Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
March 05, 2009
Hip Torn

Good and bad news for Alex Rodriguez:

Alex Rodriguez has a torn labrum in his right hip, but the New York Yankees think he can avoid surgery.

A cyst in the hip was drained Wednesday, and the third baseman will miss the World Baseball Classic. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said that if surgery is needed, Rodriguez would be sidelined for four months.

"If at some point it's not working and it's a problem, then the other one becomes more of a choice," Cashman said Thursday. "Right now, the route we're going is conservative."
Cashman said that if Rodriguez is able to play, the three-time AL MVP might have offseason surgery to repair the labrum tear. Cashman said Rodriguez's preference was to try rest and treatment first.

"We're collectively trying to figure out what is best to do," Cashman said. "We don't want to rush into it. We want to digest it."

Seems like the Yankees are going to see if he can play on it this year like he did last year. If so (see Chase Utley), he can get it fixed in the off season when he has plenty of time to recover. It should be an interesting year for Alex.

Update: Peter Abraham talks to a hip expert:

A-Rod's ability to play depends on the size of the tear and how quickly it gets larger. At some point, surgery will be needed. If it is only soft tissue, the recovery time is six to eight weeks. If bone must be repaired, it would take three to four months.

Brian Cashman indicated today that surgery would knock A-Rod out for four months, so it is likely he has some sort of bone deformity. This comes from wear and tear or some sort of anatomical abnormality.

Dr. Buly, who is a Yankees fan, said A-Rod would soon have trouble pivoting or flexing. Running, at least at first, will not be a problem.

Is A-Rod at 80% better than most players at 100%?


Posted by David Pinto at 06:46 PM | Injuries | TrackBack (0)
Comments

Is A-Rod better at 80% than most players? Good question. Let's find out...

A-Rod's career average line for the common rate stats:

.306/.389/.578

80% of that translates to:

.245/.311/.462

Ugh. Still got some pop but that average and OBP stink.

He'd basically be like Joe Crede (career .257/.306/.447) but not as good defensively. And a WHOLE lot more expensive!

I'm curious what peoples thoughts are. Would you rather do the surgery now and know you'll have him back in late June early July at 100%, or have him try to play through the year? If the 2nd option, you risk that he doesn't play effectively and requires surgery at some point during the season, in which case (with the benefit of hindsight), having the surgery now would have made the most sense.

It really comes down to the medical staff and their ability to assess if this is something he'll be able to get through the year with and still perform at a high level.

Posted by: zeppelinkm at March 5, 2009 09:07 PM

I was thinking more in terms of wins. If Alex is a 30 win player, 80% is 24 wins, which is still very good.

Posted by: David PInto at March 5, 2009 10:25 PM

I should have added something to my post. I don't really think the way I did it is an accurate way to try and forecast a player, I was more just curious to see what his stat's at 80% would be.

You're right - Alex is still likely to be very good, even at 80%.

The question remains is whether or not he can play a full season.

Posted by: zeppelinkm at March 5, 2009 10:40 PM

Heard an interesting theory from a friend today. Might it be possible that the time A-Rod misses coincides with a 50 game suspension?

Posted by: Aaron at March 5, 2009 11:25 PM

If I were commissioner, I'd suspend him for games off the DL. If he's going to miss 50 games, however, he might as well miss 100 and get the surgery done.

Posted by: David PInto at March 6, 2009 07:35 AM

Ok, I'll bite: What is he facing a suspension for? It's obviously not the leaked test result, so what are you two alluding to?

Posted by: dave at March 6, 2009 09:23 AM

I understand they have nobody to replace him, but with the investment the Yankees have in Rodriguez how can they think of toying with this injury and possibly making it worse?

Posted by: ponch at March 6, 2009 10:34 AM
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