Indians’ Josh Tomlin to Undergo Tommy John Surgery
August 22, 2012
While We’re Waiting… Weeden Leading the Offense, Cavalier Expectations and Trading for Harden
August 22, 2012Now experiencing soreness in his right knee, outfielder Grady Sizemore is officially done for the 2012 season, a year in which he played zero games after being signed to a one-year deal in the offseason.
Missing the bulk of the season following a Spring Training back injury, the 30-year-old Sizemore has undergone operations on his back, left elbow and both knees, along with a pair of sports hernia procedures in the last four years alone.
“It’s sad,” Indians manager Manny Acta said regarding his one-time MVP candidate. “I won’t call it disappointing. I’m just sad for the human being that he is, and the type of player that he is. Especially for me, because one of the things that attracted me the most to this job was Grady Sizemore, being able to have a player that was going to help me win ballgames by himself.”
Sizemore, the former fan favorite who was once called the best player in the AL Central, was signed to a one-year, incentive-laden contract with a base salary of $5 million over the winter despite hitting just .224 with 10 home runs and 32 RBIs in 71 games in 2011. Over the four seasons prior, Sizemore hit a combined .234 with 28 homers, 109 RBIs and 17 stolen bases in 210 games. This compares to the period between 2005-08, when Sizemore hit .281 with 107 homers, 325 RBIs and 115 stolen bases in 639 games, making three All-Star appearances and garnering two Gold Glove Awards.
“A lot of things have happened over the last three, four years that have been completely out of his control,” said Acta. “The guy played the game right. He was an elite player in this league. Unfortunately, over the last three or four seasons, he hasn’t been able to do it.”
[Related: Comparing Manny Acta to Colt McCoy]
28 Comments
At first glance my mind was thinking next season…
He’s not going to play this year? You don’t say.
I just lost a dollar…to myself!
it has to be terrible to peak at age 25
Wouldn’t be surprised if he tries a comeback but that’s probably it for Grady’s career.
Loved Grady’s intensity and the way he could affect a game, hated his refusal to cut down his swing with two strikes. Will be interesting to see how local fans here view him in 15-20 years. Knowing us, it will morph from “real impact player for a few years” to “sure-fire hall of famer if only tragedy didn’t strike.” Cuz that’s how we roll in the town where Nate Thurmond and Bingo Smith have jerseys hanging in the rafters and Thome gets a statue.
The Tribe could have used his money toward someone who would have played an inning this year. It was stupid to have re-signed him… He’ll probably never play again.
He’s too busy counting his money still. But, seriously, he’s probably done for good. He may get a minor league contract somewhere next year but that is the best he could hope for.
Or tending to his wife
http://www.athleteswives.com/tag/grady-sizemore-wife/
Good God… Life’s not so tough for Grady.
A headline anyone outside the Tribe front office could have seen coming before committing millions to him in the offseason.
Contrary to the Sports Illustrated cover or fan opinion Grady Sizemore was never an “elite” player.
depends how you break it: 30/30 stats along with the defense he provided in CF, you could make a case that he was elite for a CFer (who was better?)
overall as a hitter, no he wasn’t truly elite.
Sizemore does matter.
Nothing against this guy, but you could tell early on that he was injury prone. A more professional baseball organization than the Indians have would have known how to deal with the situation before dumping so much money. Hafner is another example. Bad financial decisions from the management keep the team from ever rebuilding.
well, since he could no longer “play” the field…
he played in 158, 162, 162, and 157 games leading up to the extension. Which of those years made it obvious that he was injury prone?
“you could make a case”
Elite players shouldn’t need a case made to solidify them as such.
His overall hitting negates him “elite” status and in my opinion so does his fragility.
Grady as a an overall CF had a great 4 years but was not “elite”.
as I showed above, those 4 seasons he played in nearly every single game, so his “fragility” should not be in question if he was elite in those seasons.
my point was it depends on how you define elite:
1. if you take all MLBers into 1 pot, then I would say he was not elite but extremely good.
2. if you take all CFers into 1 pot, then yes, he was THE elite CFer for those 4 seasons (well ahead of Granderson or Torii Hunter).
and how crazy was it that the AL Central had all of those guys at the time?
Are you saying they shouldn’t have given him his original 6-year, $23M deal? The one they gave him after his first full season in which he hit .289 with 22 HR and scored 111 runs? I hope that’s not what you’re saying.
This is where the definition of “elite” begins to differ depending on the individuals opinion.
To me if you are truly the upper echelon of player your skills obviously diminish but in the capacity that age has taken over, not injury sustained due to negligent play.
The other way to me feels like you could make a case for a player having an elite numbers season, half season, game and argue they were an upper echelon player during that period and therefore need to be considered with the best of the best.
Grady Sizemore: 3 all star appearences, 2 gold gloves, 30/30 member, .269 lifetime BA over 7 seasons
Kenny Lofton: 6 all star appearences, 4 gold gloves, 5 stolen base titles, .299 lifetime BA over 16 seasons
See the difference?
I get your point of being “elite” for those 4 seasons, I just define “elite” in a more longer term sense based on the entire body of work.
I also get that in my example Lofton was not “elite” during all 16 seasons, but earned that title because of the work he accomplished during a longer period of time.
and yes, it is crazy that Sizemore, Hunter and Granderson all roamed CF in the AL during that period.
Shocker
“Indians’ Grady Sizemore Will Not Play in 2012”
In related news, the sky is blue.
I still say at $5 million bucks, he was a better value to the team than Haffner’s $13 million. Sizemore hit in to ZERO inning-ending double plays with runners on the corners, or bases full. Cheers!
for his career, I agree Grady doesn’t hit elite status.
YOUR TOWN HAS NOTHING BETTER TO CELEBRTE IN 50 YEARS UNLESS LEBRON FINALLY BRINGS A TITLE TO CLEVELAND.
I’d TAKE Peaking AT 25 WITH MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR SALARIES FOR MANY YEARS AFTER 25.