Manny Machado expected to have surgery on knee within a week.

[El Gordo]

Manny's the bad guy here. He stands to make at least 100M over his career, but he could have risked a career ending injury and that money, and taken one for the team. Most loyal players would do that. But not Aroid's love child.

[Morgan423]

This year was a tear, not a rupture. Last year was a rupture and they still felt he could have rehabbed it. Still. Last year. With the rupture.

I know you hold this view close Weams, but I still feel that if they can permanently fix the issue and eliminate the possibility of that particular injury occurring later, then that would be the best decision for both Manny and the Orioles. I understand very well why Manny feels that surgery is the best route. It's his health into the future, and I get that. Let me tell you why.

It hits close to home to me because I have a condition that I would love to have surgically repaired with my leg. It stems from a hereditary condition known as Hereditary Multiple Exotosis (HME for short) and in a nutshell, it gives me various non-cancerous bone tumors in different places on my skeleton. 95% of these are in places I can just ignore them (and they don't hurt or stand out), but one of these is on my leg, right under a muscle and next to a tendon. It makes running and other heavy lower body exercises (like martial arts, which I enjoy) very difficult, and I have even had bad strains and tears at the adjoining muscle, and hurt the tendon as well, in the past.

In my case, the tumor is inoperable, because it is bone that is at a part of my leg that supports so much of my weight (they'd have to put a plate there to compensate, which eliminates the value of having it done and could actually be worse). But if I could have it safely and permanently removed, I'd do it in a heartbeat because it would take away this restriction I have on physical activities that I love to do. I do exercises to strengthen the muscle to make it more resistant to tears, and every time I do anything remotely sports-like, I have to take precautions... and even with those I know I could still suffer a painful injury at any time from it, so I have that dread going on in the back of my mind the whole time.

So yeah, I get why Manny feels this is the best option available to him, and why rehab isn't acceptable. Not only is that fear of serious injury probably there, but unlike myself, he is a pro athlete, and this is how he makes his living. From where I'm coming from, I can't say I blame him one bit for his decision.

[weams]

Again, if other doctors told Manny he might be able to play at some point this season, surgery would/could still be an option in the offseason. I'd put that on Manny. He should exhaust every possibility that would allow him to play this season and to the postseason, as long as it doesn't risk his career. Why you insist on making the doctor the bad guy and trying to keep Manny clean in this, is kind of telling.

No, I think Manny should not have listened to Neal. Again. I do not like that Doctor, and I do not like how Manny handles his injuries.

[MrOrange82]

Again, if other doctors told Manny he might be able to play at some point this season, surgery would/could still be an option in the offseason. I'd put that on Manny. He should exhaust every possibility that would allow him to play this season and to the postseason, as long as it doesn't risk his career. Why you insist on making the doctor the bad guy and trying to keep Manny clean in this, is kind of telling.

Playing with an injury that he knows will ultimately require surgery to fix completely (as is the case with his current injury, evidently) would be putting his career at risk.

[weams]

I know you hold this view close Weams, but I still feel that if they can permanently fix the issue and eliminate the possibility of that particular injury occurring later, then that would be the best decision for both Manny and the Orioles. I understand very well why Manny feels that surgery is the best route. It's his health into the future, and I get that. Let me tell you why.

It hits close to home to me because I have a condition that I would love to have surgically repaired with my leg. It stems from a hereditary condition known as Hereditary Multiple Exotosis (HME for short) and in a nutshell, it gives me various non-cancerous bone tumors in different places on my skeleton. 95% of these are in places I can just ignore them (and they don't hurt or stand out), but one of these is on my leg, right under a muscle and next to a tendon. It makes running and other heavy lower body exercises (like martial arts, which I enjoy) very difficult, and I have even had bad strains and tears at the adjoining muscle, and hurt the tendon as well, in the past.

In my case, the tumor is inoperable, because it is bone that is at a part of my leg that supports so much of my weight (they'd have to put a plate there to compensate, which eliminates the value of having it done and could actually be worse). But if I could have it safely and permanently removed, I'd do it in a heartbeat because it would take away this restriction I have on physical activities that I love to do. I do exercises to strengthen the muscle to make it more resistant to tears, and every time I do anything remotely sports-like, I have to take precautions... and even with those I know I could still suffer a painful injury at any time from it, so I have that dread going on in the back of my mind the whole time.

So yeah, I get why Manny feels this is the best option available to him, and why rehab isn't acceptable. Not only is that fear of serious injury probably there, but unlike myself, he is a pro athlete, and this is how he makes his living. From where I'm coming from, I can't say I blame him one bit for his decision.

I feel really bad about your issues.

Manny's only have to do with his participation in this playoff season as an Oriole as far as I can tell. He can have it repaired and he should, the worst case was a rupture. And guess what, the treatment for that is...exactly what he is having done now.

