 09/19/2003 9:20 PM ET
Notes: Traber to have surgery
Rookie pitcher to undergo Tommy John surgery
CLEVELAND -- The Indians have had more than their share of bad news on the pitching front this season, and things didn't get any better on Friday.
One day after revealing that the club was debating whether to shut down Billy Traber for the season, Indians manager Eric Wedge announced that the rookie hurler would undergo season-ending elbow surgery.
"It's unfortunate," Wedge said. "I feel bad for Billy, but it's the best way to go at this point in time. He'll work hard to get back and hopefully we can get him back next year."
No date has been set for the surgery, which will be performed in Traber's home state of California by Dr. Lewis Yocum.
"We had some concerns and decided to do an MRI on Thursday," said Indians trainer Paul Spicuzza. "It showed damage to the elbow ligament. It's acute onchronic, which means that there was previous damage. Basically, he completed the damage that was done before."
Spicuzza wasn't certain, but added that Traber would "most likely" undergo Tommy John surgery to repair the elbow.
Traber, who turned 24 on Thursday, had known there was something wrong with his elbow since he joined the professional ranks out of Loyola Marymount College in 2000. However, he believed it was something he could pitch through.
"I knew when I first signed that there was a problem," he said. "But you try to quell it, and I guess it finally caught up with me.
"I was told it was bone spurs and some ligament damage from overuse that could've been done in high school or even Little League that just kept repairing itself."
After throwing 111 2/3 big-league innings this season, the Indians and Traber feel that their best option is to fix the elbow by other means.
"Just like anything else, it heals with scar tissue," Spicuzza said. "It [the scar tissue] finally tore away, so the best thing we can do for his career is to get it fixed."
"I think it's just something inevitable," Traber added. "No one ever wants to be injured, but at the same time, it will finally be done."
Spicuzza estimated that it could take nine months for Traber to rehab from surgery, putting him on schedule to be able to throw again some time in late May or early July of next season.
The soft-tossing lefty is anything but a power pitcher, relying on control and movement to induce ground balls, so the increased arm strength that sometime surfaces after
Tommy John surgery might not benefit him as much as it has other pitchers.
"Better for me is not necessarily harder," he said. "In this league it's where you put it. [Velocity] is one of the tests they use to check your recovery. Personally, that might be a plus, but I just want to get back to where I was."
His fastball usually registers between a respectable 85-87 mph, but the radar gun has been closer to 82-84 mph in recent starts and his numbers have reflected the difference.
Traber picked up his last win on Aug. 7 when he tossed seven scoreless innings against the Mariners at Jacobs Field, but has gone 0-4 with an 8.51 ERA in six starts since. He'll finish his rookie campaign 6-9 with a 5.42 ERA.
"I'm not worried about coming back as a different pitcher," he said. "I might have to adapt to a different body, but hopefully, it's a better body and that's a good thing."
Big gamer: Cleveland ace C.C. Sabathia was voted the club's top video game player in a poll conducted by Fox Sports Ohio.
"Nobody else in here wants to play me," said the big lefty. "Except for [David] Riske and [Jack] Cressend, I beat up on these guys."
Quotable: "That's just the nature of the game. We've prepared for this. You can't put yourself in a position where if you lose one guy, it hurts the whole machine." -- Wedge, on the Tribe's rash of pitching injuries this season
The final Wahoo: The final Wahoo Club luncheon of 2003 will be held at noon on Saturday at the Great Lakes Brewing Co., 2516 Market Ave. Traber and fellow rookies Ryan Ludwick, Cliff Lee and Coco Crisp are scheduled to attend. For more details, call (216) 999-1781 or log onto www.wahooclub.com.
Coming up: The Indians will continue their final home series of the season on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. ET. Left-hander Cliff Lee (3-1, 3.19 ERA) will take the mound for the Indians against Red Sox right-hander Derek Lowe (16-6, 4.48 ERA).
Todd Lorenz is an editorial producer
for MLB.com. This story was not subject to approval by Major League Baseball
or its clubs.
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