Albert Pujols leaning towards Tommy John surgery

[HoustonGM]

Pujols said today that he's leaning towards having Tommy John surgery after the season. (http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080908&content_id=3441558&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb&partnerId=rss_mlb) His elbow ligament has been a problem for him since 2003, and it's gotten worse the past two seasons, and yet he's putting up the best season of his career this year....It's a scary thought that the past few years is what Pujols does when he's got a bum elbow.

If he has the surgery right after the season, he could be ready by Opening Day of next season. I, for one, am excited to see what this guy could do with an elbow at full health...

[boa]

Yeah, considering that surgery is actually an enhancement and he would be basically juiced.

[Pavelb1]

Yeah, considering that surgery is actually an enhancement and he would be basically juiced.

I could probably think of better ways to announce "I have no clue as to what I'm talking about" to the world.....but not off the top of my head.


Oh, and Brendan Donnelly....who juiced AND had TJ surgery...says 'hi'.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/d/donnebr01.shtml

[Arctic Blast]

Yeah, considering that surgery is actually an enhancement and he would be basically juiced.

Well, thank you for an infusion of making no sense. Unless doctors are going to be putting a vial of roids in his elbow that will be on a time release system, he isn't juicing. Brilliant. :rolleyes:

Anyway, yeah, the idea that Pujols has been doing this with a bad arm is...well, it's just scary.

[Slingshot]

He could probably hit homeruns with his penis.

[HoustonGM]

He could probably hit homeruns with his penis.
You just gave me my first laugh of the day. :p

[gRYFYN1]

With only a tear in his UCL, there's no reason to think the injury is affecting his ability to hit the ball beyond his ability to ignore the pain.
Overall, i doubt i makes a whole lot of difference in his abilities, due to what seems like a high level of focus.

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

He could probably hit homeruns with his penis.

ROFL.

Can someone explain to me why a hitter undergoing TJ would have a shorter recovery period than a pitcher? I know pitcher's put far more routine stretch on that ligament than hitters do, but would it really cut the recovery time in less than half?

[FRENCHREDSOX]

ROFL.

Can someone explain to me why a hitter undergoing TJ would have a shorter recovery period than a pitcher? I know pitcher's put far more routine stretch on that ligament than hitters do, but would it really cut the recovery time in less than half?

You answered the question yourself ....but from what I have read (& I am definitely not a Medical student) the usage of movement & repetition are the major factors for injury (like Tennis elbow etc).


A Pitcher re does the same action 100's of times & thus places stress on specific points/ligaments/muscles whereas a batter "only" does so a fraction of the time thus recovers quicker & doesn't need to so attuned as a Pitcher (ie he can build up strength during BP) whereas a Pitcher without "full" recovery is both inefficient (loss of velocity & thus hittable) & more likely to reinjure the same said area....

From simply doing a simulated motion of batting & pitching you can see yourself the "strain" placed on your muscles & ligaments - pitching is far,far more violent on your body (& even fielding throwing is less repetitive & violent).

[beerchaser]

He could probably hit homeruns with his penis.

ok, I lollered at that.

[DarthJaker]

just wondering who would perform TJ surgery

[HoustonGM]

just wondering who would perform TJ surgery
Any number of doctors could...

[dannymac910]

Dr. Jame Andrews?!?!? DUN DUN DUNNN!!! (Seriously if I hear that guys name on ESPN ONE MORE TIME I will put my foot through the T.V.)

[Arctic Blast]

Dr. Jame Andrews?!?!? DUN DUN DUNNN!!! (Seriously if I hear that guys name on ESPN ONE MORE TIME I will put my foot through the T.V.)

Which, ironically, could result in a visit to Dr. James Andrews. :D

[RickD]

I think Tommy John should get a cash percentage of each surgery performed since the thing is named after him!

[boa]

It really is an enhancement. I won't be a Pujols fan after he gets this enhancement done.

[RickD]

Dude surgery to fix a bad elbow is not an enhancement....a face lift is an enhancement. A bad elbow that causes pain, to get that fixed is called a "repair".

[boa]

They get repaired, 'better than new'. If his body can't handle baseball, he should retire.

[RickD]

Yeah, so let's think this out....I don't know what you do for a living, however if you break your arm or tear a muscle you should retire? Don't get it fixed? That's nuts. Well your arm might be better than new, it would be enhanced, no you should retire? Crazy!

[boa]

Sure, get it fixed then retire or switch careers. I dont think he NEEDS anymore income.

[RickD]

If he has the surgery right after the season, he could be ready by Opening Day of next season. I, for one, am excited to see what this guy could do with an elbow at full health...

Don't know if he can come back this fast, what is the normal recovery time? I would also be excited to see what he can do at full strength!

[boa]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_John_surgery

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

That is possibly the most ignorant that I have ever read.

Pitchers SOMETIMES come back better than before, and sometimes they completely lose it and they're never the same as before. But I highly doubt TJ would make a hitter much better, if at all.

[OregonDuck1989]

He's just trying to start a fight.

[HoustonGM]

Don't know if he can come back this fast, what is the normal recovery time? I would also be excited to see what he can do at full strength!
For hitters, it's roughly 6 months or so.

As for it being an "enhancement" and boa not thinking that an injury should force a player to retire because surgery is an "enhancement", well, if that was the case, there'd be a ridiculous amount of overturn on major league rosters, as a large amount of players undergo a variety of surgeries every year. If they were forced to either play through such an injury or retire, baseball would be well...in a pretty terrible position.


They get repaired, 'better than new'.
No. It gets repaired. It's not better than new. It's just fixed to full strength.

[boa]

He's just trying to start a fight.

No? I feel that the surgery is a physical enhancement, just as lasic (however you spell it) is.

[RickD]

How can you equate lasic surgury with repair of a broken bone? One is cosmetic and one equates with quality of life!

[metsguy234]

Even Lasik isn't really that much of an enhancement... it fixes a flaw that hurts your daily life...

So now whenever anyone gets sick or injured in a sport they have to retire? That would be a fun league, Clay, take the note, add in the Boa League as an option :D

[HoustonGM]

How can you equate lasic surgury with repair of a broken bone? One is cosmetic and one equates with quality of life!
Lasik surgery isn't cosmetic. It fixes/improves eyesight.

How about medicine? Is using medicine to get over an illness an "enhancement"? Should baseball ban players from taking antibiotics?



Anyway, if baseball went by boa's idea that surgery shouldn't be allowed because it's an "enhancement", it'd be in a terrible state, and players would be retiring left and right.

[RickD]

Of course then I might have a shot at making the Big Leagues....

[HoustonGM]

Of course then I might have a shot at making the Big Leagues....
Yeah haha excellent point. The talent level would drop substantially.

[RickD]

Wait I meant age not talent....how did you know I wasn't talented? :p

[Arctic Blast]

Let's just prevent a potential professional athlete from receiving ANY sort of medical procedure that could 'enhance' them.

Oh, so sorry your son contracted polio and died, but, you know, if he had received those inoculations, it could have been construed as an unfair advantage over all the OTHER potential third basemen!