J.D.'s back is back

Does JD Drew have a contract provision where this would be his last year under contract if his back is a problem for him and the team?

Here we go again. This guy would get hurt playing wiffle ball. The Sox need to look at another outfielder. JD's back is a pain to all Sox fans.
It must be nice to sit on the DL and draw a full pay check. Meanwhile, those of us that are dedicated and happy to have a job, gut it out each day so we can earn our money. The key here is earn our money. If we miss work due to an injury we don't draw full pay. JD is a soft, below average baseball player.

Here we go with the non - durable Sox line-up and the season hasn't even started yet......between JD, Ortiz, Lugo, Lowell, Wake, Baldi....are any of our young durable prospects ready to start producing at the major league level yet?

oh man what a horrible signing.

jeez, what a surprise.

Are you kidding me?

When asked what was in the injection Tito replied "Something you can get over the counter in DR... boli, or bole they call it"

If this isn't "serious" as the Red Sox and J.D.Drew insist it isn't, why would he have to go back to Boston for an injection? Aren't there any team affiliated physicians in Fort Meyers?

I love J.D. Drew no matter what. He's had some flashes of brilliance the past 2 years, but if he doesn't have a 14 million dollar year (300 Ave, 25 HRs and 100 RBIs and that's being easy on him)(14 mil should get you 30 HRs and 150 RBIs)

I'd have to say that this signing was a bust for Theo and the trio!

Rut-roh

How common is facet joint syndrome?

Facet joint syndrome is more common in the elderly, as changes to the joints associated with aging are present in most people over 50 years of age.

I hope Drew does not have the back of a 50 year old.

I've been on this one early on in the forum, while many people were preoccupied with over-spending on Texeira. More specifically, a healthy Drew is worth to the team than almost any addition. (He really is that good when he's on.) Regardless, the team had 5 guys in Pawtucket who hit over 20. In fact, people are starting to pay heed to the bat of Jeff Bailey- kudos!

Perhaps, JD is not a full-season player? That's OK. I'll take him in 120 and have him ready in October. This will keep those Pawtucket bats around and motivate them to continue to do well. (Playin' time for everybody!)

Wow! Here we go again......

Manny is still available

We will need to wait until 2011 for J.D. Drew to have a productive year and avoid injury. That is the final year of his contract when Scott Boras will be preparing to take him back on the market to sell some other sucker on his potential impact.

This is one of Theo's real mistakes (along with Renteria, Lugo, and Clement), though Drew is not quite the disaster the other 3 were. At least he does occassionally produce. We just need someone who can play regularly and perform consistently. Funny, but I think we would all be thrilled if he put up numbers with the consistency of someone like Jason Bay.

To say this team is fragile might be the understatement of the century. Why do I have this terrible feeling that this team is going to break down piece by piece ?

i would stab him in the stomach if i could. not to seriously injure him, just to let him know i was there.

Is a protestation the same as a protest? Who's the editor at the Globe these days? YIKES! just kidding

Anyone ever had one of those injections? For me, it was in a series of three and it was miraculous stuff...kept me from having surgery to fix a slipped disk. The idea that they would do this as a precautionary measure makes a great deal of sense from my experience. Also, when I had it done, it was in a series of three, so when he needs it again in 2-3 weeks and then again, it's just the way it's done, not a sign of the apocolypse.

to reply to #2.....I have no doubt that Drew isnt one of those selfish money grubbing chumps like most of the Yankees organization. Playing 162 games takes it's told on the body and not everyone is built like Cal Ripkin. I hurt my back last year and the only think I could manage to do was lay in bed. I couldnt even imagine taking full swings at major league pitching or shagging fly balls. Try looking at the other perspective before you open your mouth. Drew is one of the most competive players on the roster. Maybe if you watched him once in a while you would realize this.

Again, no surprises. I don't care what he has done in the playoffs, and he has done something.......not Ortiz like, but something. He NEVER has been worth 14m per year. I cringed at the signings of Lugo and Drew when they happened, and I still cringe at what they get paid compared to how they produce. Big Theo Blunders.

Time to get that offer faxed to Manny.

If JD Drew has a herniated disk, then why don't the Sox just make him have surgery? I had a herniated disk in my neck and surgery was the best thing that could have happened. I was jogging ten days after the surgery and I know that JD Drew is in much better shape than I was ever in.
There are some great surgeons who could fix this and put it behind JD Drew and the Red Sox. I would bet that if JD Drew had the surgery he would be back in mid-April at the latest. Instead we are going to have to constantly hear about this and we all know that JD Drew is going to miss another 40 - 50 games in 2009.

