Harden update: Surprise! . . . DL
by oaktownmario on Jul 11, 2007 11:12 PM PDT
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PrintThis comes from a pretty reliable source in Susan Slusser:
Basically, Harden will be placed on the DL. MRI revealed no structural damage. Medical recommendation is 2 weeks of rest followed by rehab, with him returning in "mid to late August."
Some quotes:
"The team's first news after the break is that right-hander Rich Harden, so effective when healthy, is expected to land back on the disabled list today."
"Harden was examined by Angels orthopedist Dr. Lewis Yocum in Los Angeles on Monday and Harden is still experiencing difficulty with an impingement in the back of his right shoulder."
"It's pretty much the same as last time,'' Oakland general manager Billy Beane said Wednesday. "We assume Rich will have more rest and then go when he's ready to go. I'm not real sure when that will be, but until it doesn't bother Rich anymore.''
"I'm happy the MRI didn't show anything serious or any structural damage,'' Harden said. "I wanted to make sure I didn't hurt anything else. Basically, it's the same impingement. I'll rest a little bit, do some rehab outings and hopefully be able to help out the team and be part of that pitching staff that has done so well this year. Right now, the most important thing is to make sure I'm healthy for the stretch run.''
Yocum again has recommended two weeks of rest followed by rehab, which probably will not be as accelerated as it was this past month, when Harden rehabbed to come back as a starter by pitching out of the Oakland bullpen. It's more likely that this time, Harden would rehab as a starter and would make some rehab appearances in the minors before pitching in a big-league game.
Link
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...
I guess I was wrong about what was bothering Harden's shoulder. See my comment here:
http://www.athleticsnation.com/story...
Let's just assume he's done for the season and likely done for a real long time. Oh well . . .
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Can Harden just accept that he is going to
be a reliver when/if he comes back and pitch one inning every other game. ya Harden you and everyone else wishes you could be a starter...you can't.
by Anarch on Jul 11, 2007 11:25 PM PDT reply actions
Relief Work
It might be more stressful on his shoulder pitching every other day.
In order to stay healthy in the future, I think he'll need to make some adjustments to his arm-slot/release point. He's putting too much pressure on his arm/shoulder with the "over the top" arm-slot he has today.
by Colorado Fan on Jul 12, 2007 9:13 AM PDT up reply actions
Well Yocum just improved the Angels odds
of winning the AL West. Why don't we have any medical experts on our staff?
swell
Never ending saga. It's so disappointing and depressing obviously. You just feel bad for the guy, and you feel bad for the A's. I'm fine with trying this "rest" for a little longer, but if the A's fall completely out of contention (and we aren't dealing this guy) just perform that damn exploratory surgery damnit! I'm talk elbow and shoulder. OH and check out his back to make sure nothing is screwed around like some kind of friggin knot in his lat or something.
You know, when they talk about a knot in a muscle
I don't think they mean it literally. I mean it's not like the doctors can just play Alexander the Great and chop through it and make everything fine.
I'm all for exploratory on his shoulder (I'm virtually 100% certain at this point that he's got undiagnosed damage to his rotator cuff or labrum, similar to what Jason Schmidt had earlier this season) but let's not get too carried away. This isn't vivisection lessons.
So sad. I mean, this guy was the best pitcher in the majors when he was healthy, and it wasn't even particularly close. Santana is the only guy who even approaches him. No one may ever match what Pedro Martinez accomplished in his prime (1999-2003) but if I had to pick one guy to try, and injury was no object, I'd pick Rich Harden.
don't take me seriously
The suggestion of cutting into his back was merely tongue in cheek.
Sigh
I'm not surprised or even mad at this point. I'm just sad.
The
Sun rises in the east....Rich Harden gets injured.
The sun sets in the west.....Rich Harden gets injured.
The time has come...
to just write this guy off. Beating a dead horse is much more merciful. And the horse doesn't make you feel bad afterwards.
REST?!?
WTF has he been doing to need REST?!?! It certainly wasn't pitching.
[/irrational fan moment]
shut him down for the year please
If the injury...
...is really a shoulder impingement, I'm not sure why they wouldn't just get the surgery. He'd be back for next season, easily. It's not nearly as invasive as a TJ, for example, and fairly routine. But painful. From what I know about the injury, it's possible to fix through rehab, but ultimately, it involves essentially "shaving down" the bone in the shoulder to allow it to move more easily, due to unique bone structure in the first place. But definitely fixable.
Maybe the plan is to get what they can from him this season, and fix it at the end of the year, as he'd still probably be back in time for 2008.
Depends upon whether it's even a BONE that's...
doing the impinging. If the impingement is just the result of inflammation (tendinitis, bursitis), surgically shaving something won't help. I do think that at this point -- when he's already had multiple episodes of rest, rehab, and I think also cortisone injection -- they should consider at least an exploratory arthroscopy because something is obviously wrong and can't be seen with radiologic exams. There might actually be some Hot Wheels cars in there yet, and once they're found by direct visualization, the shoulder can be fixed.
