Chavez says he might be out for the season

by jfletcher on Jul 25, 2008 5:12 PM PDT

http://baseball.pressdemocrat.com/default.asp?item=2241257&mode=

Eric Chavez rejoined the A's today and said he's not sure if he'll be able to play again this season.

"I basically have a week or two to see whether I'm going to play again this year or not," Chavez said.

Chavez has been out with a sore right shoulder since early July. He was in San Diego doing rehab for three weeks, and he rejoined the A's to resume some light baseball activity today, with the idea of finding out just what he can do.

Chavez said right now it's possible he'd miss the rest of the season, possible he'd undergo surgery, and possible this injury could linger into 2009.

"I'm just dealing with a really bad shoulder," Chavez said. "There are a lot of things that are going on."

Look for more in Saturday's Press Democrat.

In other A's injury news, Frank Thomas ran for the first time since he was placed on the disabled list. Thomas said he felt some discomfort, which is to be expected, and he'll have a better idea of his status by Sunday.

Joey Devine threw a simulated game. He is scheduled to make his first minor league rehab start on Monday.

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awww

poor little Chavy. Always been such a huuuuuge fan of this guy. It’s a shame we havn’t seen him hardly at all this season but he really has broken down physically. It’s a shame!

by ilovegregsmith on Jul 25, 2008 5:15 PM PDT reply reply 0 recs

The A's colors are green and gold.

by mikeA on Jul 25, 2008 5:16 PM PDT reply reply 0 recs

I'd be surprised if Chavvy WASN'T out for the season

by OaklandSi on Jul 25, 2008 5:21 PM PDT reply reply 0 recs

same here

I was suprised that he tried to go this year at all. In hindsight (i know its 20/20) it might of been better for Chavvy too have just sat this season out and tried to go next year

by A'sfaninNC on Jul 26, 2008 11:52 AM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

I am Jack's complete lack of surprise

You prefer a magic trick, instead? Watch me make this pencil disappear.

by Swooney's Left Foot on Jul 25, 2008 5:29 PM PDT reply reply 0 recs

The first rule....

"If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something."

by RIPHalsey on Jul 25, 2008 10:58 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

...Is if Chavez hits well for a week, you trade him.

Alas, when I said this earlier this season I got chewed out as a traitor.

We shoulda dealt, even if we had to eat contract.

Notes From The Nat has a new home: http://www.natnotes.com

by Ozzz on Jul 26, 2008 2:01 AM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

I think it's good

A year off should give him a fighting chance at playing next year (when we need him)

by nevermoor on Jul 25, 2008 5:36 PM PDT reply reply 0 recs

IF he has any needed surgery NOW and not l a t e r

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Jul 25, 2008 5:37 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

Chavez is in the perdicament he is in now because he waited so long to have the surgery,

that it compounded and gave him more injuries, which resulted in an even worse (back) surgery.

facepalm.jpg

by Zonis on Jul 25, 2008 5:38 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

That may or may not be the case

One certainly could have been caused by the other, but not always. He could have had the surgery a couple of years ago but the only thing different may have been getting going again, having a shoulder relapse and oh, now the back hurts too in which case he’d have sat out the last couple of years and this year and possibly next.

In search of a new signature. Say something funny and you may see your comment here!

by DMOAS on Jul 25, 2008 6:17 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

I thought they already said that's what they thought caused the other injuries.

http://bocropleasestopswingingatbadpitches.blogspot.com/

by thejd44 on Jul 25, 2008 6:43 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

Well this does cement one thing

the A’s will need to deal for a 3B prospect to fill in for Chavez the rest of this year, and perhaps next year (and beyond!)

Hey Ned, can we grab LaRoche from you yet?

facepalm.jpg

by Zonis on Jul 25, 2008 5:40 PM PDT reply reply 0 recs

Agreed

The one thing this does is make Chavez a “non-entity” for this team. If he shows up and can play, great, find a place/role for him. But when you make your roster decisions, you pretty much have to forget he exists.

