time, I think some of us too quickly got excited, forgetting they sometimes don't work out. It was such a novelty, I was sure Kennedy Hughes and Chamberlain were gonna be some brilliant trifecta.
[44] me too..Jason Stark on ESPN even mentioned Bobby Crosby...ouch!
[45] Yes. Baseball Intellect pretty much said the same thing in their analysis of Joba. They said even if a pitcher does everything right, he has only so many pitches in his arm. Joba may go on to have an amazing career, or he may not have the genes to pitch for very long. There's no way to know.
I never realized the extent to which things changed, and how difficult it is for the Yankees as an organization to keep up.
How so?
I am having a hip replacement in May. Perhaps A-Rod and I can share some drugs or a physical therapist. Madonna could take us for walks.
[48] Which thing, the change or the Yankees' difficulty keeping up?
Such bad news. What were the Yankees thinking? Why didn't they make sure that the problem with Alex's hip was investigated thoroughly? He could have had surgery in the off season and be on his way to good health in a few weeks. I think that he should have surgery and get it over with.
[50] The Yanks difficulty in keeping up.
[50] Just the idea that Steinbrenner gave Cashman the power he thought he needed to keep up, but soon faded into the background and now Cashman reports to a kind of board. Actually, maybe now that Hal has taken over more it's changed. But at the time of the book's writing, the hierarchy seemed to be a bit of a clusterfuck. Another GM said there were two years where Cashman could really operate, right after his new contract was signed, then it got complicated.
[53] Thanks. So I guess this means Cashman doesn't have the autonomy he thought he'd be getting? If he had it, he lost it fairly quickly.