Dodgers 4, Astros 1 -- the lowdown on Furcal
He will have a disc in his lower back partially removed in a procedure known as a mirco-discectomy (say that three times quickly). As stated earlier, he will miss at least eight more weeks, putting him on track for a possible return in last August. But frankly, at this point, it's tough to imagine him playing again this year -- not because I don't think he will, but just because it's so far down the road that it's hard to even think about right now. What all of this means, of course, is that Ned Colletti basically HAS to find another everyday SS, and don't think the other GMs around the league don't know that. That means they will have ALL the leverage in any trade talks with the Dodgers, which probably means the club has to give up at least one of its valued prospects -- unless, of course, Ned ultimately decides there isn't another SS out there worth doing that for, and the Dodgers go with a Nomar/Maza/Berroa combo for the rest of the year. Hey, it's working so far. They might be 40-44, but they also appeared on the verge of moving within 1 1/2 of the Snakes after the Brewers took a 4-3 lead in the top of the ninth.
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About Inside the Dodgers
Tony Jackson has covered the Dodgers for
the Daily News since 2004 and has covered Major League Baseball on a
regular basis since 1995. He previously covered the Colorado Rockies
and Cincinnati Reds. He is a native of Springdale, Ark., and a graduate
of the University of Arkansas.
Disc Surgery, not good. D-Backs lose... Very good.
great now we NEED to make a trade. Ned is going to screw this up.
I think if the Dodgers want to compete this year (and of course they do), they'll need to be trading some youth for a SS who's signed for a few years.
The guy I'd have my eye on if I'm Ned is Michael Young. Granted, he just signed an extension, so he may not be available, but he's a good fielder, great hitter, great second half player and he's signed thru 2013. If there's a position on the field worth trading some of your great young farmhands or young MLB players for, it's an everyday SS.
Hey Tony,
The Dodgers have a plus defensive SS down in AA who has 54 walks on the season and an on base percentage of .420...
Why don't they go with him instead of making a lopsided trade and giving up a good prospect?
Okay... here we go. Nobody knows whether Raffy will have any recurrant problems with the disc or not. In laymans terms: will the disc push more tissue back out of the hole it made where it "popped" and impinge the nerve again? They call this a "recurrant" injury in these cases. This happens with repetitive stress movements of say... a major league shortstop for instance? This is why I say he's probably done for. I hope not but, the doctors know best and I truly hope a miracle happens. I love watching the guy play... but it's his life and he's more than likely going to need more surgeries after he's done with this.
Colletti will trade Kershaw for Vizquel