All Things Bubba

For those who have asked...no, I don't have any more info on what Bubba's doing. Other than he's returned to Houston. He is a free agent again, and so could sign with another team. But since the problem is a failed physical, it's probably not likely, at least right now.

The Mariners did not say why Bubba failed his physical; I don't think they're allowed to say, under the medical confidentiality rules. However, it's probably a safe guess that the issue is his shoulder.

Bubba had surgery on July 20, 2007. I'm not sure what kind, but given that his problem was shoulder tendinitis (according to the Bats announcers), and they thought he could be ready to play by spring training, it was probably impingement surgery. Also known as acromioplasty or subacromial decompression. Basically, they go in and roto-rooter the shoulder, smoothing things out and allowing the tendons to move more freely. It may also involve removing bone spurs (which was reportedly Craig Wilson's problem).

Acromioplasty is relatively mild, as shoulder surgery goes, but any kind of shoulder surgery takes time to recover from. Yes, the Bats trainer said last year that Bubba would be 100% by spring training. But I think he was being a little over-optimistic. As Pete Abe often points out: "Injuries are always worse than what the team or athlete says."

I did a little Googling, and judging from both scientific studies and the personal experience of people who have had acromioplasties, it's not surprising Bubba's not ready to play. The median time for return to competition for a baseball player is over eight months; Bubba's surgery was seven months ago. And "median" means half the patients took longer than eight months. People who have had the surgery say it was a full year before they felt 100%.

So, is it possible he could be ready to play later this season? I guess. I hope he doesn't push himself too hard, though. The people who run into trouble after acromioplasties are the ones who don't exercise enough, and the ones who try to do too much, too soon. I don't think there's any risk he'll be in the first category.

As for what I'm doing...I haven't made up my mind. Yes, my tickets to Phoenix are non-refundable. But non-refundable doesn't really mean non-refundable. It just means you have to pay a hefty fee to cancel or make changes. Probably about $150. Pretty steep on a $400 fare, but it won't break me. I would have had to take the vacation time, anyway; it's use it or lose it time.

I might just go to Phoenix anyway. Baseball is baseball, and there's a lot of other things to do in Arizona, especially for a photo buff like me. Or I could go to Florida instead, and stalk Andy Phillips. Or just stay home and pull the covers over my head for a couple of weeks.

I'll give myself another day or two to decide.

Meanwhile, Cincinnati beat the D-Rays, 6-4. Andy was subbed in at 1B. He went 0 for 1. Janish was subbed in at SS, and was 0 for 2.

It sounds like Keppinger is almost a lock for starting SS, with A-Gon likely to be the DL opening day. Both the scouts and the stat-heads like really Kepp. That being the case, Janish will probably start in Triple-A. They won't want a player like him sitting on the bench when he could be getting at-bats in Louisville.

The first cut is coming up soon. Last year, it was on March 12. Don't worry, though; I doubt a veteran like Andy will be cut this early.

The press seems to think Andy has a good chance of making the 25-man roster. Even if he doesn't...I will just be happy he's playing, wherever it is.