GaryMrMets
03-05-2002, 09:36 PM
How does this deal look now for the Mets? I think it looks good for them.
http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/nym/news/nym_news_story.jsp?article_id=mlb_20020305_escobar hurt_news&team_id=nym
News
3/5/2002 1:16 pm ET
Escobar will miss 2002 season
By Justice B. Hill
MLB.com
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. -- General Manager Mark Shapiro had a hunch Monday night that the report on outfielder Alex Escobar's injured left knee would be bad, but Shapiro didn't find out until today just how bad.
For Shapiro, the news was awful. Escobar tore his left anterior cruciate ligament and strained his medial collateral ligament. The consequences to Shapiro and the Indians: The young outfielder will need surgery to repair the ligaments, and he will miss the 2002 season.
Escobar, a key piece in the high-profile Roberto Alomar deal, wrecked his knee making a spectacular catch in a Grapefruit League game Monday afternoon in Bradenton, Fla. He had a MRI taken afterward, and it revealed a complete tear of the ACL in his left knee.
"I wasn't interested in how he did it, unless I could turn back the clock," said Shapiro, who didn't try to hide his disappointment. "There was nothing we could have done -- or he could have done -- to avoid this injury."
He said Escobar, who had left the Indians spring complex when the injury was announced, would probably have surgery in a couple of weeks. Shapiro doubted that Escobar would seek a second opinion, because the MRI showed a "clean tear."
The injury to Escobar, whom Shapiro has called a "five-tool" player, lessens the competition in the Tribe's outfield, where he was been expected to challenge either Brady Anderson, Russell Branyan or Milton Bradley for a starting spot.
Shapiro said he had high hopes for Escobar, considered a plum among New York Mets minor leaguers. He came to Cleveland in the offseason and proved, Shapiro said, that his skills had not been oversold.
"I was pleasantly surprised at how intelligent, how well spoken, thoughtful and aware he was," Shapiro said. "You look at his bat, and the ball jumps off his bat. He has a chance to be a star player on both sides."
Shapiro said the ACL injury should keep the 23-year-old Escobar sidelined until at least the winter leagues start, and it should push back the timetable for his emergence as a big leaguer.
"We have to put a long-term plan in place for Alex, but right now I know Alex is not part of the Cleveland Indians' plans for 2002," Shapiro said. "That's the only thing I feel right now that I didn't feel yesterday."
Justice B. Hill is a senior writer with MLB.com. He can be reached at jbernardh@aol.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/nym/news/nym_news_story.jsp?article_id=mlb_20020305_escobar hurt_news&team_id=nym
News
3/5/2002 1:16 pm ET
Escobar will miss 2002 season
By Justice B. Hill
MLB.com
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. -- General Manager Mark Shapiro had a hunch Monday night that the report on outfielder Alex Escobar's injured left knee would be bad, but Shapiro didn't find out until today just how bad.
For Shapiro, the news was awful. Escobar tore his left anterior cruciate ligament and strained his medial collateral ligament. The consequences to Shapiro and the Indians: The young outfielder will need surgery to repair the ligaments, and he will miss the 2002 season.
Escobar, a key piece in the high-profile Roberto Alomar deal, wrecked his knee making a spectacular catch in a Grapefruit League game Monday afternoon in Bradenton, Fla. He had a MRI taken afterward, and it revealed a complete tear of the ACL in his left knee.
"I wasn't interested in how he did it, unless I could turn back the clock," said Shapiro, who didn't try to hide his disappointment. "There was nothing we could have done -- or he could have done -- to avoid this injury."
He said Escobar, who had left the Indians spring complex when the injury was announced, would probably have surgery in a couple of weeks. Shapiro doubted that Escobar would seek a second opinion, because the MRI showed a "clean tear."
The injury to Escobar, whom Shapiro has called a "five-tool" player, lessens the competition in the Tribe's outfield, where he was been expected to challenge either Brady Anderson, Russell Branyan or Milton Bradley for a starting spot.
Shapiro said he had high hopes for Escobar, considered a plum among New York Mets minor leaguers. He came to Cleveland in the offseason and proved, Shapiro said, that his skills had not been oversold.
"I was pleasantly surprised at how intelligent, how well spoken, thoughtful and aware he was," Shapiro said. "You look at his bat, and the ball jumps off his bat. He has a chance to be a star player on both sides."
Shapiro said the ACL injury should keep the 23-year-old Escobar sidelined until at least the winter leagues start, and it should push back the timetable for his emergence as a big leaguer.
"We have to put a long-term plan in place for Alex, but right now I know Alex is not part of the Cleveland Indians' plans for 2002," Shapiro said. "That's the only thing I feel right now that I didn't feel yesterday."
Justice B. Hill is a senior writer with MLB.com. He can be reached at jbernardh@aol.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.