Jeff Bagwell to have 'last resort' surgery

[SSH2005]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2383575

Agent: Bagwell to have 'last resort' surgery

 

By Jayson Stark

ESPN.com

 

Jeff Bagwell announced Saturday that he's going on the disabled list and will have surgery to remove bone spurs from his shoulder as "a last resort" to see if he can play again, his agent, Barry Axelrod, told ESPN.com Saturday morning.

 

Bagwell won't use the word, "retire," at his press conference Saturday afternoon. But if it turns out he can't play anymore, he"s "OK with that," Axelrod said.

 

"Jeff has gotten to a point mentally where he's been through a lot of pain over the last four years," Axelrod said. "He's been through a lot of struggles with not being able to play up to the standards he set for himself and, recently, some criticism about how he was a shell of his self. All that was painful. So he's gotten to the point where if he can't play, he's OK with it right now. He's not happy with it. But he's OK with it."

 

Bagwell was told by his surgeon, Dr. James Andrews, that he has numerous degenerative bone spurs in his shoulder that need to be removed, Axelrod said. But doctors were concerned that removing them during his previous shoulder surgery could cause problems that would slow or prevent his recovery.

 

Now, however, Bagwell has nothing to lose. So "the next alternative, and the last resort, is to take the bone spurs out and see if it relieves the pain," Axelrod said.

 

Bagwell had said he wanted to play every day for the next week to see how he feels. But after removing himself from the last two games in which he played first base, he finally came to the conclusion that he couldn't play "right now," Axelrod said.

 

"We talked two or three days ago, and he talked about how he was letting people down," Axelrod said. "I said, 'Who do you think you're letting down? Your wife? Your kids? Me? Your teammates?' I said, 'No one has tried harder to do what you can do under difficult circumstances. So no one is going to feel you've let them down.'

 

"But Jeff talked about how the other infielders, when they were warming up before innings, had all moved to the inside of the grass so he wouldn't have to throw the ball so far across the infield. And he said, 'That's not what I want.' We've said all along that all Jeff wanted was a chance to show what he could or couldn't do -- on the field. He didn't want doctors or insurance companies to say that. He wanted that chance. And at least the Astros gave him that chance."

 

Over the last couple of years, as Bagwell's shoulder problems have worsened, the Astros have talked about the possibility of bringing him into the organization in a non-playing capacity. Axelrod said Bagwell is open to that if it turns out he can't play anymore.

 

"Needless to say, there haven't been discussions of that in detail," Axelrod said, "because our position has always been that Jeff was trying to be a player. But it has been discussed in the past, even as far back as [four years ago] when we were doing the contract -- that they want him to be involved for his lifetime as an Astro, much like Nolan Ryan is involved.

 

"Right now, we're just waiting for the air to clear a little bit. But Jeff has been an Astros for his whole life. He's a quality baseball guy. But more than that, he's a quality guy. So I think he'd be an asset to the organization, certainly. And he's 38 years old. He's not going to want to sit on his behind and play golf every day. I think he'll want to be involved somehow."

[Heads22]

Best of luck to Bags. Definitley one of my favorite players of all time.

[iWiN4PreP]

Best of luck to him aswell.

[Phuck the Cubs]

Best of luck to Bagwell. Hopefully he and Frank go in the Hall of Fame together. That would only be appropriate. Born on the same day, similar stats, a lot of things in common

[witesoxfan]

He be done.

 

The one thing Baggs does have on Thomas is actually playing in a World Series. Kind of funny how Thomas has the ring, yet has never had an AB in it.