Jeez, the guy has a herniated disc for cryin' out loud. That isn't something minor. I personally like the guy and am pulling for him. The sox definitely need him.

i thought rugged jd would make it until April to get hurt?

stick a fork in him... easy does it. He"s Done!

Wow! Is anyone surprised? I wonder if he will start 100 games this year.

Comment #1 = The clause in Drew's contract is for his shoulder, not his back.

Comment #12 - If he plays in 150 games (a miracle), he makes $93,333 per game. If he plays in 120 games (still only 75% of a season), he makes $116,666 per game, or $29,166 per GIDP.

When you add Drew's name to that of Clement, Gagne, et nausea, maybe you get the feeling that Epstein ain't the Great Genius his PR says he is.

What, JD Drew's back is hurt???? Where's Trot?

JD Drew is hurt? Is it Tuesday already?

Don't blame JD for collecting is check while injured... the Sox knew what they were getting with him when they offered him this deal. Tough to fault JD for accepting it.

The only good thing about Nancy Drew is that I won a great dinner last year at Grill 23 because of his awful playing. People say what a great year he had last year and they are wrong! He had a great June and that is it. He dropped from a .314 average to a .280 average in just over a month. That is awful! He lit up the field in June, but other than that he was awful. MVP of the All Star game? What a joke! I hope the Red Sox had a buyout option on his contract or a clause that protected them from the weak link known as NANCY DREW!

butch from the cape said it best - "Nancy" drew.
What a girl. suck it up

Theo is great with developing the farm system, but he's made some horrible free agent acquisitions. Nobody was happy when we signed this guy, don't know what T.E. was thinking.

you people must somehow know how to type but not know how to read. This is a completely precautionary injection. Professional athletes have to take care of their bodies and rest when needed, get injections when needed, etc. Just because they do so does not make them soft. Yes, he missed time last year when we could have used him, but who came up HUGE with a home run and the game winning hit when the sox had their backs against the wall against TB? And who hit the grandslam to propel them to the '07 series? And who carried the team in the spring when nobody else was really hitting? Who but the guy you are all complaining about. It's march 3rd and a guy with a history of back pain is getting a routine injection as a precautionary measure. I know you may hate your lives and be jealous that he makes more money than you even when he is hurt (and more than I do too, probably all of us combined) but thats besides the point. have a little class and perspective and dont get your panties in a bunch.

Yup! Here we go again! With the exception of Theo, this is exactly what we all knew would happen when this guy was signed. Drew is a part time player getting full time marque pay!

This guy is as fragile as a wet tissue...

He DID hit that awesome grand slam a couple years ago... so that counts for something. Right? Right? I keep telling myself this...

Too bad this back problem can't be tied to his past shoulder woes. Drew's contract stipulates that the sox can void the last 2 years of his contract only if he becomes dissabled in regards to a pre-existing shoulder condition that was detected during his physical. He had damage that was surgically repaired while a Dodger. No other injuries, unrelated to the shoulder condition can affect his contract length.

You think Drew and / or the Sox would have elected to have hmm... whats the word I'm looking for.....SURGERY ?
in the offseason? Perhaps? Cheeezzz.

Oh coco how we miss you already

When will he begin a daily yoga program? In my personal and professional experience this is the only way to improve a back with disc problems.

I've had 2 or three of these injectiosn since having my herniated disc repaired 5 years ago. it is a nothing shot of a steroid. Takes about 15 minutes total and results are almost 100% better in less than 24 hours. before I had my first one, was out of work almost 3 weeks with excrutiating pain. after the problem was finally identified, went to NE Baptist in the morning and was back to work the next day. I am surprised they could not find someplace to do it in FL, maybe he just wants to stick with his regular doctor so taht there is a consistent history of treatment at one place..

"What a girl. suck it up"

You're a pig Rick from Walpole. I know a ton of girls who are tougher and more physically reliable than JD Drew. Grow up would you?

The 2009 Boston Red Sox is the most broken-down, over-the-hill, aging & well-past-their-prime team in at least 10 years. What the heck are Epstein, Henry & Luccino doing? Just because they did not go up in ticket prices for 2009, doesn't mean they do nothing to improve the team.

