April 16, 200521 yr Ordonez estimated to miss 4-6 weeks Tigers outfielder likely to have surgery for hernia By Jason Beck / MLB.com KANSAS CITY -- The Tigers finally know the root of Magglio Ordonez's ailing health. That's about the only consolation they can take. Ordonez was diagnosed Friday morning with a hernia and is expected to undergo surgery next week, the team announced Friday. The All-Star right fielder will miss at least four to six weeks, but could be out much longer than that. The type and severity of the hernia isn't yet known; Ordonez will visit specialists in Montreal and Philadelphia to try to determine both before undergoing surgery. "It could be a long time," president/general manager Dave Dombrowski said. "It could be months." The revelation essentially ends speculation on the All-Star right fielder's health that has basically gone on since he left the second game of the season last Wednesday with dizziness. Ordonez also has a viral infection as was originally believed, in addition to an earlier bout with the flu. He was originally diagnosed with diverticulitis when he missed time in Spring Training, but Dombrowski said there's now "some question" about that. Those other ailments ended up masking the hernia, Dombrowski said. Tests taken during Spring Training did not point to a hernia. Dombrowski received the news Friday morning and spent most of the day learning more about hernias than he ever expected to need in a non-medical career. "He's been quite ill," Dombrowski said. "He's had different things. It's been an unusual situation for somebody who's a very healthy, hard-working 31-year-old person. There's been a variety of things, so it's been a very difficult time. He has gone through a lot of tests that I know are very, very uncomfortable. "I'm glad that they have found it. It's not something that is career-threatening, but it's a situation where he'll miss a significant amount of time." That was seen as a danger when the Tigers signed him, but the risk was for an entirely different injury. Ordonez was the last of the major free agents to sign this past offseason, inking a five-year, $75 million contract in early February. Injury was a primary concern for many teams that waited to decide their level of interest, but those worries centered on his left knee following surgeries to repair separate meniscus tears. Ordonez's knee limited him to just 52 games last year, his first major injury as a Major Leaguer following five straight seasons with at least 150 games played. The knee has held up fine without any setbacks. The only relationship between Ordonez's injury last season and this year might be Ordonez's rehab work. Though doctors haven't yet determined how Ordonez suffered the hernia or how long he's had it, Dombrowski said doctors told him athletes sometimes suffer such injuries when they change their workout regimen and focus on the core and abdomen areas. "There's no specific incident he can point to that brought this on," Dombrowski said. As unique as Ordonez's series of misfortunes has been, it marks the second time in four years the Tigers have added a cleanup hitter only to lose him in his first season due to a hernia. Dmitri Young suffered a small hernia in mid-April of 2002, but initially tried to rest the injury instead of undergoing surgery immediately. After a three-week stint on the DL, he returned in mid-May to start an 18-game hitting streak before aggravating his hernia at least twice more. He underwent season-ending surgery just after the All-Star break. Detroit had to fill an injury void at cleanup again when Young broke his leg in last season's second game, costing him nearly two months. Rondell White responded with a torrid April to earn AL Player of the Month consideration. This time, Young is the fill-in option, batting cleanup in Ordonez's place and enjoying an unusually fast start. Marcus Thames and Bobby Higginson will fill the void in right field, as they have for much of the season, though manager Alan Trammell would not rule out moving Craig Monroe to right and playing Nook Logan in center. "We haven't had Maggs, in all honesty, all season," Trammell said. "So we'll continue with what we've been doing. I think that we have enough production. Really what it all boils down to, whether with Magglio or not ... how we're going to have a good year is to be efficient." The team placed Ordonez on the 15-day disabled list Friday and purchased the contract of right-handed reliever Andrew Good from Triple-A Toledo, giving the Tigers a seven-man bullpen following back-to-back games with heavy bullpen use in Minnesota. http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/...t=.jsp&c_id=mlb I feel bad for the guy, no one should have to go through all this medical stuff in such a short time...
April 16, 200521 yr Does this void the contract? 743858[/snapback] I dunno he has to spen X amount of games on the DL. Algebra time X=?
April 16, 200521 yr Author Does this void the contract? 743858[/snapback] I dunno he has to spen X amount of games on the DL. Algebra time X=? 743861[/snapback] It has to be knee related...you didn't think Boras would let a blanket injury clause slip into the deal did you? Since it's not knee related, simply a fluke injury, the deal is not voided, and to be honest, it's good (in a sense) for Maggs because now the next four years are guaranteed because by the time he's back, he will not be able to miss the specified time for a knee injury (I think it's 60 days) in 2005, so it's guaranteed money...
