Ortiz : "Surgery not needed"

[TheKilo]

To quote another Star Wars line...I have a bad feeling about this.

 

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- It didn't take long for Red Sox slugger David Ortiz to be asked the question everyone wanted answered:

 

Are you going to have surgery on your wrist during the offseason?

 

"No," he said. "I'm just going to try to get my hand stronger, chill out for a minute and come back ready to go like I know how next year."

 

Ortiz missed 45 games in midseason with a torn tendon sheath in his left wrist.

[BoSox21]

is this an injury that can heal with rest though? or is surgery absolutely needed?

[Cocos Disciples]

Resident doctor jacko will come in and tell us that his career is over in 5...4...

[a700hitter]

I think Pat Burrell had the same injury and he came back the same year without surgery. He experienced diminished performance for the remainder of that year, but has been unaffected since.

[TheKilo]

I'm sure the sheath could be repaired.

 

I'm just concerned everything is fine November-March and then it happens again on one swing in April.

[PATS12RULE]

To quote another Star Wars line...I have a bad feeling about this.

 

I find your lack of faith disturbing.

 

I think that if Ortiz thought there was any chance that rest would be less successful than surgery he'd opt for surgery. I don't think missing time would sit well with him if this recurs next year.

[jacksonianmarch]

I have said before that the sheath itself in the forearm is very rarely solely damaged as it is tightly adhered to the tendon. Then again, partially torn tendons can heal with R&R. And to be honest with you, his wrist looked fine, it was his mechanics that were off

[TheKilo]

I think a lot of that was mental. We'll see.

[ORS]

I think that if Ortiz thought there was any chance that rest would be less successful than surgery he'd opt for surgery. I don't think missing time would sit well with him if this recurs next year.

I think history suggests the opposite is true. This is exactly the same decision that he made concerning his knee in the '06 offseason, where the choice was to have surgery or rest it. He had a very good rate stat performance in '07, but there was power missing, thus he gets surgery in the '07 offseason. He's shown that he is averse to the knife.

[rician blast]

s***...I was hoping to learn that his power outage was exactly BECAUSE he needed surgery and that a successful surgery/rehab would have him poised to put up big numbers in '09.

 

This get the hand stronger s*** scares the hell outta me.

[BoSox21]

I gotta think if there any chance that R&R wouldn't do what surgery will, then the team would highly insist that Ortiz go under the knife

[Paradisecity]

Teixeira...

[a700hitter]

I think history suggests the opposite is true. This is exactly the same decision that he made concerning his knee in the '06 offseason' date=' where the choice was to have surgery or rest it. He had a very good rate stat performance in '07, but there was power missing, thus he gets surgery in the '07 offseason. He's shown that he is averse to the knife.[/quote']Unlike the tear in meniscus, this injury will fully heal in time. He was told with the knee that he could continue to play with the knee as long as he could tolerate the pain. The injury further deteriorated. The wrist will heal, and he shouldn't have any pain, but he may have some diminished strength.

[Dojji]

Teixeira...

 

You're gonna sign a GG 1B to be a DH.

 

Look people, Teixeira has nothing to do with Ortiz' injury! Acquiring Teixeira and keeping Ortiz are objectives that do not intersect unless you'd rather play Teix over Papi as the DH or you're worrying about money. The only reason for a post like the above in this thread would be if you think Papi is unable to carry on, which there's no evidence to support.

 

You do not spend large amounts of money and a draft pick to replace above average players with other above average players, even if the new guy is slightly more above average. It's a collossal waste of resources.

 

 

I would be interested in signing Nomar Garciaparra if we could convince him to take a bench role. Now there's insurance, especially because Nomar's hitting again, his problem is being healthy enough to play the field. A Nomar/Papi platoon at DH in the event Ortiz has some problems wouldn't be the stupidest thing ever.

[Paradisecity]

You're gonna sign a GG 1B to be a DH.

 

Look people, Teixeira has nothing to do with Ortiz' injury! Acquiring Teixeira and keeping Ortiz are objectives that do not intersect unless you'd rather play Teix over Papi as the DH or you're worrying about money. The only reason for a post like the above in this thread would be if you think Papi is unable to carry on, which there's no evidence to support.

 

You do not spend large amounts of money and a draft pick to replace above average players with other above average players, even if the new guy is slightly more above average. It's a collossal waste of resources.

 

 

I would be interested in signing Nomar Garciaparra if we could convince him to take a bench role. Now there's insurance, especially because Nomar's hitting again, his problem is being healthy enough to play the field. A Nomar/Papi platoon at DH in the event Ortiz has some problems wouldn't be the stupidest thing ever.

 

 

 

No, I am going to sign a GG 1b to play 1st base and DH a bit, have Youk play 3rd, and know that out of Lowell and Ortiz, odds are that only one will give us worthwhile production, and DH them.

 

Tex isn't to fill the position of Ortiz, he is to fill the power and lineup presence.

[Dojji]

OK, that's not quite as insane, but going into the season you're still locking two guys into a DH platoon when there's no reason to believe either of them couldn't handle the full load of being a starting baseball player once they recover from their injuries.

