Post by Hellwig on Aug 10, 2006 18:27:26 GMT -5
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Rickie Weeks is scheduled to have season-ending surgery on his right wrist next week.
Weeks has missed nine games since getting hurt while wagging a bat in the dugout July 25. He said he considered playing through the injury, which causes a tendon to snap out of place.
"It wasn't getting any better," Weeks said Wednesday before Milwaukee's game against the Chicago Cubs. "The best situation for me right now is to go ahead and get it done."
Dr. Don Sheridan will examine Weeks on Monday in Phoenix and perform the surgery Tuesday or Wednesday, the team said.
Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said Weeks should be fully recovered in a couple of months, in plenty of time to be ready for the 2007 season. Still, Melvin said the missed time will affect the development of the second-year player, the Brewers' top draft pick in 2003.
"The only consideration I had is if you stay in the pennant race, you always need a pinch-runner in September, and he could have been that guy," Melvin said. "But when it got down to it, to waste that time, with him doing nothing now, it just didn't make sense."
Weeks, the team's leadoff hitter, was batting .279 with eight home runs and 34 RBIs in 95 games. Last season, he fought through a nagging left thumb injury and hit .239 with 13 homers and 42 RBIs.
"It wasn't like last year where I could just go out there and play through it," Weeks said. "I tried to come back, getting treatment, but it just didn't happen that way."
The Brewers, fearing Weeks might be out for an extended period, traded for infielder Tony Graffanino shortly after Weeks hurt his wrist. Graffanino has been the regular second baseman since.
Rookie first baseman Prince Fielder said Weeks wrestled with whether to have surgery, but made a smart move in deciding to go ahead with it.
"You know him, he'll play through a broken neck," Fielder said. "But he has a long career ahead of him. I am sure he didn't want to jeopardize that.
"He's a tough guy. He can bounce back from it."
In other injury news, Brewers ace Ben Sheets confirmed he will make his next start Saturday after leaving last Saturday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals with a strained chest muscle.
Sheets (2-4, 4.71 ERA) said he expects to be on a 100-pitch limit in what will be his fourth start since missing nearly three months with right shoulder pain.
"I feel better than I did, I know that," Sheets said. "It started getting a lot better last night. It's just something you have got to get through. But you have got to get through it smart. You can't be stupid about it."
The Brewers also reinstated reliever Jose Capellan from the disabled list and optioned rookie outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr. to Triple-A Nashville.
Capellan was placed on the 15-day DL on July 28, retroactive to July 25, with a sore right shoulder.
He was one of the Brewers' top setup men before the injury, going 2-0 with a 4.29 ERA. In 50 1-3 innings this season, he gave up 45 hits and struck out 38.
Gwynn, the son of former major league star Tony Gwynn, played well in his brief stint with the Brewers after getting called up from Nashville on July 15. He hit .467 with seven hits in 15 at-bats.
Brewers manager Ned Yost said he would recommend that Gwynn get called back up when major league rosters expand Sept. 1.
"Being here was a great experience for him," Yost said. "He can go back for three weeks, and who knows if he'll ever have to go back again?"
Weeks has missed nine games since getting hurt while wagging a bat in the dugout July 25. He said he considered playing through the injury, which causes a tendon to snap out of place.
"It wasn't getting any better," Weeks said Wednesday before Milwaukee's game against the Chicago Cubs. "The best situation for me right now is to go ahead and get it done."
Dr. Don Sheridan will examine Weeks on Monday in Phoenix and perform the surgery Tuesday or Wednesday, the team said.
Brewers general manager Doug Melvin said Weeks should be fully recovered in a couple of months, in plenty of time to be ready for the 2007 season. Still, Melvin said the missed time will affect the development of the second-year player, the Brewers' top draft pick in 2003.
"The only consideration I had is if you stay in the pennant race, you always need a pinch-runner in September, and he could have been that guy," Melvin said. "But when it got down to it, to waste that time, with him doing nothing now, it just didn't make sense."
Weeks, the team's leadoff hitter, was batting .279 with eight home runs and 34 RBIs in 95 games. Last season, he fought through a nagging left thumb injury and hit .239 with 13 homers and 42 RBIs.
"It wasn't like last year where I could just go out there and play through it," Weeks said. "I tried to come back, getting treatment, but it just didn't happen that way."
The Brewers, fearing Weeks might be out for an extended period, traded for infielder Tony Graffanino shortly after Weeks hurt his wrist. Graffanino has been the regular second baseman since.
Rookie first baseman Prince Fielder said Weeks wrestled with whether to have surgery, but made a smart move in deciding to go ahead with it.
"You know him, he'll play through a broken neck," Fielder said. "But he has a long career ahead of him. I am sure he didn't want to jeopardize that.
"He's a tough guy. He can bounce back from it."
In other injury news, Brewers ace Ben Sheets confirmed he will make his next start Saturday after leaving last Saturday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals with a strained chest muscle.
Sheets (2-4, 4.71 ERA) said he expects to be on a 100-pitch limit in what will be his fourth start since missing nearly three months with right shoulder pain.
"I feel better than I did, I know that," Sheets said. "It started getting a lot better last night. It's just something you have got to get through. But you have got to get through it smart. You can't be stupid about it."
The Brewers also reinstated reliever Jose Capellan from the disabled list and optioned rookie outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr. to Triple-A Nashville.
Capellan was placed on the 15-day DL on July 28, retroactive to July 25, with a sore right shoulder.
He was one of the Brewers' top setup men before the injury, going 2-0 with a 4.29 ERA. In 50 1-3 innings this season, he gave up 45 hits and struck out 38.
Gwynn, the son of former major league star Tony Gwynn, played well in his brief stint with the Brewers after getting called up from Nashville on July 15. He hit .467 with seven hits in 15 at-bats.
Brewers manager Ned Yost said he would recommend that Gwynn get called back up when major league rosters expand Sept. 1.
"Being here was a great experience for him," Yost said. "He can go back for three weeks, and who knows if he'll ever have to go back again?"
Whenever I think of Weeks, I think of Sheffield and not just because of his batting stance...
Yahoo