If Drew, Ortiz, Lowell, Becket, Smoltz & the weak pitching staff each have an "okay" year, they finish 3rd of 4th. Who is going to knock in the runs needed to win ball games? On paper this team looks pathetic! If MLB had a senior division, they might look good. Wow! There will be lots of tickets for Sox games in August & September since they will be way out of the pennant race by then.
Tell the biased Boston baseball writers "Hope is not a strategy."

So...his back is hurting and the best course of action is to put him on a 3 hour flight? What, don't they have any doctors in Florida who know how to give an injection?

These shots are merely a mask, and his back problem most likely will magnify. Swinging the bat in the violent nature that it is will only exasperate the injury, if not cause other injury types for the sheer reason he will favor it and overuse something else. In the end this wreaks of a Schilling situation where the handwriting is on the wall and they (management) are trying to buy time instead of addressing the real issue which should be surgery. For Christ sakes he isn't 23 years old he's going on 34! Haven't we learned our lessons from the past? Our back-up plan ( no pun intended) is questionable too with a fragile Baldelli, Kotsay (surgery) and Wilkerson. Please we can't do better than that crapshoot?

So much negativity - I hope his back is ok - hope the shot works!
and for the fans! get over yourself one day you to will find your self
in pain. shame on you! Good luck Drew

just remember that his back is sore from carrying the team in the 2007 playoffs.

if you don't like those championship rings then by all means continue to deride him...

Do they think that we are children. Why do they always lie to us about JD Drew. If you listen to Francona, he is healthy as an OX. Then, he never is. All they are doing is hurting their credibility.

We will all need to wait until his contract year (2011) to come before we see J.D. Drew play and produce for a full season.

Wah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! think some sox fans like things like this to happen to hate on Theo - where is they guy who said Clement, Gagne ? - how about Papi, Lester, DPed,....TAKE ANY GM FROM ANY SPORT AND YOU CAN FIND MISTAKES - LIFE IS NOT PERFECT - DID BELLEQUIT EVER MAKE A BAD SIGNING? (jets fan here and yes a sox fan too)
Even in the yank "Dynasty" you had your Hideki Irabu's and Denny Neagles -not every move is a perfect one - bunch of people here who think their !@#$$ does not stink. - JD is GREAT when healthy - he carried team (with youk) pre all star last yearblah bald

Drew's return every June is the 1st sign of summer every year. His departure in August is the 1st sign of fall.

My back hurts, too.

Don't blame him for accepting a check? Now there's a stand-up guy. I didn't know Drew's agent read the paper. If you accept big money you better play like big money bad back and all. Suck it up. I have a disc problem too, but I suck it up, work out to keep it healthy and keep going to work to support my family. Don't insult us by defending this candy a-- .

I was there when he hit the grand slam vs. the Indians in game 6 of the ALCS. Remember that? Bases loaded, no outs, then Manny and Lowell chunk it, deflating the stadium, when POW, 4-0 Sox. He is a major reason the Red Sox won the 2007 World Series.

Wow...some Big Show fans are here eh?!

Calm down...it's pre-season BBall.

It's March 3rd and you "fans" are upset that he flew home from ST to have treatment for an injury?!?

Classic.

I'd bet dollars to donuts that you wanna-be's bang in sick when you get the sniffles, yet somehow you all become expert General Managers and Doctor's when a professional athlete has an injury.

Simmer down, now.

p.s. You're in for a long year as this roster very well be frequent guests to the DL Hotel. No greenies, big cutbacks in PED's = more soreness and nagging injuries.

I like JD Drew and wish him the best. But even more, I LOVE Dr. Bill Palmer and think that if anyone can help Drew, he can. Three different specialists told me that the severe tendonitis in my right wrist would never go away, even with surgery. Dr. Palmer, on the other hand administered two injections, and presto, I was back to gardening, playing tennis, and shoveling snow (ugh to that last one). Before I met Dr. Palmer, I would have been happy to be able to lift a cup of coffee to my lips, much less have the full, pain free utility of my wrist again. So let's see what he can do for JD, and in the meantime, let's give Drew the benefit of the doubt.

Facet Joint injections eliminate pain temporarily by filling the facet joint with an anesthetic medication that numbs the facet joint, the ligaments, and joint capsule around the facet joint. If the facet joint is injected and your pain goes away for several hours, then it is very likely that the joint is causing your pain. Once you and your doctor know what structure is causing your pain, you can begin to explore options for treating the condition. This injection only masks or provides temporary relief from a more sever problem usually a disc herniation. It is apparent that his condition is such that he can not remain healthy in a sport that requires some powerful and quick, sometimes extreme arm, back and leg movements

Do they not have needles in Florida? Why send a guy with a bad back on two separate flights just to get a simple shot?