[rician blast]

The wrist will heal' date=' and he shouldn't have any pain, but he may have some diminished strength.[/quote']

 

 

Hence my concern. A DH who can't run needs to provide significant pop. A weakened Ortiz is a huge concern.

[ORS]

OK' date=' that's not quite as insane, but going into the season you're still locking two guys into a DH platoon when there's no reason to believe either of them couldn't handle the full load of being a starting baseball player once they recover from their injuries.[/quote']

 

5 posts ago....same thread.....

 

I would be interested in signing Nomar Garciaparra if we could convince him to take a bench role. Now there's insurance, especially because Nomar's hitting again, his problem is being healthy enough to play the field. A Nomar/Papi platoon at DH in the event Ortiz has some problems wouldn't be the stupidest thing ever.

[Dojji]

The difference of course is that I was suggesting bring in a bench player (albeit a good one) to take some starts at DH if Papi struggled, and you're suggesting sticking Mike Lowell into that role.

[ORS]

No, what you are saying is that it's crazy to platoon at DH if the platoon is Papi/Lowell with Teixeira at first base, but it's perfectly fine to platoon at DH if the players are Papi/Nomar with Lowell at 3B. Only one of those proposals has all 3 players with some question about their health. That, to me, is crazy.

[Gom]

ORS....killing your own. Welcome to my world.

[Dojji]

See, that's where we differ. I don't think that Mike Lowell is going into next season with any more health concerns than he had going into this one.

 

He had a tear in his hip labrum, not a knee or back problem. This isn't the sort of thing that's likely to recur as long as he takes proper care of himself and doesn't try to come back before it's fully healed. Once fixed by surgery the problem should stay that way and Mike should be back to a reasonable semblance of his old form (by which I more or less mean his 2006 form, 20 HR's and 80-100 RBI's)

 

The only reason I'd be interested in Nomar instead of Teix is because he could possibly accept a bench role and woud be very useful at a time he's most likely to be healthy -- in the early going, when Lowell's hip might still be a bit tender and Ortiz is still working through the early power struggles that players with wrist injuries in the previous season sometimes put up with. By mid-May I fully expect any concern about Lowell's health related to the hip problem to be a thing of the past and Ortiz to start resembling the Ortiz of old a little more. At that point it's not so much a platoon, as Nomar making himself useful off the bench in as many places as he can in order to get at bats thus putting the most fragile player under the least pressure to be present and healthy every day.

[Paradisecity]

Including playoffs, Mike Lowell missed almost 60 games this year due to injury. He is 35 years old.

 

I'm not holding out tons of hope here.

[Dojji]

Including playoffs, Mike Lowell missed almost 60 games this year due to injury. He is 35 years old.

 

I'm not holding out tons of hope here.

 

Yes, and in 2006 Jason Varitek missed the last two months of the season with a torn ACL, and yet the next year he posted one of the better offensive results of his career and was healthy for the full stretch of the season and HE was 35 years old -- and playing a position that put a whole lot more strain on his knee than 3B will put on Mike Lowell's hip.

 

Not buying the Lowell scaremongering. At all. This injury is not likely to be a chronic one and it is not a reason to read anything at all into Mike Lowell's performance next year except the one little point that he should probably get some extra rest in Spring Training and April.

[Dojji]

Including playoffs, Mike Lowell missed almost 60 games this year due to injury. He is 35 years old.

 

I'm not holding out tons of hope here.

 

Yes, and in 2006 Jason Varitek missed the last two months of the season with a torn ACL, and yet the next year he posted one of the better offensive results of his career and was healthy for the full stretch of the season and HE was 35 years old -- and playing a position that put a whole lot more strain on his knee than 3B will put on Mike Lowell's hip. (actually IIRC Tek made it back to play the last few games THAT YEAR, and with no problems at all)

 

The premise of this concern is ridiculous. Is Tom Brady now officially old, injury-prone and declining because of a low hit? Heck no, get him healed up and back on the field and he'll likely be the old Tom Brady again, as long as the docs do their job and it doesn't mess with his head. Same with Lowell.

 

If Lowell misses a lot of time in 2009 it will be because something else went wrong, and you can only manage that kind of risk up to a point before accepting that the resources required to compensate for it are better spent building up other parts of the ballclub.

 

The goal here should be to make sure you have a good utility man, not to panic and overload on big-name sluggers because Mike Lowell MIGHT get hurt. That's Hank Steinbrenner talk.

[Paradisecity]

It would be Hank Steinbrenner talk if we were worried about one lineup spot.

 

We are worried about 3

 

A major upgrade at catcher is going to be very difficult. So there's one all but guaranteed weak lineup spot.

 

Now, lets give Lowell and Ortiz decent odds at coming back to old form- say 75% chance for each one of them.

 

That leaves us with almost 50/50 odds that one of them doesn't come back to form, and a 6% chance NEITHER comes back to form.

