Article on Biggio's health

Biggio has always been a favorite of mine, and it hurt me to watch him slowing down last year. Now we know why:

Biggio has leg up on better season

KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Craig Biggio finally has come clean, even if his britches are as filthy as ever. It didn't take the threat of torture or a polygraph test, either, just a tidbit a reporter had picked up regarding the status of Biggio's surgically reconstructed knee at the end of last season.

At 35 and coming off the first serious injury of his 14-year career, Biggio had almost 700 plate appearances over the 155 games in which he played in 2001. Still upright at year's end, he was in possession of a .292 batting average with 118 runs, 35 doubles, 20 home runs and 70 RBIs, having led the team in batting (.388) with runners in scoring position.

But something seemed to be missing. Those muddy knees and stained sleeves notwithstanding, something wasn't quite right. We all saw it. Balls skidded beyond his reach at second, and his old hellbent-for-leather baserunning style appeared tentative, almost skittish.

He had amassed between 25 and 50 steals in seven of his eight previous complete seasons, but 2001 would see him pilfer only seven. That was one for every 39 times he got on base. His ratio for the first 13 years of his career had been 1-to-9.2.

Biggio's upbeat responses to questions about his health masked a lie. Although the knee was technically sound, it was hardly well.

Of course, he didn't appear to need sympathy after going 5-for-5 on opening day and mounting a career-best 18-game hitting streak from May 29 through June 18. He batted .330 in June and .318 in July before the leg began to tire and drag down his performance. He slumped to .266 in August, then collapsed (.192) in September.

Although Biggio's 10-for-22 finish the final week helped the Astros eke out a share of another division title, he had little left for the Atlanta playoff series, going 2-for-12 with nary a run scored, or driven in, as the Astros were swept.

Afterward, the team tested the strength of his "bad" knee. Although he had insisted all summer that it was "80 to 90 percent," the fancy gizmo used to take a true reading told otherwise. With its healing anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments, the knee was a full 50 percent weaker than the "good" one.

Confronted with this in the Kissimmee clubhouse the other day, Biggio relented. He fessed up.

"It hurt," he said. "Yeah, pretty bad sometimes. It was always a struggle, especially for a day game after a night game. But there was nothing I could do about it, so why complain?"

General manager Gerry Hunsicker's take on the situation?

"One of our most remarkable performances last season was Craig's," Hunsicker said. "I don't think anybody could have realized what he was going through."

Except for anybody who has tried to bounce back from a knee reconstruction. Biggio's ordeal was normal and should not be judged the fault of his surgeon or his rehab drill sergeant, Dave Macha. The long way back is just that -- long.

"An ACL is never fully recovered before the second year," Astros head trainer Dave Labossiere said. "That's just the way it is. There are no exceptions."

So Biggio labored as much over the past offseason as he had the previous one. Three mornings per week, four hours per session. Lots of grunt work, zero glamour. The payoff would be his latest strength test.

A pre-camp examination of the left knee showed it to be within 5 percent of the right one. If he's not as good as new, he's on the cusp. For him, the difference is striking. Exhilarating.

"I'd actually be running the bases last year," he said, "and at the same time looking out for where I stepped. I'd be trying to avoid little potholes and places in the dirt where I might not put my foot down exactly right.

"It robs you of your instincts when you have to do that, but I was afraid of having anything happen that would set me back."

Even playing with his kids scared him. He'd see them coming and he'd instinctively flinch. But this spring he's playing -- and being a father -- with no restrictions, save for avoiding the longer bus rides that might cause stiffness. He swears he doesn't think about the knee except when asked about it. He never has been more eager to return to the field for the games that count.

Biggio's next one will be a huge milestone. The first start of his 15th season will make him the most tenured Astro ever, breaking the record he shares with fellow 14-year men Bob Watson and Terry Puhl.

"If people think I'm slowing down, I can't blame them, not after the way I felt last year," Biggio said. "I've got something to prove this season, to myself and everyone else. I'm excited about the opportunity."

Hanging in the balance might be his place in history, his bid to reach Cooperstown. By the strict standards of baseball's Hall of Fame, he's barely on the bubble, but the vote is far from in based on the renewed bounce we've seen in his step here.

If Biggio can do what he did playing on 1 1/2 legs, his getting two back under him offers intriguing possibilities

 

WRONG FORUM!!!

There, is that more like the old Behad?