Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
February 26, 2008
The End of Vizquel?

Omar Vizquel undergoes knee surgery Wednesday and will miss spring training:

"My knee was feeling good," Vizquel said. "I wanted to give it a hard shot in order to make a decision. It didn't work. I felt a little pop when I was running. That's what I wanted to see -- to see if I could sustain the pain, and I couldn't."

As for Vizquel's return, athletic trainer Dave Groeschner said: "The goal is the first week of the season but the knee will tell us."

Team orthopedist Ken Akizuki is scheduled to perform the operation back in the Bay Area to remove a torn medial meniscus. Vizquel was expected back in camp Thursday.

Minus Vizquel, manager Bruce Bochy plans to use Kevin Frandsen at shortstop. Once Vizquel is back, Frandsen could compete for the starting job at second base with Ray Durham.

I think the chance of Omar being the regular shortstop for the Giants again is slim. He was terrible offensively last year, and I have to believe a knee injury is going to cut into his range. He was still above average last year, but this could change that.

Frandsen, who put up impressive minor league OBAs, never received a real chance to play from the Giants. If Kevin lives up to his minor league record offensively, the Giants would be foolish to return Vizquel as anything but a late inning defensive replacement. Time to make Frandsen part of the youth movement.


Posted by David Pinto at 04:21 PM | Injuries | TrackBack (0)
Comments

Omar has many, many fans in Cleveland. We are rooting for you now as we always have. JB

Posted by: jb at February 26, 2008 06:24 PM

Omar has many, many fans in Cleveland. We are rooting for you now as we always have. JB

Posted by: jb at February 26, 2008 06:25 PM

Is Omar Vizquel a Hall of Famer in your opinion? How close do you think he'll actually get?

Posted by: Priest at February 26, 2008 06:54 PM

Very interesting question on whether Vizquel is hall of fame material....he certainly has been a vacuum in the field for so many years, and an above average hitter as well...I'd say yes he is...but not first ballot....

Posted by: dbacksbuzz at February 26, 2008 07:16 PM

I like the Vizquel HOF question. He took a career path very similar to Ozzie Smith. He started off as an defensive wizard with almost no offense, then developed a decent OBA after a trade. He remained a very good defensive shortstop for a long time. I'm sure someone could make a good argument for him.

Posted by: David Pinto at February 26, 2008 07:34 PM
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