In search of a new signature. Say something funny and you may see your comment here!

by DMOAS on Jul 25, 2008 6:19 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

Chavez has been a "non-entity" for years ...

I needed a team so I wouldn’t turn into one of the eighty million pink hat-wearing Bud Light-drinking mulleted idiots at Fenway.

by Vacafan on Jul 25, 2008 6:31 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

Two years. Last year. This year.

And last year he only became a non-entity after he got hurt and tried to play through it.

http://bocropleasestopswingingatbadpitches.blogspot.com/

by thejd44 on Jul 25, 2008 6:46 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

2006... 2005..

Notes From The Nat has a new home: http://www.natnotes.com

by Ozzz on Jul 26, 2008 2:02 AM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

Yeah, he was terrible those years

Well, except for the above-average offense and Gold Glove defense.

But I heard he killed someone’s cat in the 2005 offseason.

Your 2008 Athletics: It's Nothing Personal.

by PaulThomas on Jul 26, 2008 9:07 AM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

He was terrible.

Oft-injured, rarely sat, big dips in all stats, no clutch.

Gold glove defense? Heck, let’s go get Rey Ordonez for a buck fifty.

Notes From The Nat has a new home: http://www.natnotes.com

by Ozzz on Aug 1, 2008 1:08 AM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

Sadly, this is true

And this poses a problem for the team.

They have a huge hole where a third baseman should be. It’s there now, and for the forseeable future.

For all of the minor leaguers acquired by trade, the A’s still don’t have anyone in their organization who might be an above-average player on the left side of the infield.

by bear88 on Jul 25, 2008 9:07 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

How much money would the A's have to eat if he retired?

I read a few report that said he may retire (this year) if he cant get his back straight

by A'sfaninNC on Jul 26, 2008 11:55 AM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

If he retires,

they don’t have to eat any of it. But what are the odds he will walk away from several million dollars and not play baseball if he can sit in the dugout and watch baseball and still collect several million dollars?

And for that I don’t blame him one bit. Although I hate it.

"You may glory in a team triumphant, but you fall in love with a team in defeat."--The Boys of Summer

by alox on Jul 26, 2008 11:58 AM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

the Chavez situation just makes me really sad.

he’s got to be terribly frustrated with all these health problems. I miss seeing him performing at 100% on the field.

The 2009 A's draft pick... getting higher every game.

by rebus on Jul 26, 2008 12:30 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

They don't need a 3B prospect this year since they've decided they're not contending

But it is definitely a spot that needs to be filled no later than 2010. If they acqurie a guy who won’t be ready next year, that’s probably ok, but beyond that they better have somebody ready to go. If Chavez makes a miraculous recovery, you deal with having 2 quality 3Bs. Not a terrible problem to have.

http://bocropleasestopswingingatbadpitches.blogspot.com/

by thejd44 on Jul 25, 2008 6:45 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

If A's get a decent 3B, and Chavez comes back hitting

That would give A’s additional option to deal Cust, play Chavez at DH part time, and improve OF D. Definitely not a bad problem to have.

by asfansince1989 on Jul 25, 2008 8:06 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

Chavy could also have a future at 1B,

since he is already a gold-glover at a corner infield position and the biggest issue is with his throwing. He could conceivably settle into being a .270/25/100 slick-fielding 1Bman in his 30s, which is also not a bad thing to have.

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Jul 25, 2008 11:26 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

That's really too bad.

Even in his short time here this year, he made it evident that he is a real big-league hitter (as opposed to, say, Jack Hannahan, or the majority of our roster, for that matter). Not without his flaws, to be sure, but gifted at hitting baseballs hard. If his return hadn’t encountered complications, he would have been a real difference maker on this year’s team.

"PECOTA can pretty much kiss my ass."-Nico

by jeepers on Jul 26, 2008 1:17 AM PDT reply reply 0 recs

Still may favorite Athletic

Get well Chavy. Do what you gotta do to get back to 100%.

