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| Another setback may be the end for Chavez
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Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that Eric Chavez's latest injury has put his career in serious jeopardy:
The next time Eric Chavez's back goes out, it will be the end of his career. ... Chavez is rehabbing his most recent back problem in Arizona in the hopes of rejoining the A's on their next homestand. Doctors, however, have told him that a herniated disk in his back could go at any time, even if he sneezes.
If that happens, Chavez will need to have his previously repaired vertebra, the L4-L5, fused with the vertebra that is currently herniated, which is the L3-L4. ... Spinal fusions don't allow for the type of physical activity performed by pro athletes.
Or as Chavez put it: "Pretty much game, set, and match."
The sad part is that significant shoulder problems and various other injuries have left Chavez without much of a career to save anyway. Once a Gold Glove-caliber defender at third base who averaged 30 homers and 100 RBIs from the age of 22 to 27, Chavez has missed 238 of a possible 359 games since the start of 2007, may no longer be capable of making throws from third base, and no longer hits enough to be an asset elsewhere.
Ranked by Baseball America as the No. 3 prospect of 1999 behind only J.D. Drew and Rick Ankiel, Chavez looked headed for superstardom after hitting .277/.355/.495 with 26 homers as a 22-year-old in 2000. However, he never really got any better, essentially hitting .275 or so with 25-30 homers in each of the next five seasons while struggling mightily in the playoffs.
And then the injuries began to mount. With one season remaining on a six-year, $66 million contract extension signed in the spring of 2004, Chavez has given the A's just 543 games of .256/.343/.455 hitting for their money and spoke yesterday about disappointing friend and general manager Billy Beane:
I wanted Billy to know how bad I felt about how everything has unfolded. Not as a player to a GM, but because I value how much he's supported me. I wanted Billy to know how disappointed I am, because they made a huge commitment to me and I haven't fulfilled my end. The whole length of the contract, it's been one thing after another. It's been a disaster, and I know what kind of predicament I've put Billy in. Now, with the back thing, it's like, "You've got to be kidding me." There's nothing that can be said that I haven't thought myself.
Chavez is currently rehabbing in Arizona in the hopes of strengthening his back enough to rejoin the team later this month, but as A's fans have come to accept there's unfortunately little reason to expect a healthy, productive return.
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This is really no surprise. It is well documented that Steroids and HGH can cause injuries because muscle mass becomes too large for the bodies natural balance of strength, flexibility, and composure. As we all know now, Eric Chavez is of the PED era and it is has been proven that was a big participator in the HGH scene. Now he is off the juice and the aftermath is devastating. It is unfortunate that he took the path he took and tried to cheat, now he pays the price. He could have been something special if he chose the clean and honest path, instead of the dispicable path he did take.
There's a lot of Americans running around with bulging and herniated discs who have never touched HGH or any steroid. Chavez has had a history of back problems, and I don't think it's very fair or reasonable of you to assume that his injury is a result of PED use. I am so amused at how every fatass and pencilneck in this country has become an expert on PED's.
I agree with you, I guess you can read and understand as well as I can.
Some people just nees attention.
please ignore the first post it was written by a idiot, who has no proof and is bitter the only sport he played was jump rope with the other doll carrying girls................... if he knew how to read he wouldn't show he had the mentality of a wash rag and he would have known this kid had many problems for years but the back problem has nothing to do with steroids.
Well excuuuuuuse me. Read any health journal or athletic sporting histograph and you will know that back problems are linked to the usage of PED's in many cases. I am not saying all back problems, but certainly herniated discs are. Furthermore, Eric Chavez was named by the likes of Jose Canseco who we all know has been 100% correct on each and every player he has named. If you wish to deny the facts and put me down with name calling then be my guest, but remember sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.
1. I looked online, and can't find any reference for Canseco saying Chavez is on steroids, so I have to assume you made it up unless you can provide a source
2. Your PED theory is whack. There are so many obvious PED users (Bonds, Palmeiro, Clemens etc) that have had decent longevity and no such back problems. You saying any back problems is related to PED use is like people saying after a warm day, or a rainy day, or a cold day, that it is because of global warming. That doesn't make sense. if PED use does have certain effects you cannot prove that it causes certain symptoms all the time. there are lots of steroid users without the back issues Chavez has, and lots of non-steroid users with serious back problems
mattbroskis: Are PEDs what made you a frickin' nut job?
My bet is he's a Giants (Bonds) fan and like all the Yankee fans out there they try to get the "roid" label stuck to other players on other teams to deflect attention from their roid monsters.
In my book Hank Aaron still holds the record for most Home Runs.
Matt, You're saying that ALL herniated discs are from PED use? Unlike you, I'm not going to offer an opinion as to whether Chavez did or did not partake in PED's. What I will offer is that even if Chavez used it cannot be determined definitively that his herniated disc ties directly to PED use. Common PED related injuries might include muscle tears or tendon tears at certain insertion points, but in all my years of reading and researching PED's I have NEVER heard of herniated discs being a direct result of PED use. I know countless amateur as well as professional bodybuilder who use FAR more PED's that a baseball player would, and in my years of knowing these people I have NEVER heard any of them relate a back injury to me.
If your PED = herniated disc theory is correct how come we're not seeing a rash of herniated discs in the NFL. You know the NFL right? Is there any professional sport more obviously involved in PED use? How come I never heard of such and such a player in the NFL being sidelined with a herniated disc? Herniated discs would be rampant in the NFL if PED use led directly to back problems. I think you should go back to being the couch potato, fatass, monday morning quaterback you are.
