This isn't very encouraging:



http://blogs.weei.com/robbradford/

As shown by the few weeks before he went on the DL, an unhealthy Lowell is not much of an asset....big fear is that they just let him "gut it out" to the detriment of the club.

Hip flexor injuries are tough. He may never be the same. Gutting it out may not benefit the team or him. This really is a big problem for this year.

It's no help that Casey is still hurting too...

Globe notebook reports:



So the speculation that Tito hates Casey (or is madly in love with the genius) is a bit off... it's just that Casey's inability to play has been underreported. Helps explain why Kotsay brought his 1B mitt, though.

Can't this team get some decent massage therapists? Maybe he can borrow Dice-K's.

Do we have any minor league depth at 3B? Ginter? Jiminez?

Ichiro gets a 1.5 hour full body massage before each game...he never gets injured...there may be something to it.

why isn't Kevin Millar on this team?

Because he plays for the Baltimore Orioles. You can only play for one team at a time.

Globe

Assuming there are no other setbacks what is the time frame for a return? It appears as though it would be Casey and Lowell coming off the DL at roughly the same time.

And how ol' Cowboy there wishes that warn't the case.

Sounds like he's ready to come back as soon as this weekend!

Link

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/reds...as/extra_bases/

So, has there been any further word on the status of the strained hip flexor issue that Lowell was dealing with before the oblique injury? Because if that hasn't improved then I'd question just how useful Lowell is going to be going forward. I thought I had read a while back that the time off really hadn't improved that situation, but I'm not above hoping for a small miracle.

Maybe it is wishful thinking on Francona's part but it seems he genuinely believes Lowell and Beckett are close to 100%.

The news was not so good for Longoria or Crawford. I really hope the Sox can overtake the Rays and avoid a 1st round matchup with Anaheim.

Yes, Rob Bradford had this on his WEEI.com blog today:



That doesn't sound terribly promising, and I'd love a follow-up question or two -- what does "dealt with" mean? Surgery? Rest and rehab?

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/reds...the_right_time/

Ok, assuming Lowell is back and is recovered enough to play third every day, and Youk (or Casey if Youk can't go) is back at first, does Kotsay get the regular gig in right field? That is to say I'd rather see Kotsay regularly and a Crisp/Ellsbury platoon rather than rotating all three between the two positions. Also, it begs the question if/when JD comes back, would Tito be willing to put Kotsay in CF to keep his bat and arm in the lineup?

Well, Kotsay has a severe split: .267/.302/.356 against LHP, so I would figure he'll still sit against lefties, with Ellsbury and Crisp in CF and RF. It's an interesting question when we're facing a RHP, the best lineup possible will have Kotsay playing CF...still, I think considering Bay has only had 1 day off since being acquired, and Drew, when back, will still likely be sore, all 3 outfield positions will be rotated heavily until the postseason.

I would not be surprised to see Jeff Bailey continue to get playing time too. He has started to come around and Remy was hinting that Bailey is responding well to the coaching that Magadan is giving him.

Agreed. Having Bailey is great because it allows us to rest Lowell, Youkilis and give Casey time to get back to full health without having to move Kotsay to 1B fulltime or start Anderson's service time clock.

First at-bat off DL....HOME RUN.

Move along folks..nothing to see here.

CLOSE THE THREAD.

Yeah, that was, how do you put it, highly encouraging. Welcome back Mike.

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/reds...l_has_torn.html

Yeah, I said this over a month ago:

http://sonsofsamhorn.net/index.php?s=&...t&p=1742607

Boy, should Baltimore sure feel good about exercising such reticence. And to think, their doctors predicted this three years ago! Before Lowell was the WS MVP! Remarkable!

Edit: And let's not forget that Lowell only had 2 years remaining on his deal. Unlike Belle, to whom Baltimore gave a quarter-century.

So the one thing I'm not seeing anywhere is when Mike would be able to come back after hip labrum surgery. It's not even on the fantasy news wires, AFAICT.

This seems major to me. I would guess that Lowell is out for probably a year minimum... and maybe more. Is that right? I am going from shoulder labrum surgeries, but obviously the hip might present even greater challenges.

I know for pitchers, a torn labrum can be very difficult to come back from at all... position players I guess are a bit different?

From the person who told me the Lowell info (he had the same injury), it's roughly 12 weeks recovery time. He should be alright by Spring Training if there's no setbacks.

It looks like hip labrum surgey is done with a scope and recovery takes about 3-4 months. It's an outpatient procedure. I'm sure that daverobertsshoes will have a more definitive answer since he does this stuff for a living.
Link #1

Link #2

Link #3

I would think that questions about Lowell's health next season increases the probability that we'll be seeing Lugo around these parts next season...at least in the beginning....with Lowrie at 3B.