[weams]

Playing with an injury that he knows will ultimately require surgery to fix completely (as is the case with his current injury, evidently) would be putting his career at risk.

No it wouldn't. The worst case is what happened last year. And he is having that same surgery.

[MrOrange82]

No it wouldn't. The worst case is what happened last year.And he is having that same surgery.

I'm not medically qualified to say what the "worst case" might be with authority. What if his "bad" knee gave out and led to yet another injury? (e.g., hand/wrist trying to break his fall, or wrenching/reinjuring the "repaired" knee)

Acting as though playing hurt only carries the risk of "this particular, severe injury that we already know about" strikes me as an example of disappointed, tunneled vision.

[weams]

I'm not medically qualified to say what the "worst case" might be with authority. What if his "bad" knee gave out and led to yet another injury? (e.g., hand/wrist trying to break his fall, or wrenching/reinjuring the "repaired" knee)

Acting as though playing hurt only carries the risk of "this particular, severe injury that we already know about" strikes me as an example of disappointed, tunneled vision.

IF that is the case, the blame is all on Manny.

Ok. It's on him. Maybe he'll rehab with ARod

[Can_of_corn]

No it wouldn't. The worst case is what happened last year. And he is having that same surgery.

I am not a MD but I think that if he plays with the one weakened it could increase the risk to the other ligaments. Blowing out the whole knee would result in him missing more then the first month of the regular season.

[Morgan423]

I feel really bad about your issues.

Manny's only have to do with his participation in this playoff season as an Oriole as far as I can tell. He can have it repaired and he should, the worst case was a rupture. And guess what, the treatment for that is...exactly what he is having done now.

No worries about my issues... my only impact is a quality of life one in this one particular area. If I avoid strenuous activity involving my leg, it is difficult toinjure it. HME is impactful to one's physicality, but it is rarely life threatening.

My main issue is the thought that we should be trying to force Manny to come back this year in opposition to what he feels is the best decision for his long-term health. I think sometimes, we as sports fans tend to view players as commodities rather than as people... people that sometimes have to think about their own health and well-being, and avoidance of pain and suffering.

Manny has every right to make the decision he has. As much as we would all love for him to come back this year and be okay, it isn't going to happen (and wouldn't even with best-case rehab... he wouldn't be playing at anywhere near 100% even if he managed to get back onto the field). I don't think he's being selfish at all, even regarding the team... He's doing what must be done to give the 2015 Orioles his 100% for every game next year.

[Can_of_corn]

I think it's better that he have the surgery ASAP, but I can't shake the feeling that the O's are essentially absorbing Manny's growing pains so that he can strike it rich with another team in a few years. The whole situation leaves me feeling unsettled.

I don't disagree but what are you going to do about it?

[MrOrange82]

No worries about my issues... my only impact is a quality of life one in this one particular area. If I avoid strenuous activity involving my leg, it is difficult toinjure it. HME is impactful to one's physicality, but it is rarely life threatening.

My main issue is the thought that we should be trying to force Manny to come back this year in opposition to what he feels is the best decision for his long-term health. I think sometimes, we as sports fans tend to view players as commodities rather than as people... people that sometimes have to think about their own health and well-being, and avoidance of pain and suffering.

Manny has every right to make the decision he has. As much as we would all love for him to come back this year and be okay, it isn't going to happen (and wouldn't even with best-case rehab... he wouldn't be playing at anywhere near 100% even if he managed to get back onto the field). I don't think he's being selfish at all, even regarding the team... He's doing what must be done to give the 2015 Orioles his 100% for every game next year.

Need to spread rep.

[MrOrange82]

I don't disagree but what are you going to do about it?

Feel unsettled?

[Scrat1]

Apparently there are some people, including some doctors, who disagree. If there was any chance of Manny helping this team, he needed to take it, UNLESS it threatened his career by doing so.

No one questions his right to make the decision.

Totally disagree. Morgan is right here.

[El Gordo]

People passing judgment on Manny's decision are being extremely presumptuous, IMO. I feel like their "logic" is something like: Manny's doctor hangs out with celebrities like Stallone who has bad plastic surgery, so the doctor is a scum bag, and any advice from him has to be questioned. :rolleyestf: From what I understand Manny's injuries stem from a structural anomaly. I don't know if the ligament tear this season is a similar ligament to the one involved with last year's. But Last year it was generally felt that they dodged a bullet Who is to say the structural anomaly couldn't cause other kinds of damage, ACL, MCL, whatever, not just a rupture of this particular ligament, that might be career ending. It was certainly felt to be a possibility last season. In short with out complete medical information, which no one has, no one is in a position to make any judgment about his decision.