But if that's what they're going to do, I'd like them to get on it ASAP so he doesn't miss too much of next season.
I'd give the shutdown/rehab one last shot
before doing that. I agree overall with your assessment, ultimately if he's ever going to play baseball that's going to happen, but surgery should always be a last and final option, especially in a case where it's simply not clear that it will actually help. I think everyone involved in the decision making knows that's an option and is heavily resistant because the odds of fixing it are still on the rest/rehab side than the surgery side. But it's also very clear that the odds are steadily shifting the other way.
I'm sick of Harden
if there's nothing structurally wrong everytime he sees the doctor than this guy is just a wuss. Get your ass out there and pitch through some soreness or go find something else to do with your life. This sob story is old news and I'm sick of hearing about Rich Harden and his impingement, grow a pair.
by shawzy on Jul 12, 2007 7:02 AM PDT reply actions
obviously you've never had a shoulder impingement
I've got one and it hurts like HELL when I'm not doing much of anything, much less fully rotating it to throw a baseball 100 miles an hour. Jeez, you have no clue what he might be feeling.
Then get phucking surgery!! Especially
considering his profession depends on his arm rotating and he can get the best surgeons in the world to perform any operation, and all for nothing!!
Get it the phuck over with already!!
If you've ever had major surgery,
you know it is the last option after other options have been exhausted. Obviously not all of Harden's options have been exhausted, and he shouldn't have surgery just because some fans' patience has been exhausted.
Considering option 1, resting, hasn't helped
his entire career, get on with option 2, surgery.
The dude is a professional athlete were surgery (major and minor) is part of their lives. If you're too scared to get surgery, then retire and good luck. If not, get the surgery and be done with it because resting isn't working.
As I said in an earlier comment,
it very well might be time for surgery. Trying more conservative treatments on your body before surgery has nothing at all to do with being "scared", but whatever.
Given that it's been 3 years of the
"conservative" method, I think Rich goes the even more conservative route and gets surgery. Do you want Rich to keep resting his arm until he's 40 and then say "maybe this isn't working" (there is a shelf-life on professional athletes, after all)?
Personally, I think this "impingement" is between his ears and will never get better.
Okay, enough's enough
Every time Rich gets "hurt," he talks about the intense discomfort in his shoulder, he gets examined by the best doctor in the business, and the doctor says that essentially, he's fine. No structural damage. So he rests again (for several months) and then comes back, feels great, pitches a few innings, and then gets "hurt" again.
Look, I have no doubt that this actually hurts and that he might be injured, but if it's not bad enough to require surgery, and yet he isn't healthy enough to pitch, then what the hell are the A's supposed to do with him? Jesus, Rich. Just quit already, or become a closer and give it a go. Even that might not help at this point.
We can't keep banking every season on the thought that, hey, Rich isn't structurally injured, so he should be fine, pissing the season away when he can't pitch, and then bemoaning the fact that if he were only on the field, what we could do ...
If he gets a surgery (which apparently he doesn't need) he's probably out a year but hopefully better after that. Playing this little game of is he healthy enough to pitch when doctors say there's nothing wrong with him isn't helping Rich, and it sure isn't helping the A's.
Dump him. It's over.
Worst possible path
is to just rest until next February. Because then we're back in the same position. Either he has to pitch through it and see what happens or get it cut now! Otherwise we fate ourselves to another 20 IPs stretched out over the 2008 season.
for us maybe, but not Rich
Anytime you cut into a shoulder, it's not good. Most docs will do anything to avoid shoulder surgery, even exploratory.
But his career is not enhanced
throw left handed
I suggest he learn to throw left handed and consider a Jamie Moyer type style.
Also to consider, can he play shortstop?
by bolt on Jul 12, 2007 8:26 AM PDT reply actions
What If?
Maybe Yocum of the Disneyland Angels is working angles to get Harden and can fix his shoulder issues. Let him rest, rehab and hurt again losing his value so the A's end up DFAing him or whatever. Wouldn't it suck if that happened and Yocum fixed King Richards shoulder! As for the surgery, can we skin him and place his skin on CC or somebody like that. That sounds like successful surgery to me!
by 66th ave tailgatter on Jul 12, 2007 11:22 AM PDT reply actions
Something like 50% of all MLB teams
have Yocum on retainer as their orthopedic surgery referral option. He's literally the go-to guy on arm surgery. Like Frank Jobe, who pioneered the star sports surgery role, Yocum's become quite rich and famous in his profession by building a sterling reputation, and he makes more money...probably a lot more...from his league-wide rep than he does on his Angels contract.
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Jul 12, 2007 4:42 PM PDT up reply actions
Hence the reason why he's not recommending
surgery. I doesn't want to risk his reputation performing surgery he doesn't feel he can improve.
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