Done and done.

Well, that sucks.

The word is out that Dusty McGowan WILL go under the knife to repair his [EDIT] FRAYED labrum - NOT torn (per Mike Wilner [end edit]. That means he is done for the year, obviously, but we don't know until the operation is over how 2009 will be affected.

Apparently the surgeon will examine him to see if anything needs to be done to the rotor cuff which, if so, would lengthen the recovery time.

During the operation, the tear in his right rotator cuff that forced him to the disabled list July 9 will also be examined to see if a further procedure is necessary to correct that problem.

The hope is that the rotator cuff can be left alone and that McGowan will be ready to go next spring.

To review, this is a tear the team already knew about coming into the season, the sort pitchers often go many years with. While it's not in the story one may surmise that the Jays decided that the potential of having future seasons interrupted by soreness in the shoulder, and/or the potential that there's something going on with the rotor cuff, was compelling enough reason to go ahead and repair it.

Jon, over at the Mockingbird, quotes Will Carroll's admission that his previous article about the severity of this sort of injury no longer applies:

The reason the article is “essentially obsolete” is that techniques in both surgery and rehab have changed so significantly. Whether it’s newly constructed bone anchors, changes in surgical methodology, or having far too many pitchers to practice on, it’s not a death sentence for pitchers any more. It’s not good by any stretch, but it’s not as bad as it was just a few years back.

I hate to crib directly from Jon with no new information but that seemed significant enough that it needed the widest possible audience. Hat tipped.

*****

Can't post this without commenting on today's impressive game. The Jays today played exactly like the team that most of us (a few malcontents notwithstanding) thought we were going to get back on April 1. Rios homers twice, Mighty Joe 3/4 with 2 doubles, 2 RBI and a BB (since June 1 he's hitting .308 - .371 - .450 - .821 in 120 AB....what I wouldn't give if the man could play a decent SS), Matt Stairs had his second consecutive productive game and David Purcey cruised through the first 5 innings before making one mistake in the sixth.

The Jays are now 18-10 since June 22 and I feel the need to point out again how significant it is that the really horrible results this year are confined to two, two-week, stretches. Not to say they have been without issues in the other games to be sure, but in all other games (outside those two slumps) they are 47-29 (.618). As much as some don't want to hear it, overall this is not a bad team. Which is why it's been such an astoundingly frustrating season.

~WillRain