Monday, April 26, 2004
ESPN: BOS@TEX Sun., 8:05 PM ET
SportsTicker
BOSTON -- Red Sox designated hitter Ellis Burks is scheduled to undergo knee surgery Tuesday, which will keep him sidelined indefinitely.
Burks was placed on the 15-day disabled list Monday with a torn left medial meniscus. Tuesday's procedure is arthroscopic.
The Red Sox did not make a corresponding move. They host the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Tuesday in the opener of a three-game series.
Burks is in his second stint with the Red Sox, for whom he began his major league career in 1987. In nine games, he is batting .133 (4-for-30) with one home run and one RBI.
The 39-year-old has been one of the most consistent hitters -- and injury-plagued players -- in the major leagues during his career. He has 352 homers and 1,206 RBI but has missed at least 20 games 13 times.
Last year, a nerve problem in his right elbow limited Burks to 55 games. He hit .263 with six homers and 28 RBI for the Cleveland Indians, ultimately undergoing surgery in June.
Once a Gold Glove outfielder, Burks has played just 28 games in the field over the last four seasons.
Shortstop Nomar Garciaparra and right fielder Trot Nixon also are sidelined for the Red Sox, who still share the American League's best record (12-6) following a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1790428
This is bad news. Could possibly be one more retired RBI Hero. :(
He has had an awesome career, and yes, has been injured a lot. If he could have stayed healthy for the majority of his career, we might be looking at a potential 500+ HR guy and potential HoF'er.
This does suck, though can't indefinitely mean just about any amount of time? They have longer DLs, right? If so, then perhaps he'll back sooner than later...
I think the next DL after 15-day is 60-day. That's a long time to commit to, so they'll probably just keep renewing 15-day DL stays.