April 16, 200521 yr If I recall correctly, he has to be on the DL for something directly related to his knee, otherwise his contract isn't effected. I'm not 100% positive though. EDIT: nevermind, Tswift already posted it.
April 16, 200521 yr So this screw the Tigers over then doesnt it? 743910[/snapback] No more than the Bobby Higginson deal. Or any other injury.
April 16, 200521 yr its a big loss but he was 0/10 as a Tiger 744028[/snapback] Yeah, the .000 average will not be missed. Anyways, on a positive note, it's not season ending or career threatening. D-Meat had one of these in 2002, came back that year and was limited, but then the following season was a monster. Hopefully there is a similar situation with Maggs. Yeah, nothing can go right for this team.
April 16, 200521 yr Rough break for him and the Tigers. 744042[/snapback] It's great for him and Bora$. Even though he's going to miss 2 months, his GINORMOUS contract is now automatically guaranteed.
April 16, 200521 yr Rough break for him and the Tigers. 744042[/snapback] It's great for him and Bora$. Even though he's going to miss 2 months, his GINORMOUS contract is now automatically guaranteed. 744906[/snapback] No it isn't -- he's only going to miss 1-2 months -- which means he could still easily come back and re-injure his knee. The time period in his contract is 25 days -- not 60 http://tvnz.co.nz/view/sport_story_skin/472751%3fformat=html The Tigers could reportedly void the deal at any time if Ordonez should spend 25 days or more on the disabled list in 2005 due to problems with his left knee. Ordonez, who just turned 31, had two surgeries on the knee last season.
April 17, 200521 yr I am happier and happier every day that the Sox didn't get stuck with this guy again. At least we knew we weren't going to have his bat in 2005 giving us the chance to give someone else (hernandez, dye, pierzynski, etc.) his salary. Not so for Detroit. If they were in any other division I would feel sorry for them, but this means we get to face them about 6 times without him.
April 17, 200521 yr Hey, at least it's giving Marcus Thames some time in the bigs, I'm all for that...I wish Maggs was healthy and producing, but at this point you have to look at the bright side.
April 17, 200521 yr Rough break for him and the Tigers. 744042[/snapback] It's great for him and Bora$. Even though he's going to miss 2 months, his GINORMOUS contract is now automatically guaranteed. 744906[/snapback] No it isn't -- he's only going to miss 1-2 months -- which means he could still easily come back and re-injure his knee. The time period in his contract is 25 days -- not 60 http://tvnz.co.nz/view/sport_story_skin/472751%3fformat=html The Tigers could reportedly void the deal at any time if Ordonez should spend 25 days or more on the disabled list in 2005 due to problems with his left knee. Ordonez, who just turned 31, had two surgeries on the knee last season. 745015[/snapback] I thought it was the first 25 or 60 days of the season and not necessarily of the whole season, guess I was wrong thought.
April 17, 200521 yr Author Rough break for him and the Tigers. 744042[/snapback] It's great for him and Bora$. Even though he's going to miss 2 months, his GINORMOUS contract is now automatically guaranteed. 744906[/snapback] No it isn't -- he's only going to miss 1-2 months -- which means he could still easily come back and re-injure his knee. The time period in his contract is 25 days -- not 60 http://tvnz.co.nz/view/sport_story_skin/472751%3fformat=html The Tigers could reportedly void the deal at any time if Ordonez should spend 25 days or more on the disabled list in 2005 due to problems with his left knee. Ordonez, who just turned 31, had two surgeries on the knee last season. 745015[/snapback] I thought it was the first 25 or 60 days of the season and not necessarily of the whole season, guess I was wrong thought. 745972[/snapback] You're not alone, I thought that too...
April 17, 200521 yr Um, aside from his knee, what was to suggest he would spend much time of this or whatever new contract on the DL? He had no other major injuries. No history of continous nagging injuries. What's the big deal here? The Tigers protected themselves and Boras protected his client.
April 18, 200521 yr I'm fine with this right now, a little frustrated, but there are still other options.
April 18, 200521 yr Also happy the Sox did not re-sign him. I was upset at first, 'cause he was a franchise type player, but the injuries the last couple of years were tough....I was very surprised when the Tigers gave him that much money....
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