When the Giants Come to Town, It's Bye-Bye Baby

03.24.2008
Ugh

Kevin Frandsen has ruptured his Achilles' tendon. Bad bad bad bad bad. He could be out for the year, pending the results of an MRI. It's injury added to insult, which came when the Giants said they'd start Frandsen in place of Vizquel at short but yanked that rug from under him after a few games of poor defense. Then Ray Durham beat him out for the starting second base job. Let's hope he's back by mid-season and ready to step into a starting role after one of the vets is traded.  


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[March 24, 2008 9:32 PM]  |  link  |  reply
hilarie said

I feel bad for Frandsen, who is at an age where he could either achieve the career of his dreams and become fabulously wealthy or be consigned to a frustrating, tense middle class existence that never lives up to his own hopes for himself. But as for the Giants -- what gives anybody the idea that a healthy Frandsen will ever be a major league starter, much less a vital piece on a championship team?

[March 24, 2008 10:45 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Cyrus said

Back by mid season? No. Ruptured Achilles tendons are amongst the most debilitating injuries in sports; worse than ACL tears. If that's what happened, he'll miss the year.

What's more disconcerting is that our sh*tty medical staff strikes again. The guy had been having discomfort in that foot, they diagnose it as tendonitis, and then bam, he ruptures the thing. The tendonitis was probably a small tear that could have healed with rest. Instead? Surgery.

[March 25, 2008 1:17 AM]  |  link  |  reply
Fran k said

Cyrus, that is the same thing I asked on McChrons... I assume they did an MRI. It would border on malpractice not to in this day and age, would it not? The staffs have become smart enough not to rely on the athletes self diagnoses, have they not? I am far from an expert on this topic, but the arrow seems to point at the training staff when the team runs the guy out there, after 2 weeks of complaints about the achilles, and OK's him to go full speed, and he immediately ruptures the achilles?
The other bad news, it took Julian Peterson a full 2 years to return to full speed/full strength.

[March 25, 2008 1:26 AM]  |  link  |  reply
Cyrus said

Frank, you would think, but the Giants training staff has a particularly bad record when it comes to injuries derailing players... especially small , seemingly preventable ones. It' like their offseason training regimen is nonexistent.

[March 25, 2008 2:39 AM]  |  link  |  reply
Frank said

But to not run an MRI in this situation (assuming they didn't) seems like malpractice. This is a very good example of the cost/benefit equation - and they're not all that expensive anymore. Hell, the team ought to have one in their training facility - and bring it back north at the end of ST.

[March 25, 2008 10:18 AM]  |  link  |  reply
Chris said

I can't comment on this instance of the training staff, but they've been regarded as one of the best for a couple of years now.

They've constantly kept old guys (Durham, Bonds, Omar) mostly healthy and on the field.

[March 25, 2008 10:23 AM]  |  link  |  reply
Brian replied to Chris

I think you may be giving credit to the training staff here when it should probably go to the good people at BALCO.

[March 25, 2008 11:27 AM]  |  link  |  reply
Chris replied to Brian

Over the last 3 years the Giants medical staff was ranked 8th overall by BP.

I think they have done a decent job of keeping the old guys healthy, BALCO suspicions or not.

That 3 year period covers when Bonds was supposedly "clean" anyways and I've never heard steroid claims against Durham or Vizquel.

I think they did doge some bullets -- like when Schmidt left, I think everyone knew he was an injury waiting to happen -- but the Giants have tended to keep their players semi-healthy most of the time. Health, like most things, is probably equal parts luck and equal parts good care.

[March 25, 2008 11:57 AM]  |  link  |  reply
ELM said

I've also heard that the Giants training staff is highly regarded. Did they screw up on Frandsen? It's possible, but their track record would suggest otherwise.

[March 25, 2008 10:40 PM]  |  link  |  reply
Frank said

Kevin had a few comments on SFGiants dot com, and declined to blame the staff. He also seemed to indicate they didn't bother to do an MRI, and, if you read between the lines, that they sort of put him out there to see what happened. That seems like a 1950s, tough guy, sort of approach, as opposed to a 00s medical science sort of approach. Actually, I am not making accusation, and I hope I am wrong. It is just that my concerns are not only not allayed by what I am reading, they are increased. So, I put it out here to get your comments - which, BTW, seem more knowledgeable than what I am reading from the principles on SFGs dot com.