I dunno about the NFL and steroids. They actually have very rigorous testing. check it out online. Baseball testing is horrible in comparison. I'm not saying the NFL is perfect, but I doubt there is that much drug use.
Anyone that thinks "there is that much drug use (in the NFL)" needs to take his or her head out of the sand. The NFL tests for steriods and other PEDS, but there is not test out there yet for HGH. HGH clears the system within 24-48 hours and no test so far has been able to detect traces. The worst part is that there are already people out there working on the step beyond HGH, so when they develop a test for HGH they will have the new product ready for use....
HGH is a problematic PED. Recent research indicates that HGH might not even be that much of a PED, because apparently it increases fatigue, and thus a person would be able to work out less hard. so I don't know exactly how much use it is. It is certainly less useful than steroids.
The players used, the press looked the other way, the owners paid, the fans cheered.
It is hard to hold PEDs against the players when they are the only ones who ever paid the price for their use. EVERYONE knew what was happening in the last 90's and nobody did a thing.
The reason PEDs are baned is not because the make players better, but because they are dangerous to people who use them. The banning of these drugs is actually a protection for the players. Players shouldnt have to risk their health to be able to compete.
Chavez is human. It is sad what has happened to him. (although that $66 million has to be pretty sweat)
NFL testing is done in the spring when everyone is at least 3 months removed from their cycles. Look at the nature of each sport. Baseball, while PED use helps a player to take the field more often due to increase recovery time, is largely based on hand-eye coordination and the ability to square a bat on the ball. Football is a game where a players' success is predicated on brute strength and/or explosive speed. PED use directly leads to increases in strength and speed which are vital and absolutely necessary in football. Just look at the players and tell me who is far more likely to be using PED, football or baseball. PED translates far more to performance enhancement in football as opposed to baseball.
I'd love to see what would happen if PED testing agencies showed up to NFL locker rooms in October and November and tested every NFL player unannounced. My guess would be that 80-90% of NFL players would test positive for PED's. The NFL has the best kept secret in professional sports, the rampant use of PED by it's players. Stop testing the NFP players in April and start testing them during the season and see what happens. The NFL is biggest money making sport in this country, so everything is being done to present an image to public that is obviously a farce. The nature of playing football dictates that PED's are not only an option but a neccesity in order to keep up with the competition that is bigger and faster than you are.
If the sports media EVER turned it's cynical powers of investigation on the NFL it would be horrified at what it would find out. But it won't happen, because everyone is too busy looking into baseball.
Man, you're way behind in your knowledge of NFL drug testing. They test randomly all year, random players before any game, it's pretty intensive
this quote blows what you wrote out of the water:
"The number of players tested per team will increase from seven to 10 each week -- meaning there will be 12,000 tests each season, up from 10,000. The unpredictability of the year-round tests will be increased to address the perception of gaps in the testing periods."
What about Youk and Crede? They have bad backs. Are they on the roids too? Why is it that Manny, Giambi, Sheffield, ARod, etc.... have not had these herniated disc probs??? Don't you think Chavez may just have a bad back???
Within the discussion of MLB and NFL players and who is on PED's consider this: If guys like Palmeiro, Pettite, Brian Roberts, and Manny, guys who don't necessarily "look" like they're on PED's could test positive and be implicated in PED use, how could these jacked, thick, lean, swole NFL players who definitely have the "look' of someone on PED's NOT be on PED's. Come on America, stop believing the media and just use your common sense. It's obvious as the syringe sticking out of the NFL's ass.
being big doesn't mean you're on steroids, like having a bad back doesn't mean you're on steroids. babe ruth was big and he wasn't on steroids.
Yeah I'm sure playing on turf at times, all those diving catches and plays that we cheered for have nothing to do with Chavez's back issues now. And unlike most PED users, Chavez never bulked up in weight or muscle mass and suddenly gained 30 pounds in a few months, he has always been a smaller guy. Perhaps if he had used, he wouldn't have had any back issues and more than likely he would have hit more than 25 -30 HR's at least once in his prime.
Lastly, most back conditions are degenerative. Once you have one you are never the same, never 100% no matter how much rehab you do you will always be more susceptible to a recurring injury. Very much like a hernia, once a part of your back is weakened it's never at full strength ever again, not completely. Considering Chavez has had MULTIPLE back issues this is really no surprise and hardly raises a red flag for PED.
Please remember this guys played at the birthplace of PED's in Baseball. HUNTSVILLE AL. Canseco, MaGuire, Tejeda, etc. This place was one the starting pipelines. How do I know, I lived it. I'd bet anyone he did'em...
doesn't really mean anything
Yeah it does...He's falling apart from them!
So tell me. Why did Manny get a 50+ game suspension and A-Rod got no suspension? I don't get it.
So, he feels really bad, huh?
Bet he never thought of giving some of that $66 mil back.
RaysFan, are you serious? Tell me that you're joking. Would YOU give any of the money back, you jackass!!??
Babe Ruth was big? Ruth had a pot belly from all the beer he drank during prohibition, which was a federal law banning drinking, manufacturing, and distribution of alcohol from 1920 to 1933. Most of Ruth's career was played during prohibition, and the fact that he was a prolific alcohol drinking, beer guzzling pig during this time means that he was breaking the law everyday.