ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Eric Gagne's season-ending elbow surgery
went better than expected Friday: The Los Angeles Dodgers' All-Star
closer did not need a ligament replaced after all, and could return
by spring training.
Originally expected to be out 12-to-14 months following several
MRI exams, Gagne now faces about six months recovery time, and he
could start throwing a baseball even earlier.
After the 90-minute surgery performed by Dr. Frank Jobe and Dr.
Ralph Gambardella in Los Angeles, Jobe gave his optimistic report
to Gagne.
"He was so excited," Jobe said during a conference call before
the Dodgers played the Los Angeles Angels. "I mean, he was still
pretty much asleep, but he was awake enough to understand it. He
just smiled and put his fist up in the air."
The doctors found a slight amount of fraying from the original
graft that was stitched when Gagne underwent Tommy John surgery in
1997. Also, there were nerves that had scarred down onto the graft,
which was causing Gagne considerable pain. The surgery relieved the
pressure the nerves were placing on the graft.
"The ligament was intact, but there was a sensory nerve that
was running right along the elbow bone, along with the ligament,"
Jobe said. "So the symptoms were identical to a ligament tear, but
it was really just an irritation to the nerve."
Of the earlier MRIs that indicated a tear, Jobe said: "One of
the big principles in medicine, of course, is that you treat
patients. You don't treat pictures. The examination of the
previously done repair showed it to be in good condition, so we
didn't have to do another one. It was just too good a repair to
discard."
Gagne, who had never been on the disabled list since coming to
the majors in 1999, missed the first 35 games of the season after
hurting his elbow while compensating for a knee injury sustained
during spring training.
"It's very, very encouraging news," Dodgers manager Jim Tracy
said. "We're talking about a guy who has the opportunity to resume
the pursuit of becoming possibly the best closer that's ever done
it in the history of the game."
The three-time All-Star, who holds the major league record of 84
consecutive saves, was 8-for-8 with a 1-0 record and a 2.70 ERA
before going back on the DL on June 15 because of what was
diagnosed as a second-degree sprain of the ulnar collateral
ligament.
"That's what, in essence, what was causing some of his
discomfort as of late," Tracy said. "When you throw with the
torque that he throws with, and the fact that the nerves are
scarred down, they don't have the elasticity. And the burning
sensation that he felt was because the nerves did not have the room
to maneuver like they're supposed to."
Gagne, who has pitched only 13 1/3 innings this season, won the
NL Cy Young Award in 2003 with a club-record 55 saves and 1.20 ERA.
He agreed to a two-year, $19-million contract in the offseason
after recording 152 saves and averaging 122 strikeouts during his
first three seasons as a closer.
Yhency Brazoban will continue to be used in the closer's role
the rest of the season. The rookie right-hander entered Friday
night's game having converted 12 of 15 save opportunities.