They're baaaaack. Adrian's bone spurs....
The issue isn’t “if” Beltre will need an operation to remove bone spurs that have regrown in the same place, it’s “when.”“It’s the same thing I had last year, bone spurs, only it’s worse. I had X-rays (Tuesday) and they’ve grown back, in the same place,” Beltre said. “I think they’re worse this year.
“I’m going to need surgery, now or later. It’s a matter of how long I can play with the pain.”
Team trainer Rick Griffin acknowledged the inevitability of taking care of the spurs.
“If he had surgery today, he wouldn’t miss the whole season,” Griffin said, “but it wouldn’t be a short rehab, either. Can he play through it? He couldn’t the other day. We’ll have to see.
“It’s Adrian’s call.”
The Gold Glove infielder, in the final year of his contract and considered a valuable entity as the trade deadline approaches, may now be untradable.
“If I lift my arm, it’s there. If I raise my arm over my head, it’s there. If my swing raises my arm, it’s there,” Beltre said. “Any time I dive for a ball, the pain is there.
“I want to keep playing. I’m going to keep playing and see what happens.”
Hurting heart. Jose didn't make it home in time...
Mariners second baseman Jose Lopez's older sister passed away late last week after a lengthy battle with cancer.
The team did not actually find out the details until his agent contacted GM Jack Zduriencik on Monday. It turns out Lopez's sister actually passed away before he could make it down to Venezuela to see her. But he did make it down in time for her funeral.
Hammy whammy. Yuni on the DL...
The Seattle Mariners placed starting shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt on the 15-day disabled list Thursday after he pulled his hamstring running out a ground ball the previous night.
Betancourt injured the lower part of his right hamstring after hitting a ground ball in the eighth inning in Wednesday night's 4-3 win over San Diego. Betancourt was on crutches in the Mariners' clubhouse before Thursday's game and manager Don Wakamatsu said it will be at least 15 days before Betancourt is recovered.
He won't be eligible to come off the DL until July 10, just three games before the All-Star break.
Shoulder still not ready. Erik's return delayed...
The Mariners are also delaying the return of Bedard. Expected to return in New York next week, Wakamatsu said it's now likely Bedard won't start again until July 4 in Boston.
Bedard was placed on the DL on June 17, retroactive to June 8, with inflammation in his left shoulder.
Collision in the outfield. Endy's season ended...Mariners left fielder Endy Chavez is done for the rest of this season and possibly part of 2010 after he tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), as well as his medial collateral ligament (MCL). He also tore part of his lateral meniscus, which acts as a protective coating to the knee itself. There were no fractures, but he does have a deep bone bruise.
Chavez was injured in the fifth inning Friday when he collided with teammate Yuniesky Betancourt trying to catch a shallow pop fly.
Mariners medical director Dr. Edward Khalfayan's preliminary guess is that Chavez will be out nine to 12 months, which means he might not be ready to start 2010 on time. Khalfayan said Chavez "would be limited to what he could do" in spring training.
"It's not just a simple, straightforward ACL tear that doesn't have any other damage," he said. "He has a very severe injury to the MCL. And those can be Grade 1, 2, and 3 sprains and his is a Grade 3 sprain which is a complete tear."
Surgery won't be performed for two to three weeks until the swelling subsides and Chavez gets some range-of-motion back. After that, it will be four months before he can try running again.
