Albert Pujols has (minor) elbow surgery

[Migrant Redbird]

Pujols has elbow surgery

Cardinals first baseman and MVP candidate Albert Pujols had surgery on his troublesome right elbow Monday, the team announced late this afternoon. Pujols had surgery to decompress and relocate the ulnar nerve in his right elbow, a joint that has given him problems since he strained a ligament there early in 2003.

The surgery "did not require reconstruction of the medial collateral ligament," the release from the club states, underlining the words "did not".

The release states Pujols will begin his rehab this week and "make his recovery" by spring training.

Another article with additional information:

Pujols Has Surgery

The Cardinals first baseman underwent a 25-minute outpatient procedure at a West County facility shared by team medical supervisor Dr. George Paletta, who performed the procedure. Pujols is expected to begin rehab this week and should resume baseball-related activities within three months, according to Paletta.

"I would not describe it as a big-deal procedure," Paletta said during a teleconference Monday.

The procedure transferred the ulnar nerve from a groove running along the inside of Pujols' elbow to in front of the joint's bony prominence. Paletta called the nerve "clearly irritated and inflamed." Before surgery, the nerve popped from its groove whenever Pujols tried to straighten the elbow, according to Paletta. The condition caused tingling and numbness in Pujols' right pinky and ring finger.

Pujols complained to team trainers and Paletta of increased discomfort during the season's final weeks. The procedure Monday was set after Birmingham, Ala., orthopedist Dr. James Andrews endorsed Paletta's finding, which included a recommendation against a ligament transplant.

Paletta said the ligament "did not warrant reconstruction at this time." Pressed on the matter, Paletta later said, "I'm still optimistic we can still manage (the ligament) without surgery for the remainder of his career."

Paletta described Pujols' condition as "a high-grade" tear during spring training, adding that the ligament was in worse condition than that of pitcher Chris Carpenter before the Cardinals ace had Tommy John surgery in July 2007. However, because Pujols is a position player, it's believed he can continue to play as long as the ligament does not rupture.

Pujols insisted he would seek a ligament transplant rather than deal with the discomfort that plagued him throughout the 2007 season, when he required numerous injections and had to have the elbow drained. Swelling that bothered Pujols in 2007 did not resurface this season. For most of the summer, Pujols minimized or even dismissed the possibility of postseason surgery.

However, what Paletta called a hypermobile nerve carried its own set of symptoms. An MRI and a nerve conduction study confirmed the nerve, not the ligament, as the root of Pujols' latest problem. Paletta said his finding is that the two conditions are independent of each other.

All in all, it sounds like good news.

Up through age 28, Pujols is 6th in career SLG, behind Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, and Chuck Klein. He is 7th in career OPS, with Frank Thomas slipping in just ahead of Klein. He is 4th in intentional walks, behind Bonds, Griffey, and Guerrero; tied with Guerrero for 10th in double plays (grounded into); and 7th in At Bats Per Home Run.

With 319 career home runs, Pujols is tied with Cecil Fielder for 98th place overall. If he hits 39 home runs in 2009, as he did this past season, Pujols would move up into 74th place behind Yogi Berra. (Assuming that Luis Gonzalez, who is only 4 behind Yogi, retires or doesn't hit more than 1 home run in 2009.) Two years would put him up around 50th place, assuming that Andruw Jones doesn't resuscitate his career and put up some good numbers. (I'm assuming that Jim Edwards and Jeff Kent are about done too.)

Three more seasons at that rate would put Pujols at 420 home runs, which would be good enough to move into 41st place were it not for guys like Chipper Jones and Guerrero being a long ways from being done.

Pujols remains the only hitter to have ever put up 30 or more home runs, 100 or more RBIs, and a BA over .300 in his first 8 season. Actually, he's the only one who has done it in his first three seasons. 2007 is also the only year that Pujols failed to score 100 runs, so he's done that 7 times now.

In his first five seasons, Pujols recorded between 590 and 592 at bats. He's fallen short the last three seasons, due in part to being on the 15-day DL twice and partly because he's getting walked more. For example, in 2007, Albert's 679 plate appearances were the second most of his career.

