ATLANTA -- The Brewers have an off-day to look forward to on Thursday. For most, it will be a day of rest and relaxation before embarking on a stretch of 18 games in 17 days leading to the All-Star break.
Not Brewers manager Pat Murphy, however. He will spend that day undergoing surgery for a ruptured disc in his back, and he has an aggressive comeback schedule in mind.
“So I’ll have that on Thursday,” Murphy said. “And I’ll be fine by Friday. Jumping jacks by Saturday.”
He wasn’t kidding, at least the part about being back in the dugout on Friday. The Brewers host the Cubs at American Family Field that night in the opener of a big three-game series, and Murphy said he intends to manage that game.
Forget calisthenics, the 67-year-old skipper would be content simply being pain-free after managing through some serious right hip, right knee and left shoulder discomfort this season. He already had hip surgery on the schedule for July 13, the first day of the All-Star break, when he suddenly developed searing back pain during the Brewers’ visit to Las Vegas to play the A’s on the last road trip.
When he returned home to Milwaukee, Murphy brought his young sons to the ballpark for some baseball practice during a day off on June 11 and found he could not stand up straight. He was in such bad shape in the ensuing days that pitching coach Chris Hook took over making mid-inning pitching changes, and Murphy underwent an expedited MRI scan of his back last Sunday morning.
It was at that point the doctors recommended Murphy gets his back taken care of before the surgery on his hip.
“I don’t know [much] about it, but I know I can’t live like this,” Murphy said.