So much for using the knee as an excuse for a terrible season.
I kid. Mostly.
The Cubs and Alfonso Soriano got good news Saturday when an MRI exam on his left knee showed only inflammation, a condition that could require only medication.
Dr. Stephen Gryzlo, the team’s orthopedic specialist, will examine Soriano again today with the test results in hand to determine what follows, perhaps an injection of anti-inflammatory cortisone.
”We’ll wait to see what the doctor says,” manager Lou Piniella said. ”I would assume it will be a couple more days [before Soriano can play].” CHICAGO SUN-TIMES.
Soriano got the MRI a couple days early, as the Cubs were ready to find out what the problem was. Inflammation, though not as serious as a tear of some kind, is actually probably a more frustrating diagnosis. With a tear, you do surgery, and you see what happens. With “inflammation,” you do… what? Some cortisone shots, and rest it, and … what?
The truth of the matter is Soriano is getting older. This could be a problem going forward.