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.
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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?