 

So if Ortiz doesnt come back to himself:

 

Crisp

Pedroia

Lefty "Platoon" Bat

Youkilis

Bay

Drew

Lowell

Lowrie

Tek

 

= Weak lineup

 

If Lowell doesn't come back to form:

Crisp

Pedroia

Ortiz

Youk

Bay

Drew

Weak 3rd base/1st base "Platoon" player

Lowrie

Tek

 

= weak lineup

 

 

And on the off chance both are not back to form?

Crisp

Perdoia

Youk

Bay

Weak "platoon" DH

Drew

Weak "Platoon" 1st base/3rd base

Lowrie

Tek

 

= pathetic lineup

 

 

Ortiz is a power bat- you can't platoon for someone like that. Lowell is a corner fielder and supposed to be a power bat as well. These are supposed to be the elite spots in our lineup- not some place that you plug in players to fill roles. The lack of depth in our lineup (read: lineup, not bench) was shown as our weakness in the playoffs, and you are suggesting that they should essentially take the same approach and hope an aging 3B coming off HIP surgery and an aging big power man who has been hurt and hit poorly since being injured BOTH come back healthy and contribute what we need.

 

I think you are being a bit optimistic about their situations. Separately, each one is not the end of the world. Combined (and factoring in the distinct possibility that our spot in the lineup for C won't be hitting much), a major change is needed to keep this lineup from being a 4th place AL East hitting team.

 

Meanwhile there is a switch-hitter on the market who plays excellent defense, can solve our corner power situation, follows the Sox mold of seeing lots of pitches, would give the older players much more time to rest, and would vastly increase our options defensively, offensively, and in pinch hitting situations.

 

Its not our money. If they are going to spend I would prefer it be in this manner.

 

Crisp

Pedroia

Teixeira

Youk

Bay

Ortiz/Lowell

Drew

Lowrie

Tek

 

is a much more imposing lineup with tremendous power, 4 switch hitters, great defense, more youth, and tremendous situational and injury flexibility.

[a700hitter]

Hence my concern. A DH who can't run needs to provide significant pop. A weakened Ortiz is a huge concern.

You won't settle for 35 HRs instead of 45 HRs?

[Dojji]

Pedroia

Lefty "Platoon" Bat

Youkilis

Bay

Drew

Lowell

Lowrie

Tek

(Ellsbury?)

 

= Weak lineup

 

If the lefty platoon bat is Carter, and you batted Drew third, Lowell 5th, Carter 7th, that's not such a bad lineup at all. You could make the playoffs with that if the pitching was good. That would be 5 20-HR power hitters (Peddy, Youks, Bay, Lowell, Drew) and some nice upside on Carter, Lowrie and Ellsbury.

[BoSox21]

BOSTON -- Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz said he is about a month away from swinging a bat after spending the last month resting the ailing left wrist that slowed him for much of last season.

 

Speaking at a news conference to announce a new charity golf tournament in the Dominican Republic, Ortiz said his wrist is "feeling fine" and the inflammation has gone away.

 

"It's doing good," he said.

 

Ortiz, who hit 54 homers in 2006, batted .264 with just 23 home runs and 89 RBIs in 109 games -- all lows for him since he joined the Red Sox in 2003. He made two trips to the disabled list with a partially torn tendon sheath in his left wrist.

 

"Since I got back, I was missing a lot of pitches," he said. "I was like, 'I can't believe it.'"

 

Doctors told him to rest over the offseason and have predicted a full recovery.

 

Ortiz will have a chance to test his swing -- his golf swing -- next month when he hosts a golf tournament in his native country to benefit the David Ortiz Children's Fund.

 

Already committed are former Bruins great Bobby Orr, ex-Celtic John Havlicek and former Red Sox Jim Rice. Active baseball stars who are expected to attend are Philadelphia Phillies slugger Ryan Howard and shortstop Jimmy Rollins, New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez and closer Mariano Rivera, who won't be able to play golf because he's recovering from shoulder surgery.

 

"I guess people understand how important it is, what I'm trying to do," Ortiz said. "It's something that's going to help a lot of people, a lot of children."

 

Ortiz said about 40 children have already received open-heart surgery through the charity. He was given a book with the pictures of the kids who were treated.

 

"It makes me feel like going 5-for-5 with three jacks," Ortiz said. "This is what makes me a complete man, when I know I'm helping somebody that really needs it."

 

Confessing to a lack of golf skills, Ortiz said, "I'm working on it," adding with a smile, "I can hit the ball far."

 

That's what the Red Sox are counting on next year.

 

Ortiz said the Red Sox need another big bat in the lineup to protect him since disgruntled slugger Manny Ramirez was shipped to Los Angeles.

 

"This team just needs a few guys in the bullpen and another 30-homer guy and we'll be all set," Ortiz said.

 

- ESPN.com

[Dipre]

*Sigh*

 

Why is it so difficult to understand that the only chance FO has at Tex is by getting rid of Lowell??

 

I can understand the reasons for the man-crush with Tex that some people have, but come on......

 

At least let Ortiz start swinging a bat before jumping to the "oh noez,da power iz gone!!11!!", panic once again.

 

Ortiz says it doesn't need surgery, but you can be damn sure that if FO thought he needed it, he'd be talking about going under the knife.

 

So let's chill out and let the big man do his thing.