Alex Rodriguez Weighing Surgery
By Editorial Staff
The Yankees announced that Alex Rodriguez underwent an MRI Friday that revealed a tear in his meniscus.
Surgery is the next step to repair the injury. But A-Rod will have to decide if he wants to pursue the procedure in the near future, or if he will continue playing through the discomfort and undergo offseason knee surgery.
Rodriguez made it known last week that he’s been dealing with pain in his knee since the middle of June.
Even with the injury the slugger’s been posting impressive numbers in 2011. A-Rod’s put up a line of .295/.366/.485 to go with 13 home runs, 19 doubles and 52 RBIs. Still, the Yankees believe the tear is limiting Rodriguez’s power at the plate.
"“Alex was able to play through it and still get his base hits and be productive, but I just don’t think he’s had that back-side (strength) that he’s used to having,” Girardi said. “I just don’t think he has the drive in his back side that he needs to have to be the power hitter that he’s capable of being. I still think he can be productive and get his base hits, but I don’t think you’ll necessarily see him drive the ball as much.”"
Rodriguez has become the second well-known player this weekend to have his name tied to a meniscus tear. Yankees’ fans have to look no farther than Atlanta’s third baseman Chipper Jones to see what the injury can lead to. Jones underwent surgery today and hopes to rejoin the Braves in two or three weeks.
With New York in the middle of a playoff race, Rodriguez has a difficult decision to make. On one hand, he misses up to a month with his team trying to reach the postseason. On the other, he keeps playing on a bum knee and risks worsening the injury and lessening his effectiveness for the Yankees.
"“It’s a big part of your lineup, a productive piece, a guy that’s hitting .300 that has home-run capabilities. But if he decides to have surgery, we have to get through it, that’s all,” Girardi said. “(If he continues playing), we’re not going to have him at 100 percent…So it’s a decision that Al has to make and we all have to make collectively, and we’ll try to make it today and go from there.”"
I’m not a big supporter of A-Rod, but I think it would be in his best interest to go ahead with surgery as soon as possible. You want to get back to good for October and could be hurting your club more by remaining in the everyday lineup.
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