Carp calls it a season; surgery for Ankiel “likely” (updated)
PITTSBURGH — Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter will be shut down for the remainder of the 2008 season as a result of a consultation with team doctors, the team confirmed in an official release Friday evening.
That likelihood was first reported in Friday morning’s paper.
Carpenter continues to have discomfort and soreness related to the muscle strain in his right shoulder that put him on the disabled list, and additional exams revealed nerve irritation in the shoulder that has complicated his ability to recover from appearance to appearance.
The nerve issue is not related to the nerve damage that kept him out of the postseason in 2004.
In its weekly medical release, the team was specific to point out that while Carpenter’s 2008 season is over after just four appearances — three of which were starts — the club is optimistic the injuries will not threaten his 2009 season.
“The team is optimistic for his full return in 2009,” a team release stated.
Rick Ankiel met with a specialist in Philadelphia on Friday and, according to a release from the team, is likely to have surgery in the “near future” to repair his abdominal injury. Ankiel met with the doctor who performed a sports hernie surgery on Eagles wide receiver Kevin Curtis. The Cardinals outfielder was diagnosed with what the Cardinals called a “abdominal strain/athletic pubalgia.”
That, in an odd choice of lingo, is a fancy way of saying sports hernia.
A quick history: The “sports hernia” is the new name for a “hockey hernia”, which used to just be known as a groin strain. It is often described as a tear in the abdominal wall (lining) that can cause persistent and irritable pain. This is a more clinical description from an insurance company that does not cover the surgery:
Athletic pubalgia, also known as groin disruption or sports hernia/sportsman’s hernia, has been reported to afflict athletes who participate in sports that entail repetitive twisting and turning while moving (e.g., hurdling, rugby, skiing, soccer, tennis, field hockey and ice hockey). Previously described in high-performance athletes, athletic pubalgia has also been reported to occur in recreational athletes. Athletic pubalgia has been characterized as chronic groin pain in conjunction with a dilated superficial ring of the inguinal canal. However, the term hernia is a misnomer because of the absence of a hernia on physical examination or imaging (e.g., magnetic resonance imaging), and a hernia is not revealed during surgery.
Even as the team balked at the description of Ankiel’s injury as a sports hernia, the outfielder never did. He said he was trying to play through the abdominal strain, but added that he had not ruled out a sports hernia. “I’m not a doctor,” Ankiel said in Houston a few weeks back. “But I know that could be a possibility.”
The surgery will limit him for the first part of the offseason but he should be at full strength and ready for spring training. Chris Duncan, who had the surgery at the end of last season, was ready for spring training. His issues, he said, wasn’t related to health it was related to how he altered his swing because of the hernia.
In additional news: Jason Isringhausen had surgery Friday to repair the torn tendon in his right elbow.
-30-
Derrick Goold said he was going to Mizzou for capital-J journalism, but after growing up in the Time Zone Baseball Forgot he was really drawn to MU sitting between two major-league cities. Goold joined the Post-Dispatch in 2001 after working for The Times-Picayune and Rocky Mountain News, covering sports from LSU to NHL and every level of baseball in between. 
DG, are you at liberty to expound on what the abdominal injury is for Ankiel?
Every expectation that Carpenter will be ready for 09? Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice……
Fooled twice? How easily we were duped into believing Carp would be ready to go this year. He appeared in what……4 games over the cours of 2 years? Geez, wonder if he’ll ever be the same pitcher we saw in 2006. Wonder how many more pitches he has left in that often cut arm of his?
you gotta wonder if either Carpenter or Mulder will ever pitch for St. Louis again. and how much money will they continue to be paid for being on the permanent DL? maybe it’s time to cut the cords.
Will he be placed on the DL?
Just heard that Ankiel will likely have surgery in the near future for a sports hernia. This injury was finally diagnosed accurately following a 2nd opinon. Now I’m no doctor, and I don’t play one on TV, but doesn’t it seem like the team physicians for the Redbirds have a poor track record in diagnosing player injuries? Had the docs arrived at this diagnosis 2 months ago, Ankiel could have had his surgery and been partly thru rehab by now. Instead, Ankiel will probably be a big question mark going into spring training 2009. Maybe it’s time to re-evaluate the Cards’ medical staff?
Good evening,
Even the most cockeyed optimist(that would be me)can now put this season to rest.For the most part,it has been a success. Very few people expected the Redbirds be competitive,let alone compete.
But the fact is, we didn’t have the best talent to begin with. Add to that,injuries,a lousy home record,and a poor divisional record,and we are where we are.
I thought TLR and Dunc did a great job.LaRussa mixed and matched, and tinkered,and got maximum effort from a group of players with minimum big league experience.
So what next? Too big a question to answer all at once,so I’ll address one piece.Get Matt Holliday.Trade Ludwick, and a couple smaller parts,and pull the trigger.
The Cardinals need a consistent all around player,and he’s the one.He hit’s for power,hit’s for average,is a contact hitter,plays above average defense,and can run(27 sb).He’s 28 and, by all reports,is a good guy.He made 9.5 million this year,and is signed for next year(at least).
Colorado get’s a guy enjoying a breakout year,hits for avg. and power, plays solid defense,and makes less then .5 mil.I don’t even know if he’s arbitration eligible this year.
The fact is the Cards need to upgrade their talent.Ludwick has had a great year,and has been healthy for a couple years now.But there’s no guarantee about next year.His trade value will never be higher,and he does have holes in his swing.With Holliday, you know what you’re getting.