I didn't click on the links, but here's my take on things - labrum surgery for the hip is a whole different scenario from labrum surgery for the shoulder. While labral surgery in the shoulder is a huge undertaking for a throwing athlete and can be a career-ender for some pitchers, labral surgery in the hip does not carry with it such grave implications. As has been previously stated in this thread, if Lowell has his hip scoped soon after the season ends (hopefully in early November...) he should be more or less full speed by the beginning of March.

The main question in my mind is, what is the status of the rest of his hip? The labrum is a ring of cartilage around the socket, and tears in the labrum can be quite painful. My main concern is that in a guy his age, labral tears are often part of a larger picture of early (or not-so-early) arthritis of the hip. Given what we have heard about Lowell's hip from rumors and the press, I think there is a good chance that he has some not insignificant degenerative changes in his hip, which is not something that tends to get a lot better with a hip scope. This is something that could bother him for the balance of his contract, unfortunately.

Well .. the story in the Globe today has Lowell also mentioning he may have to have some bone spurs shaved down (originally reported in August) .. which, it seems , is a more complicated procedure than the labrum scoping.




http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/reds...ip_labrum_torn/

Not exactly a ringing endorsement of his future health.

This afternoon on Boston.com





EDIT: On NESN, Francona saying season ending surgery absolutely not being considered and most likely (still awaiting specialists' opinions) he
will play as he can. Amalie now saying "labum may have popped out of its joint..."

That cannot be good or easy to play through for the rest of the season.

Either that or it gives the Sox a reason to go after Teixeira... I guess that is unlikely, but it would be a way to very much upgrade the team (Tex at 1B, Lowrie SS, Youk 3B)... I suppose it might be more plausible to try to work with Lugo, Carter (and maybe Bailey) and whoever becomes available at 1b, 3b or SS in the offseason and hope to strike gold...

Lowell could rotate in when healthy and share DH duties with Papi... hoping that between the two of them there would be someone healthy and ready to play throughout the season.

I guess I am pessimistic that at his age and given his injury history that Lowell is going to be back at full health, esp on D, next year, but he has made me look foolish for doubting him before so I hope he does it again.

At this point let's just hope that he can make it back for the playoffs.



http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/reds...as/extra_bases/

NESN is saying ML will not be playing for 4-5 days --so he'll miss the Toronto series. Nothing new from the specialists they didn't know. Mike says "he was pleased" with the conversation. "He reassured me I can't hurt it worse."

That makes no sense whatsoever.

I agree with you --on the surface -- but in deference to Amalie, can't the labrum slip as well as tear causing the femur to move out of place?

Anatomy of the Hip Joint
"The hip joint is a "ball and socket" joint located where the thigh bone (femur) meets the pelvic bone. The upper segment ("head") of the femur is a round ball that fits inside the cavity in the pelvic bone that forms the socket, also known as the acetabulum. The ball is normally held in the socket by very powerful ligaments that form a complete sleeve around the joint capsule.

Both the ball and socket are covered with a layer of smooth cartilage, each about 1/8 inches thick. The cartilage acts as a sponge to cushion the joint, allowing the bones to slide against each other with very little friction. Additionally, the depth of the acetabulum (socket) is increased by a fibrocartilaginous rim called a labrum that lines the rim of the socket and grips the head of the femur, securing it in the joint. The labrum acts as an "o-ring" or a gasket to ensure the ball fits into the socket."

Did anyone see Lowell move around on that foul ball in the dugout ?
He was hobbling. This just doesn't look good to me. He may want to be a trooper but I hope he doesn't injure it more.

Any possibility of moving Lowell to 1B and Youks to 3rd? Would seem less stressful on Lowell physically.

No, because a quick look at Lowell's career shows that he has zero appearances at 1B. So having him learn a new position, while dealing with an injury, and heading into the playoffs wouldn't really be the least stressful thing that could be done for him at this point.

Check Kotsay's 1B resume. It's practically nonexistent. Would be difficult for me to believe that Lowell couldn't adjust to 1B if it was the difference in playing and not playing.

Without getting into switching positions thing. Why do think that he would be able to effectively swing a bat with the injury to his hip? Rotating your hips is sort of a major part of swinging a bat with any power at all.

Was of the belief that Lowell's greatest challenge was afield (charging bunts and slow rollers) and that batting caused much less discomfort. If swinging the bat is equally painful, obviously the position change would not matter.

I would imagine that if he had trouble fielding balls in front of him that he would also have trouble running the bases.

Not arguing here, but I was under the impression that the injury had been worsened by his charging and fielding a slow roller, then throwing to first -- across his body -- from a crouched position. If running or swinging a bat is the issue, then it doesn't matter which defensive position he plays. Or DHing, for that matter.

I also dont see making a strech at first helping the issue. It doesn't look good.

http://www.weei.com/

Tom Caron on NESN: Lowell is expected to return in some capacity tomorrow night, perhaps even DHing, though the weather will be a factor in that decision.

BP's Will Carroll:


http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=8121