Jabroni Posted June 15, 2005 Share Posted June 15, 2005 "Baldelli faces Tommy John surgery" http://tampabay.devilrays.mlb.com/NASApp/m...xt=.jsp&c_id=tb ST. PETERSBURG -- Rocco Baldelli has torn the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and will have Tommy John surgery next week. The recovery time for a position player to come back from the surgery -- which has evolved light years from when it was first performed on its namesake -- is eight to nine months. "If everything goes well, he should be ready for Spring Training," said Rays general manager Chuck LaMar. Baldelli, who has been recovering from offseason knee surgery, has reported feeling discomfort in his elbow off and on and finally got it checked out before Tuesday's game. The initial diagnosis by Dr. Koco Eaton, the team orthopedic doctor, was a tear and that diagnosis was confirmed in Birmingham Wednesday by Dr. James Andrews. "His injury has been a huge blow to the organization all year," LaMar said. "He sort of sets the tone for this organization. He's not a complainer, he's not a whiner, he's a winner. All the fans of Tampa Bay know that and will get to see that in the future. It's a shame for him and for us that he misses the year. But when healthy he's going to be just an outstanding baseball player. We wish him the best. It's been a tough year for him." Baldelli had been performing well in his comeback, playing in extended Spring Training games in advance of moving on to Double-A Montgomery. The plan for his return had him spending a brief period in Montgomery before moving on to Triple-A Durham, then taking three days off during the break for the All-Star Game before getting activated to join the Rays as their center fielder July 14. Baldelli had surgery to repair the ACL in his left knee in Colorado on Nov. 5 after injuring his knee playing in the front yard of his family's Rhode Island home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilliamTell Posted June 15, 2005 Share Posted June 15, 2005 I like Rocco, I wish him the best in a speedy recovery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperSteve Posted June 15, 2005 Share Posted June 15, 2005 Damn, he's turing pretty unlucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoodAsGould Posted June 15, 2005 Share Posted June 15, 2005 he is a good player though, should be a big boost for the Rays next year... they werent that bad last year with him... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YASNY Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Considering that the first half of this year was already shot for him, I'm glad he had it checked out and will be able to start healthy next spring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punch and Judy Garland Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 Why not start him at first next season so you get him back three months early? Womack and Luis Gonzalez proved 12 months for a position player for TJ is not necessarily the norm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nokona Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 f***ING SIHT. I dropped Loretta because i thought Baldelli would beat him back and someone picked up Loretta two days ago. You've got to be s***ting me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sayitaintso Posted June 16, 2005 Share Posted June 16, 2005 QUOTE(SuperSteve @ Jun 15, 2005 -> 05:16 PM) Damn, he's turing pretty unlucky. He plays for the Devil Rays, that right there is pretty unlucky. But I do hope that he does have a speedy recovery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts