FORT MYERS, Fla. – Nomar Garciaparra will wait a few days
before deciding whether to have surgery on his injured wrist, an operation that could sideline him for up to four months.
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Garciaparra said Wednesday he hoped that more rest will allow
the wrist to heal by itself.
"There's maybe that last little hope," he said after meeting
for 1½ hours with general manager Dan Duquette and surgeon Bill
Morgan.
Duquette said he supported the decision. If Garciaparra has
surgery, he could miss at least 2½ months.
On Monday, a source close to Garciaparra told ESPN's Peter Gammons that surgery is virtually certain and most likely will happen next week, in either Los Angeles or Boston depending on what doctor performs the surgery. The source said that the best estimate is that Garciaparra will be out eight to 10 weeks after the surgery.
"If we wait and it responds to the wait, I would think he'd be
back quicker than if he had surgery," Duquette said. "We're down
to the last few days of waiting. If he doesn't respond to the
waiting, then we'll probably have to proceed with surgery."
Garciaparra, who hasn't had an at-bat this spring, split a
tendon in the wrist when he was hit by a pitch from Baltimore's Al
Reyes in September 1999.
The loss of the three-time All-Star shortstop would be a huge
blow to the team's hope to make the playoffs. Boston also will
start the season without third baseman John Valentin, who's trying
to come back from knee surgery, and pitcher David Cone, who has a
sore shoulder.
Also, Manny Ramirez, signed to a $160 million, eight-year
contract, has gotten only 29 at-bats in 11 games this spring
because of a pulled left hamstring.
Some Red Sox players were resigned to losing Garciaparra.
"There's no pipe dream, we're not going to get him back. He's
our spine, our backbone and he's gone," Scott Hatteberg said after
the Red Sox beat the New York Yankees 11-2 Tuesday in Tampa.
"We've got to pick up the slack.
"As far as filling his spot, it's just not filling the hole at
shortstop, you're filling basically our team's offensive leader. A
lot of the pressure is going to fall on some other guys. It's not
an impossible task, but it's one that some other guys will have to
step up."
Lou Merloni, Mike Lansing or Craig Grebeck would likely fill in
while Garciaparra is out. Merloni left Tuesday's game during the
seventh inning after being hit in the left elbow by an Adrian
Hernandez pitch; the injury is not believed to be serious, but
Merloni has a knot near the elbow.
The ball that struck Garciaparra's wrist caused swelling in the
tendon and the canal encasing the tendon, making it impossible for
the tendon to move up and down smoothly. The throwing and swinging
motions required in baseball have aggravated it.
Garciaparra played with his injury last season and led the
league in hitting for the second consecutive year.
"It was just something I thought I'd live with the rest of my
life," he said. "I thought I'd be a cranky old man, going 'Aw, my
wrist hurts."'
But early in camp, Garciaparra woke up and the pain in his wrist
had reached a new level. "I'd never felt it at this point, ever,"
he said.
Garciaparra has said he has no regrets about trying to avoid
surgery with rehabilitation, saying an operation should always be
the last option.
"Mentally, I know from my standpoint I've done everything," he
said. "I've had the right advice, the right guidance. I've had the
right information up to this point. ... We've done everything exactly
how you're supposed to do it."
Doctors told Garciaparra he could probably play with the injury
without doing long-term damage if he had cortisone shots to deal
with the pain. Garciaparra said there's no way he'd take daily
shots.
"I'm going to be around here for a while," he said. "I'm
going to be here for years to come and I'm going to be here this
year, too. So let's get it done. Whatever we need to do, let's get
it right."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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