So make the deal,even if it hurts.We’ve got some talent in the minor leagues,use it.We’ve got the money,spend some.If we don’t grab him,someone will.He’s every bit as good as Tiexara,and a lot cheaper.
While its interesting to see how versatile some of the Cardinal players can be by playing multiple positions, does anyone really think Aaron Miles or Felipe Lopez would earn a spot in the Majors as outfielders? (Add your own Chris Duncan joke here) I’m not picking on these guys in anyway, I’m just saying when the Cardinals field a team of guys playing out of position on a recurring basis I think the fans are getting the short end of the stick.
“General manager John Mozeliak said he is optimistic that Carpenter will be at full strength for the 2009 season”
The Cardinals MUST assume he will not be available, and plan accordingly. I’ve supported Mozeliak 100% so far, but if he plans the offseason with a Carpenter return in mind…then he is not the man for the job. That would be the definition of insanity
I think that TLR certainly has to take some of the blame. The Birds should have addressed Ank’s injury a couple of weeks ago. Obviously, as of late, Ank has not been himself in any aspect of the game. His plate discipline has been awful, his injury has made it hard for him to run, so he is a hinderance in CF. Why did TLR continue to play Ank, and why didn’t TLR sit down with team doctors and find out why Ank’s injury was not healing as quickly as the Cards first thought? In August Ank only mustered up a BA of .184, here in Sept. he is hitting .133. Right now Ank needs to be DL’ed, so someone who can either gain something from playing here, or make an impact here with the Cards can be called up.
I also think Ank should handle some of the blame for this. If he wasn’t healthy enough to be the Ank ,he was prior to August, then I think that he needed to relize the fact that he was not helping this team make a push to the playoffs.
DG, if Ank opts for surgery, I assume he will be 100% by spring training 2009?
emc2013,I agree with your point.One of TLR’s biggest faults is his loyalty to his players.Rolen,Izzy,Ankiel,and Duncan are perfect examples.However,loyalty is a double edged sword.The same character trait that leads TLR to stick with players too long,is the same on that gets his players to bust their butts for him.
I second those on these sites that question the Cardinal’s medical staff.There has been an unsettling pattern of misdiagnosis that goes back several years.How much of this is propoganda to appease the fan base,or lack of stubborness on the part of the players,I can’t determine.But the fact remains that the medical staff must except the lion’s share of the blame.
As for Ankiel,one can only cross their fingers.Duncan had surgery for a sports hernia last year,earlier in the season than September,and was supposed to be ready for opening day.He wasn’t the same.How much that had to do with the disc problem,who knows?But I’m at the point where I can’t be overly optimistic.
Sorry,I meant a lack of trutfullness on the part of the players.My bad
BG,
Sorry I didn’t get to your question last night. It was a crash job of trying to get the news out and also get things covered for the paper this morning. It was a bit of a Grand Prix of writing there for a good stretch.
Also, I wanted to make sure that abdominal injury was explained in the paper. By now, I imagine many folks have seen that.
But I am going to update the blog now in the way only a blog can be.
Again, apologies for not getting to you sooner. Deadline is deadline.
dg
P.S. There is no reason to put a player on the 15-day disabled list in September because of the expanded rosters.
As stated by some of the bloggers here, I am in agreement that Carpenter’s career may be done. How much can be expected of him when he has not pitched for the most part of two years? Can we really believe that he can come back in ‘09′ and handle the seasons grind without having physical complications? The demands the sport puts on a pitchers arm does not lend me much hope for Chris Carpenter’s return. I just do not think his arm is capable of holding up under the stress any more.
The team seems to have more than its share of injuries year after year. I give credit to TLR for not giving into excuses of any kind. His leadership pushes the team to play a hard nine and the players follow TLR’s example of not making excuses. I am concerned that if TLR was to leave the Cardinals, any other manager replacing him would come up short in terms of production over the long haul they could get out of a player. TLR gets the most out of what he has in the deck. That goes for DUNC also. TLR is tough skinned and dedicated. He comes off through his media interviews as a cold guy. I may not like his ways sometimes, but I do respect TLR by what he does to protect his players and not make excuses when he might have plenty to lean on at times. An excuse no matter how valid is an avenue to make it easy to give up and quit.
If the Cards do not acquire some help this winter in all those areas of need that are so glaring to Cardinal Nation I believe ownerships staunch posture will place the Cards into the second division within its division for several, if not many years to come.
When TRL and DUNC go, and they are replaced by people who are trying to make a name for themselves rather than by people who have a winning record and is a proven, competent field boss you can be assured that ownership is not out to put the best players they could obtain on the field so that Cardinal Nation might be treated to “some” success, which is ultimately measured by playoff appearances. The field boss will merely be an unhappy puppet who has no choice but to flounder at the tug of upper management. The players will see it all and not be motivated because management sends out a losing signal to them as well. We fans will be in for some long HOT summers. Let’s hope that this winter brings some change that brings us hope. If not, what I have said here is just the beginning of the signs of the times that Cardinal Nation is in for. But for now there is hope.
Rick Ankiel is turning out to be a part-time player, perhaps. Whether he pitches or plays the outfield, he looses significant amounts of playing time due to injury. Not his fault, but the Cards need to look beyond Rick as an option for the outfield, imo.
Was there anything unexpected found at Isringhausen’s surgery???
Time to call it a season. Get Albert in surgery early, rather than later, and make the deals to catch up to the rest of the division…oh yeah, maybe grow some grass and plant some trees for that lake so they’ll be some shade in time for the all-star game.