Potentially bad news on the pitching front..... Hernandez considers surgery Astros lefthander Carlos Hernandez, who was scratched from his start Wednesday because of shoulder irritation, will have an MRI on Monday in Houston. Furthermore, he is seriously considering arthroscopic surgery to explore his chronic shoulder problems. "It's the same old mess," said Hernandez, who has been shut down with shoulder problems for the second time this season and the third time since Aug. 29, 2001. "I'm just day-to-day. I'll have the MRI Monday and arthroscopic surgery if it's for my own good to show what's wrong with the shoulder." Hernandez, who was on the disabled list from July 2 to Aug. 18 with shoulder inflammation, hasn't even warmed up since shutting down his bullpen session after six tosses Sunday. Last season Hernandez was shut down for good after suffering a partial tear in his left rotator cuff on Aug. 29 while diving back to second base against the Cincinnati Reds. "I don't think it's a great sign he's had three different periods in the last 12 months that he's been disabled because of the shoulder," general manager Gerry Hunsicker said. "Certainly, you can't rule out the possibility at the very least of having exploratory arthroscopic surgery if it doesn't resolve itself quickly. "Three different times in 12 months is a trend that's not encouraging. It's a trend that's troublesome." Hernandez is 7-5 with a 4.38 ERA this season over 111 innings in 23 games (21 starts). Considering Hernandez's 2001 shoulder injury and his 5-10, 185-pound frame, some scouts wondered if he could last the entire season without landing on the disabled list. "This is the second time this year that I'm hurt, and I hoped to be healthy the whole year," he said. "My goal at the start of the season was to be healthy all year so I could have a good season." Unless Hernandez somehow makes dramatic improvement before Monday, his season may officially be put to rest on a surgeon's table as early as next week. By Jose De Jesus Ortiz Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle Sept. 19, 2002
This is not a good sign. Sometimes there are freak injuries that leave a player vulnerable to injury the rest of his career. It seems like this may be one of them. I just have doubts that we can ccount on Carlos to be a productive member of this ballclub on a consistent basis...much less in the starting rotation.
I'm starting to get that same feeling about Carlos as you. Besides Miller and Oswalt, the rest of our starting pitching is shaky at best come next season. That "trade" for Hampton may be starting to look good especially after we get the results of Carlos' MRI Monday, huh? If the Rockies pick-up 40-45 percent of Hampton's remaining contract, do you think Drayton would consider getting him back?
Hampton's done for the season with an injury of his own, so I imagine any such a move would come in the offseason. By then, the Astros should know more about Hernandez's recovery and may not need to make such a deal.