"With 16-year-old Dominican righty Michel Inoa in tow, Gio Gonzalez improving at Triple-A and lefty Brett Anderson carving up Double-Abatters along with Simmons and Trevor Cahill, Oakland’s pitching depthis officially the envy of baseball." - BaseballAmerica.com

by Syphon on Jul 26, 2008 1:33 AM PDT reply reply 0 recs

He will never be 100 percent of what he was...

but still, 80 percent wouldn’t be too bad.

"You may glory in a team triumphant, but you fall in love with a team in defeat."--The Boys of Summer

by alox on Jul 26, 2008 12:00 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

Chavez....chavez....nope, doesn't ring a bell

I seem to recall an ERIC Chavez who used to play third base for the A’s. Heard he was pretty good too.

"the A's need more quality preembreetive pitching" ~monkeyball

by OptimistPrime on Jul 26, 2008 9:22 AM PDT reply reply 0 recs

Chavez

Yet another reason why Beane will be hesitant to sign future stars to long-term contracts. The one guy he signs to a significant long-term deal sees his games played in the first 4 years of the contract go from 160 to 137 to 90 to 23.

Awesome.

Only two more years. Maybe that’s why the Warriors are giving Monta Ellis 6 years $67 instead of Chavez’s 6/$66.

by Eggman on Jul 26, 2008 10:17 AM PDT reply reply 0 recs

Yeah the A's should of ponyed up million to get away from that number

by A'sfaninNC on Jul 26, 2008 11:58 AM PDT reply reply 0 recs

Let's not underplay this...

Chavez is talking about retirement. At 30.

You know what makes me saddest? The fact that it’s been so long since I’ve seen him play day in, day out, that I’ve forgotten what it was like and how much I enjoyed it. Chavez has always been bar none my favorite player. The thought that I’ll never see another season like 2002 from him… man, that’s pretty depressing.

If his career ends this way—with a whimper—people will never really remember him for the great all-round player he was. And that’s the definition of “a shame.”

Ryan Sweeney: I probably irrationally embraced him before you did.

by Joey C. on Jul 26, 2008 1:43 PM PDT reply reply 4 recs

+1

The 2009 A's draft pick... getting higher every game.

by rebus on Jul 26, 2008 3:24 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

rec it then

"It's not my fault your team's so shitty." -Steve Friend, head coach, Chabot College, to Laney College's head coach, who asked why we scored so many runs after we beat Laney 30-3 in 2006

by flipgatey3 on Jul 26, 2008 6:07 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

+another 1

AND rec’d.

There's no textbook for how to treat a geriatric tapir.

by Poppy on Jul 26, 2008 7:02 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

I share a lot of your feelings

Chavez is the last link to those promising A’s teams of the late 90s and early 00s. He made dazzling plays at third base, and could go on those crazy-hot hitting streaks too.

That said, I’m blinded at the moment by anger. Chavez or the A’s screwed up. We heard, for several years, about Chavez’s shoulder woes and his desire to avoid surgery.

Now it turns out that the failure to have surgery may cost Chavez his career, and the A’s a Gold Glove third baseman in his prime.

I don’t know all of the facts, and maybe this is just one of those sad examples of a star player’s career ending prematurely due to injury. But I can’t shake the feeling that this particular injury could have been avoided with proper medical treatment.

by bear88 on Jul 27, 2008 1:18 AM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

He played for two seasons in pain so bad

it hurt when he threw or swung. Let me ask the A’s medical staff: Is that usually a smart way to go?

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Jul 27, 2008 9:49 AM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

from what I recall, the A's staff was on Chavvy from VERY early on to get surgery

The go/no-go decision has always been Eric’s.

Who needs competence as long as everyone smiles? @('.')@

by monkeyball on Jul 27, 2008 11:52 AM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

That's why God invented tranquilizer darts,

straitjackets, and dinosaurs: To help Chavez help himself and piss off Carl Everett in the process.

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Jul 27, 2008 12:27 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs