A-Rod Officially Out 6-9 Weeks To Repair Torn Labrum

The Yankees announced on a conference call this morning that A-Rod will go under the knife to repair the torn labrum in his hip, but not the bone impingement in his hip. According to his doctor, this is a very viable option to get through the season without losing too much productivity. The surgery can be revisited in the offseason so they can repair the bone damage.

The Yankees are typically conservative, so we'll assume A-Rod will be out 9 weeks and make his season debut sometime in the 2nd week of May. Barring any setbacks, A-Rod will debut at the New Yankee Stadium on May 15 against the Twins when the Yankees begin a 10 game homestand.

While we're talking about A-Rod, in a long-winded blog entry/op-ed column (boy is it scary when you give columnists free reign to operate without word limitations), Lisa Olson writes that A-Rod created unnecessary drama with this hip injury by letting his brother run to the media with the original prognosis.

Lisa is a veteran of the NY Media, so she is just doing what they do best - picking apart every move that Alex Rodriguez makes. When you have been the picture of health like A-Rod has been in his career, it is pretty understandable to confide in your brother when surprising and terrible news about a torn labrum is revealed. Give it a rest, NY Media.

Along these same lines, but with a much more sensible argument, is this post on the Yankee blog Pinstripe Alley. They point out that A-Rod is being put in a bad spot by the Yankees and they have the power to make the decision for A-Rod. With today's news of the "hybrid" surgery, both sides are likely appeased, so it seems they have fought to a duel, if there was indeed an internal battle over the proper course of action.

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A-Rod is shopping for a hybrid

No, not a car, he is fine with his Maybach. A-Rod is looking for a hybrid surgery that will allow him to miss minimal playing time this year, but one that he will have to revisit down the road. According to the NY Times:

Under what is being called the hybrid option, Rodriguez would have a modest surgery that would repair the labrum and would keep him off the field for only about a month, the person said. The repair would allow him to play from one to three years. Eventually he would need a more invasive surgery.

And for all of the carpenters out there, an anonymous source offers up this helpful explanation:

“It would be like using a nail instead of a steel girder to repair it,” said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because no decision had been made. “Eventually the nail would have to be replaced with the steel girder.”

We don't care if they need to put paper mache in his hip socket. If there is some miracle surgery out there that allows A-Rod to miss one month instead of 4, while not affecting his productivity upon his return, we're all for it.

The good news is, the Yankees appear to be taking their time and searching for every bit of useful information that exists on this type of hip injury. We can all rest assured that the final decision on treating A-Rod will be a well through out one.

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