He's easily worth, say, $15M per year. But if he starts to have back pains, he needs to be dropped down to a mere $8M per year! Maybe add bonus clauses that each game over 90, he gets an additional 1/2 Mill. The USA can't produce autos, but we can sponsor ball players!!

My back has been bothering ever since I had to shovel snow yesterday. I'd like to know what was in the shot that Drew got and where can you get it. I'd ask Tito, but he doesn't know. I wonder if Drew knows. Is it only available in Boston?

Wow, I am so surprised by how many of us don't know how to read...actually I'm not. Apparently people think a precautionary method means hurt. Are you any of you actually medically trained? As a nursing student I can tell you this much, once a back has been injured it will never go back to where it once was, the fact that JD Drew has done as well as he has speaks to his fitness and health. What he did was prevent any problems from starting, but apparently the uneducated fans here missed that and the fact that he's back in Florida and doing well; I'm sorry but I'm missing the part where he's hurt. As for Manny being avaliable, PUH-LEASE let him stay that way. In case you missed it, Drew has been playing thorugh a REAL injury when was the last time Manny did that, let alone when was the last time he tried not to feign an injury? And lastly, how many of you call out of work when you have a "back problem" real or imagined; better yet, how many of you have been able to do what Drew has done through a back injury?

Can't the Red Sox fix up J.D. with a great Pilates instructor and get him on a program? No excuse for a guy in his prime to be afflicted like this. I can't believe RSN is getting down on the poor guy, who obviously wants to play. Despite all the groaning I know exactly what Theo was thinking when he signed Drew: the guy's a player. We just need to get him healthy. Shots don't do the trick, completely.

For the life of me, I don't understand why Drew doesn't just get the damaged disc cleaned up. After "dealing" with them for years - and not very well - just like Drew has been doing - I had two ruptured lumbar discs cleaned up through microsurgery, and after each was done I was up and walking about the same day, and back to work within a week. Full recovery took just 4 weeks. The last one was done almost a decade ago, and I've never had a "back problem" since.

Just get it done!

We could have had Adam Dunn with 40 homeruns, but instead we get questions. How does anyone say Kotsay was good last year? He can play different positions, but this lineup needs some punch.

yaaaa....Manny's ready and waiting...either that or we can go bring back Jose Tartabull

get past the headline gentlemen...

"Drew is expected to take batting practice Thursday, after tomorrow's day off, and be back in the lineup Friday."

Hoss - isn't there a Yankee blog where you can find love? Given all the fans I've met over the years, I'll bet dollars to donuts that all the comments on any Yankee blog are carefully scrutinized before they are printed. Oh, what I wouldn't give for some of that here!!

I work for a major appliance company repairing houehold appliances.
I move stack washers/dryers, washers full or water, refrigerators, ect.
My back hurts all the time!
I can't even get a back rub from my wife.
I only get $40-$50,000 a year!! Suck it up Nancy Drew $15 mill. Gets some balls and earn your paycheck!!

OK. lets read this headline again. "Drew encouraged by injection". I thought there was a longstanding editorial understanding at the Globe not to include oxymorons in article headlines. This is not the "warm fuzzy" I was hoping for in my daily reading of the Globe's sports section. I know we can't eat his salary. We can't trade him, but do we have to publish this false sense of safety. Let's just accept him for what he is. If we get 135 games we will be lucky. There is nothing encouraging about spinal injections but if I am wrong here, please schedule Ortiz for that root canal, Beckett for a colonoscopy and anyone else looking for MVP numbers as soon as possible a vasectomy.

bridgham@roadrunner.com

Q. Why is it that Boras clients seem to break down after they have the career year in their free agent year and haven't had big years since 2004?
A. Testing?

I have had the same problem in my back - a herniated disc - L7/S5 - and I had the cortizone shot last year. It gets progressively better, even after 6 weeks after the shot. But the thing that also helped, other than just PT and the chiropractor, was acupuncture - once a week for a couple months, then every 2 weeks for a few months after that to get the nerves routing different channels, allowing the main stressed nerve bundle to settle down.
Try acupuncture JD! It works! I avoided surgery, and likely won't ever need it!

i have 2 herniated disks and they will not go away with anything I do, so I kinda feel for the guy he has no control over his bodily injuries