Bonds has minor knee surgery
Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 5:53 pm
Bonds has knee surgery - He'll have a short spring training
Henry Schulman, Chronicle Staff Writer - Tuesday, February 1, 2005
When Barry Bonds finally sees his first competitive pitch of 2005, sometime in the middle of March, he will stand on two knees that were surgically repaired since he last swung in anger.
The Giants said Monday that their franchise player, who underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee in October, had a similar operation on his right knee Monday. Dr. Art Ting performed what the Giants described as a "minor arthritis cleanup" and repaired a small cartilage tear.
Head trainer Stan Conte said he expects Bonds to be "competitive" in six weeks and at "full strength" by the April 5 season opener against the Dodgers. Based on that timetable, Bonds would be ready to play in a game about March 14, costing him a bit more than one-third of the Giants' exhibition schedule.
"This was a minor cleanup procedure and, in fact, the arthritis under Barry's kneecap was not as bad as we expected," Conte said.
Conte underscored how minor the 25-minute procedure was by saying, "If this were in-season, we would not have done this. The calendar dictated us being aggressive right now, so this wouldn't be a problem later in the spring and we don't have to go into the season rehabbing. Essentially, we've taken care of it now so he'll be ready for the season."
Nevertheless, the Giants undoubtedly will be sitting on pins and needles until they see how Bonds responds to a pair of knee operations during the same offseason. He always has recovered from his injuries faster than expected, but he is 40 now.
Furthermore, if Bonds ever did aid his rehabilitations with substances now banned under baseball's stricter drug-testing program, it will be more difficult to do so now. The Chronicle on Dec. 3 reported that Bonds told a federal grand jury he had used a clear and cream substance, supplied by the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative, but did not believe them to be steroids.
Bonds now has had two surgeries on each of his knees. After the 2004 season, he reported difficulty with each knee, Conte said. The left knee was far worse. The right did not seem to pose a big problem. Bonds had surgery on the left knee and, within a month, was doing all of his ordinary winter conditioning and baseball work.
About 10 days ago, Bonds reported more discomfort in his right knee.
"I took a look at it and thought it was fairly significant," Conte said. "It was not the run-of-the-mill sore knee. We got an MRI and confirmed what we thought. There was stuff floating around in there.
"We have the video and pictures from the 1999 surgery that Dr. Ting did on his right knee. I was concerned because he showed some arthritis in 1999 and I figured it would have progressed significantly more. But we found today that it hasn't progressed that much."
Conte hopes to begin Bonds' rehabilitation today and has asked him to report to spring training with pitchers and catchers on Feb. 17 so they can continue the program together.
Bonds long has complained that spring training is too long and he does not need a month of exhibition games. As Conte sees it, Bonds' shorter Cactus League schedule will keep his body fresher for the regular season.
"I wouldn't be disappointed for him missing two weeks of early spring training, to tell you the truth," Conte said. "Even if he didn't have surgery, I wouldn't mind if he showed up March 1. I like it when his spring training is shorter."
Conte also has invited second baseman Ray Durham to report to spring training with pitchers and catchers, which is allowed because of his chronic leg injuries. Durham did not travel to Arizona for a voluntary conditioning minicamp or to San Francisco to work with Conte, as the Giants had hoped.
However, Durham has told Conte he followed the special workout regimen the trainer prescribed to strengthen the second baseman's legs and, the club hopes, to reduce his time on the disabled list.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... =printable
Henry Schulman, Chronicle Staff Writer - Tuesday, February 1, 2005
When Barry Bonds finally sees his first competitive pitch of 2005, sometime in the middle of March, he will stand on two knees that were surgically repaired since he last swung in anger.
The Giants said Monday that their franchise player, who underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee in October, had a similar operation on his right knee Monday. Dr. Art Ting performed what the Giants described as a "minor arthritis cleanup" and repaired a small cartilage tear.
Head trainer Stan Conte said he expects Bonds to be "competitive" in six weeks and at "full strength" by the April 5 season opener against the Dodgers. Based on that timetable, Bonds would be ready to play in a game about March 14, costing him a bit more than one-third of the Giants' exhibition schedule.
"This was a minor cleanup procedure and, in fact, the arthritis under Barry's kneecap was not as bad as we expected," Conte said.
Conte underscored how minor the 25-minute procedure was by saying, "If this were in-season, we would not have done this. The calendar dictated us being aggressive right now, so this wouldn't be a problem later in the spring and we don't have to go into the season rehabbing. Essentially, we've taken care of it now so he'll be ready for the season."
Nevertheless, the Giants undoubtedly will be sitting on pins and needles until they see how Bonds responds to a pair of knee operations during the same offseason. He always has recovered from his injuries faster than expected, but he is 40 now.
Furthermore, if Bonds ever did aid his rehabilitations with substances now banned under baseball's stricter drug-testing program, it will be more difficult to do so now. The Chronicle on Dec. 3 reported that Bonds told a federal grand jury he had used a clear and cream substance, supplied by the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative, but did not believe them to be steroids.
Bonds now has had two surgeries on each of his knees. After the 2004 season, he reported difficulty with each knee, Conte said. The left knee was far worse. The right did not seem to pose a big problem. Bonds had surgery on the left knee and, within a month, was doing all of his ordinary winter conditioning and baseball work.
About 10 days ago, Bonds reported more discomfort in his right knee.
"I took a look at it and thought it was fairly significant," Conte said. "It was not the run-of-the-mill sore knee. We got an MRI and confirmed what we thought. There was stuff floating around in there.
"We have the video and pictures from the 1999 surgery that Dr. Ting did on his right knee. I was concerned because he showed some arthritis in 1999 and I figured it would have progressed significantly more. But we found today that it hasn't progressed that much."
Conte hopes to begin Bonds' rehabilitation today and has asked him to report to spring training with pitchers and catchers on Feb. 17 so they can continue the program together.
Bonds long has complained that spring training is too long and he does not need a month of exhibition games. As Conte sees it, Bonds' shorter Cactus League schedule will keep his body fresher for the regular season.
"I wouldn't be disappointed for him missing two weeks of early spring training, to tell you the truth," Conte said. "Even if he didn't have surgery, I wouldn't mind if he showed up March 1. I like it when his spring training is shorter."
Conte also has invited second baseman Ray Durham to report to spring training with pitchers and catchers, which is allowed because of his chronic leg injuries. Durham did not travel to Arizona for a voluntary conditioning minicamp or to San Francisco to work with Conte, as the Giants had hoped.
However, Durham has told Conte he followed the special workout regimen the trainer prescribed to strengthen the second baseman's legs and, the club hopes, to reduce his time on the disabled list.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... =printable
