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Bad News on the Spoone Front: Surgery for Slap Tear - out until mid-2009 likely

Lucky Jim

By Lucky Jim
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Lucky Jim Hangout Grand Counsel

Lucky Jim

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http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baseball/bal-osnotes0914,0,3756337.story

Right-handed pitching prospect Chorye Spoone had surgery earlier this month to repair a slight Slap tear in his right shoulder and will likely miss a sizable part of the 2009 season. It's the latest blow to an organization that has lost several of its top young arms pitchers for extended periods because of serious injuries.

"It should be closer to midseason when he'll be ready to pitch in games," said David Stockstill, the Orioles director of player development. "We're very hopeful about his long-term [recovery]. There's been nothing said by the doctors or anybody else that we shouldn't be. We'll just let him go through rehab and the throwing program, and when he's ready to pitch in games, we'll put him in there."

Spoone, who turns 23 on Tuesday, was ranked by Baseball America before the season as the Orioles' eighth-best prospect. A Pasadena native who went to CCBC-Catonsville, Spoone went 3-3 with a 4.57 ERA in nine starts for Double-A Bowie this season before he was eventually shut down and operated on by renowned surgeon Dr. James Andrews.

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Camden_yardbird Hangout Grand Counsel

Camden_yardbird

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Is this in his labrum?

Yes, that is what a slap tear is, slight fraying of the labrum. Definitely not good. The Orioles need to start paying someone like Dr. Andrews to recognize these risks and not fix them after they are problems. I know Patton was not their guy initially, but the injuries in this organization are disheartening, and the slap tears even more so.

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Flosman Major Leaguer

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Because every injury in the O's organization is minor and (insert name) should just be out a few days. The O's medical department is reactive instead of pro-active. MRI's must cost too much for the O's or something. They're only used as a last resort. Spoone's shoulder was bothering him way back in May, IIRC. When was the first MRI done on his shoulder? If the answer is August, then there should be a lot of questions directed towards the team and it's medical staff.

I really doubt this is true at all. Because I have heard it mentioned numerous times and because I know it is the common practice, I bet Spoone like almost all of our pitchers have baseline pics on file. My understanding is almost all professional pitchers will have some damage in thier elbow or shoulder. When a pitcher has serious discomfort a new pic is taken and compared to the old one to see if anthing has changed. The problem is it is an art not a science , in most cases, to determine if surgery is the required action.

But if you feel better saying the O's are dumb please feel free.

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Tony-OH Hangout Grand Counsel

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I would love to know why it took so long to make this diagnosis and have the surgery done. Damn.

It certainly seemed like there was a lot of wasted time this season. He missed a good bit of time while on a "strengthening program" only to come back and go right back on the DL with discomfort again. Then, more time is wasted before he actually has the surgery. Basically they'll lose almost two seasons of his development due to this injury.

It's hard to know exactly what happened since the Orioles keep their minor league player injury news held so secretly that it's almost impossible to get a clear answer until a player undergoes surgery, and sometimes not till months afterwards.

This is a real shame because he had some amazing stuff when he was on.

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Mackus Hangout Grand Counsel

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I would love to know why it took so long to make this diagnosis and have the surgery done. Damn.
I think it just shows how dreaded this surgery is, even with the recent advances in the technology.

If there is any hope of having rest heal the injury its usually best to go that route, even if it ends up costing you some time in the long run if surgery ends up being the only option.

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TakebackOPACY All-Star

TakebackOPACY

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It certainly seemed like there was a lot of wasted time this season. He missed a good bit of time while on a "strengthening program" only to come back and go right back on the DL with discomfort again. Then, more time is wasted before he actually has the surgery. Basically they'll lose almost two seasons of his development due to this injury.

It's hard to know exactly what happened since the Orioles keep their minor league player injury news held so secretly that it's almost impossible to get a clear answer until a player undergoes surgery, and sometimes not till months afterwards.

This is a real shame because he had some amazing stuff when he was on.

The article says he had a "slight slap tear". Slap tears to the labrum are difficult to see on an MRI. Usually, the diagnosis comes from an MRI, a number of range of motion tests, questions to the patient, and observing the patient's response to rest. In other words, when all signs point to a slap tear, then it's probably a slap tear. Even then, the diagnosis might actually come during exploratory surgery.

I think rest and then a "strengthening program" would be automatically tried first if it is a "slight" tear. Also, labrum tears usually come in conjunction with other injuries. He may have responded to rest and a "strengthening program", making this surgery simpler and more straight forward. As Tony said, "It's hard to know", which is why I wouldn't presume to say that time was "wasted". Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. In my opinion, you have to let these things play out and get it right no matter how long it takes.

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Lucky Jim Hangout Grand Counsel

Lucky Jim

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The article says he had a "slight slap tear". Slap tears to the labrum are difficult to see on an MRI. Usually, the diagnosis comes from an MRI, a number of range of motion tests, questions to the patient, and observing the patient's response to rest. In other words, when all signs point to a slap tear, then it's probably a slap tear. Even then, the diagnosis might actually come during exploratory surgery.

I think rest and then a "strengthening program" would be automatically tried first if it is a "slight" tear. Also, labrum tears usually come in conjunction with other injuries. He may have responded to rest and a "strengthening program", making this surgery simpler and more straight forward. As Tony said, "It's hard to know", which is why I wouldn't presume to say that time was "wasted". Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. In my opinion, you have to let these things play out and get it right no matter how long it takes.

This seems intuitively correct to me.

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