[TyCobb]

It must be nice to have a top 10 most similar through 27 as

1. Joe DiMaggio (883) *

2. Jimmie Foxx (880) *

3. Frank Robinson (876) *

4. Ken Griffey (875)

5. Hank Aaron (869) *

6. Mickey Mantle (850) *

7. Hal Trosky (849)

8. Vladimir Guerrero (847)

9. Lou Gehrig (840) *

10. Orlando Cepeda (826) *

[cindyluvsbrady]

I love Albert !!!:)I hope he will be ok!

[Migrant Redbird]

It must be nice to have a top 10 most similar through 27 as

1. Joe DiMaggio (883) *

2. Jimmie Foxx (880) *

3. Frank Robinson (876) *

4. Ken Griffey (875)

5. Hank Aaron (869) *

6. Mickey Mantle (850) *

7. Hal Trosky (849)

8. Vladimir Guerrero (847)

9. Lou Gehrig (840) *

10. Orlando Cepeda (826) *

Naturally, I hope that Albert remains healthy, productive, and a Cardinal! He's signed through 2010 with a $16M option for 2011 -- cheap compared to his market value. He's in the 6th year of a 7 year contract, so it's not really too early to be thinking about trying to lock him up for another 5-10 years now.

It might be too early as far as Albert is concerned, though. Obviously his financial future should be secure, but I don't know how willing he'd be to add an additional 5-8 years of secured compensation to what he's got now.

[TyCobb]

Naturally, I hope that Albert remains healthy, productive, and a Cardinal! He's signed through 2010 with a $16M option for 2011 -- cheap compared to his market value. He's in the 6th year of a 7 year contract, so it's not really too early to be thinking about trying to lock him up for another 5-10 years now.

It might be too early as far as Albert is concerned, though. Obviously his financial future should be secure, but I don't know how willing he'd be to add an additional 5-8 years of secured compensation to what he's got now.

If Albert was smart then he should have all the money he can ever want right now.

If I was him I would probably wait to hit FA. I feel it is ok to gamble when your set for life.

My friend 3 years ago said that he would break the HR record. I don't know if that will happen, but he may end up being in the top 5 for most productive player ever.

[Tony-OH]

Pujols has elbow surgery

Another article with additional information:

Pujols Has Surgery

All in all, it sounds like good news.

Up through age 28, Pujols is 6th in career SLG, behind Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, and Chuck Klein. He is 7th in career OPS, with Frank Thomas slipping in just ahead of Klein. He is 4th in intentional walks, behind Bonds, Griffey, and Guerrero; tied with Guerrero for 10th in double plays (grounded into); and 7th in At Bats Per Home Run.

With 319 career home runs, Pujols is tied with Cecil Fielder for 98th place overall. If he hits 39 home runs in 2009, as he did this past season, Pujols would move up into 74th place behind Yogi Berra. (Assuming that Luis Gonzalez, who is only 4 behind Yogi, retires or doesn't hit more than 1 home run in 2009.) Two years would put him up around 50th place, assuming that Andruw Jones doesn't resuscitate his career and put up some good numbers. (I'm assuming that Jim Edwards and Jeff Kent are about done too.)

Three more seasons at that rate would put Pujols at 420 home runs, which would be good enough to move into 41st place were it not for guys like Chipper Jones and Guerrero being a long ways from being done.

Pujols remains the only hitter to have ever put up 30 or more home runs, 100 or more RBIs, and a BA over .300 in his first 8 season. Actually, he's the only one who has done it in his first three seasons. 2007 is also the only year that Pujols failed to score 100 runs, so he's done that 7 times now.

In his first five seasons, Pujols recorded between 590 and 592 at bats. He's fallen short the last three seasons, due in part to being on the 15-day DL twice and partly because he's getting walked more. For example, in 2007, Albert's 679 plate appearances were the second most of his career.

So what you are saying is that Pujols is pretty good?

[Migrant Redbird]

So what you are saying is that Pujols is pretty good?

Don't I have the right?

The funny thing is that I try to be "fair and balanced" when I'm discussing the Cardinals, despite my obvious bias. I actually got negative rep from one of your members once for mentioning that we really have no way of knowing if Pujols (or any other player, for that matter) has never used PEDs. We do know that the Dominican Republic has been a hotbed of abuse by young players trying to snag pro contracts, so the opportunity is there. (Pujols moved to Kansas City with his family when he was 16.)