Luvofthegame
09-07-2006, 02:59 PM
By Joe Strauss
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
09/07/2006
WASHINGTON — The Cardinals officially ended their wait for Mark Mulder on Wednesday.
The Cardinals' lefthander will have arthroscopic surgery next Tuesday after the second opinion confirmed that his season-long troubles could be traced to problems with the rotator cuff, the club announced.
New York Mets orthopedist Dr. David Altchek examined Mulder on Wednesday morning and reached a conclusion "consistent" with that of Cardinals medical supervisor Dr. George Paletta, according to the club's statement. Paletta spoke pessimistically about Mulder's chances of pitching again this season after performing an MRI exam on the shoulder Aug. 30. Mulder lasted only five outs in his final appearance Aug. 29 against the Florida Marlins. Six days earlier he allowed the New York Mets nine runs in three innings of a 10-8 loss.
The surgery will be Mulder's first in nine professional seasons.
"The doctors said the same thing," Mulder's agent, Gregg Clifton said. "The inflammation and fraying was preventing him from getting the arm up where it needs to be."
Altchek is scheduled to perform the surgery.
Though all parties described the condition as fraying rather than a tear, Cardinals head trainer Barry Weinberg stopped short of making any specific projections.
"Sometimes you've got to wait and see what the doctors find," Weinberg said. "Then you can say it's similar to so-and-so. But right now it's too early to speculate."
Weinberg described Altchek's diagnosis and recommendation as "identical" to those advanced by Paletta.
A pending free agent, Mulder finished the season 6-7 with a 7.14 ERA in 17 starts, a contrast to the 3.87 career ERA he brought into the season. Mulder's 88 victories the previous five seasons tied 2005 AL Cy Young Award
After crafting a 16-8 record and 3.64 ERA in his first season with the Cardinals, Mulder opened 2006 with eight quality starts through 10 outings, leaving him with a 3.74 ERA on May 22.
Mulder's season entered an abrupt spiral in San Diego May 28, when he allowed 10 hits and eight earned runs in 41/3 innings. The outing began a stretch of five outings that left Mulder with 46 hits, 32 earned runs and 10 home runs in 211/3 innings. The Cardinals placed him on the disabled list with what the club initially called a "left shoulder strain" two days after a start on June 20 in which Mulder allowed nine earned runs in 21/3 innings of a 20-6 loss to the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park.
At the time, the club cited Mulder's inability to fully extend his arm. A subsequent MRI revealed an impingement and irritation of the rotator cuff. Weinberg last week described the cuff as frayed rather than torn.
Mulder, 29, spent more than two weeks trying to rehab the shoulder with exercise and three minor league starts. Part of his recovery involved rediscovering the proper arm slot he found impossible to achieve before going on the disabled list.
In two starts after leaving the disabled list he allowed as many earned runs (14) as he got outs, and a choppy delivery never regained full extension.
"Mark wanted to try to do what he could do to get back on the field and help the team," Clifton said. "He didn't want to blow off the season. But it's at the point where, if we don't do it now, it could affect his offseason. By taking care of it this way, even if it takes 15 weeks, there's still plenty of time. You don't have to break records to get back.
"The first thing we tried to do was the most conservative. That didn't eliminate the issue so they wanted to clean it up a little bit. That should eliminate the lock," Clifton said.
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
09/07/2006
WASHINGTON — The Cardinals officially ended their wait for Mark Mulder on Wednesday.
The Cardinals' lefthander will have arthroscopic surgery next Tuesday after the second opinion confirmed that his season-long troubles could be traced to problems with the rotator cuff, the club announced.
New York Mets orthopedist Dr. David Altchek examined Mulder on Wednesday morning and reached a conclusion "consistent" with that of Cardinals medical supervisor Dr. George Paletta, according to the club's statement. Paletta spoke pessimistically about Mulder's chances of pitching again this season after performing an MRI exam on the shoulder Aug. 30. Mulder lasted only five outs in his final appearance Aug. 29 against the Florida Marlins. Six days earlier he allowed the New York Mets nine runs in three innings of a 10-8 loss.
The surgery will be Mulder's first in nine professional seasons.
"The doctors said the same thing," Mulder's agent, Gregg Clifton said. "The inflammation and fraying was preventing him from getting the arm up where it needs to be."
Altchek is scheduled to perform the surgery.
Though all parties described the condition as fraying rather than a tear, Cardinals head trainer Barry Weinberg stopped short of making any specific projections.
"Sometimes you've got to wait and see what the doctors find," Weinberg said. "Then you can say it's similar to so-and-so. But right now it's too early to speculate."
Weinberg described Altchek's diagnosis and recommendation as "identical" to those advanced by Paletta.
A pending free agent, Mulder finished the season 6-7 with a 7.14 ERA in 17 starts, a contrast to the 3.87 career ERA he brought into the season. Mulder's 88 victories the previous five seasons tied 2005 AL Cy Young Award
After crafting a 16-8 record and 3.64 ERA in his first season with the Cardinals, Mulder opened 2006 with eight quality starts through 10 outings, leaving him with a 3.74 ERA on May 22.
Mulder's season entered an abrupt spiral in San Diego May 28, when he allowed 10 hits and eight earned runs in 41/3 innings. The outing began a stretch of five outings that left Mulder with 46 hits, 32 earned runs and 10 home runs in 211/3 innings. The Cardinals placed him on the disabled list with what the club initially called a "left shoulder strain" two days after a start on June 20 in which Mulder allowed nine earned runs in 21/3 innings of a 20-6 loss to the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park.
At the time, the club cited Mulder's inability to fully extend his arm. A subsequent MRI revealed an impingement and irritation of the rotator cuff. Weinberg last week described the cuff as frayed rather than torn.
Mulder, 29, spent more than two weeks trying to rehab the shoulder with exercise and three minor league starts. Part of his recovery involved rediscovering the proper arm slot he found impossible to achieve before going on the disabled list.
In two starts after leaving the disabled list he allowed as many earned runs (14) as he got outs, and a choppy delivery never regained full extension.
"Mark wanted to try to do what he could do to get back on the field and help the team," Clifton said. "He didn't want to blow off the season. But it's at the point where, if we don't do it now, it could affect his offseason. By taking care of it this way, even if it takes 15 weeks, there's still plenty of time. You don't have to break records to get back.
"The first thing we tried to do was the most conservative. That didn't eliminate the issue so they wanted to clean it up a little bit. That should eliminate the lock," Clifton said.