Bagwell succumbs to the DL

[BuckFoston]

MIAMI - Jeff Bagwell finally accepted the inevitable, landing on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday with an arthritic right shoulder that had kept him out of the Astros' starting lineup for six straight games.


Late Monday night, manager Phil Garner and general manager Tim Purpura brought Bagwell into the visiting manager's office at Dolphins Stadium. It didn't take long for Bagwell, 36, to admit he needed to go on the DL.

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Jeff Bagwell's last trip to the disabled list came in 1998, and since the start of the 1999 season, only two players have appeared in more major-league games (numbers through Tuesday):
Games
Player since '99

Miguel Tejada 999

Shawn Green 984

Jeff Bagwell 980

Andruw Jones 980

Todd Helton 978

Bobby Abreu 976

Rafael Palmeiro 971

Alex Rodriguez 951 Chipper Jones 950

Garret Anderson 939

Johnny Damon 939

Steve Finley 939

"Jeff expressed to Gar and I that he couldn't go out there," Purpura said. "He tried a couple of times (Monday) to gear up and didn't feel like he was going to be able to help the club in the future. Rather than handicap us with a 24-man roster, he said that if our decision was to put him on the DL he was agreeable to that.

"The one thing we have not tried with Jeff is a shutdown. We have tried a lot of other things, but a shutdown is something we've never done. There's no guarantee that this is going to make a significant difference. It could, but there's no guarantee of that. It's really just hope at this point."

The Astros purchased the contract of Class AAA Round Rock first baseman and outfielder Todd Self, a 6-5, 215-pounder from Shreveport, La., to take Bagwell's spot on the 25-man roster.

The move to the DL is retroactive to May 4, but there's no indication Bagwell will be ready to come back May 19 — if ever again. Bagwell, who is due about $24 million on the contract that will run out after next season, could theoretically stay on the DL all this season and next and receive his money.

The Astros have insurance on Bagwell's contract, but it wouldn't cover this year because he already played. A great portion of next year's salary could be covered by insurance if he cannot perform next season.

Since 2001, Bagwell has made many attempts to improve the health of his shoulder.

Bagwell, who was hitting .250 (22-for-88) with four doubles, three home runs and 15 RBIs this season, had surgery after the 2001 season to reattach the labrum in the shoulder with screws. He has taken cortisone shots every six weeks during the season. He took one in spring training and another April 1.

The 1991 National League Rookie of the Year and 1994 MVP was scheduled for another cortisone shot Monday, but he admits that appointment is now on hold.

"I threw and I tried to hit (Monday), and it wasn't good enough for me to go out there," said Bagwell, who has a career .297 average over 2,135 games, all with the Astros. "Now I'm going to rest so I don't have to push it every single day. It's a lot of pain. ... The ultimate goal is that I'll be healthy enough to come back."

The decision to put Bagwell on the DL for the first time since 1998 was made a week after he strained his right shoulder during one of his at-bats against the Pirates at Minute Maid Park. He sat out last Wednesday in hopes the day off would help but didn't see much improvement.

He skipped batting practice on Friday, and that didn't help either. Over the weekend in Atlanta, Bagwell and Garner said they expected a return Monday against the Marlins.

Garner held his lineup Monday until after Bagwell struggled through a round of batting practice. Although Garner admitted that they could have awaited another day, he didn't see any reason to hold out hope for a quick turnaround.

"He felt like he wasn't getting much better," Garner said. "The problem was that he'd get loosened up and manage to throw a ball or something. By the time he'd have to do something else and batting practice rolled around, he was having trouble getting back to where he could do anything."

The franchise leader with 449 home runs, 1,525 RBIs, 1,400 walks and 969 extra-base hits, Bagwell also ranks 28th on the all-time home run list. He is the only first baseman and one of only 10 players with at least 400 homers and 200 steals.

"The decision was made for what was best for me and what was best for the club," Bagwell said. "There's nothing really (doctors) can tell me. There are educated guesses of what's going on. I just need to rest a little bit."

Self, 26, was hitting a Pacific Coast League-leading .391 (36-for-92) with two home runs and 15 RBIs in 28 games for Round Rock this season.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/3176708

[Tedc]

I will be very surprised if he plays this year. They are shutting him down to see if he improves and hoping a doctor will come up with a miracle cure. Sadly, there isn't a cure for his debilitating disease.

He is stuck on 449 homeruns. At the beginning of the season he seemed a lock to get 500 with two years left in his contract but this will probably be the end.