A lot of medical news the past couple of days...
Jason Giambi is headed to the DL. He has a "tear of the plantar fascia in his left foot." He won't need surgery, but he's expected to be out for at least a month, possibly longer. Kevin Thompson has been called up. (Giambi was mostly a DH; they are planning to let Damon DH instead, and use Melky in CF, so they now need a backup outfielder.)
Meanwhile, the Reds' Ryan Freel may be out for awhile. He apparently has a concussion. He's had a lot of them, which is not surprising if you've ever watched him play.
These days, they tend to be very cautious with athletes who have suffered concussions. "Second impact syndrome" is a concern. It can be very dangerous, even life-threatening, to suffer another concussion when you're still recovering from one.
Another issue is that the damage from repeated concussions is cumulative. It can make you more vulnerable to future concussions. It can even be career-ending, as it was for Troy Aikman.
Since Freel actually lost consciousness, he had at least a Grade III concussion. That will likely keep him out at least a month.
And the Bats' Jeff Keppinger has had a setback. He came off the DL a couple of days ago, but was put back on it today. It's the same problem: left oblique strain. I guess they tried to rush him back too soon. Jesse Gutierrez was called up to take his spot.
Nothing new on Bubba; I guess no news is good news. He's in Sarasota, presumably playing in extended spring training games. Jim Kelch said he'll be keeping an eye on Bubba's progress.
Josh Hamilton said in an interview yesterday that he'll be rejoining the Reds on Tuesday. Though he's eligible to come off the DL Sunday, they don't want to fly him out to Colorado for one game. Monday is an off day, so he'll meet them in St. Louis on Tuesday.
