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Notes: Vina Mulls His Options
Which Tack Should He Take After Tearing Tendon?
By Jason Beck / MLB.com
08/10/2004
OAKLAND -- Fernando Vina's 2004 season is officially over. Now, he has to wonder about his career.
Vina's ailing hamstring is making progress, but what was thought to be patella tendinitis in his left knee is actually a tear through two-thirds of the patella tendon. Now, Vina must choose between surgery that would cost him another 8-to-9 months with no guarantee of success, or trying to rehab it without surgery.
"It's a tough situation to be in," said an understated Vina, who drove in from Nevada to join the team Tuesday for the first time since undergoing an ultrasound test in Detroit in June.
"I don't know which way to go."
He wants to think about a comeback in terms of "when" and not "if" it will happen. But at 35, with a history of injuries already, he knows what's at stake.
The tear was discovered during an MRI exam by Dr. Lewis Yocum three weeks ago after the knee wasn't getting any better in rehab.
"He (Dr. Yocum) told me with my age, it's a career-threatening situation either way," Vina said.
Vina called it "crushing." For more than a year, he has been focused on keeping his right hamstring healthy following surgery to repair a tear there last summer. All the while, he was compensating for the right hamstring by putting more pressure on his left side and more stress on his knee.
If the problem was just the hamstring, ironically, he believes he would've been back this year. Just when he's finally turned the corner on his hamstring injury, the patella tendon tears. Had he damaged the tendon any further, it likely would've ruptured.
"You start beating yourself up," Vina said, "because I had a tough surgery last year and it's not responded the way I wanted. Then, you start getting up in age and then two-thirds of your tendon [is torn] -- that's not good.
"Obviously, my bottom line is trying to get healthy. This really beats you up mentally because you don't really know what's ahead. It's not really a positive situation, but you try to stay as positive as you can."
At this point, Vina and his agent Sam Levinson are talking with other doctors and athletes who have had similar injuries to try to decide the smartest course of action, which he hopes to have within the next couple weeks. He's still rehabbing three hours a day.
If he could be guaranteed to return healthy, Vina said, he would've opted for the surgery when the problem was first found. It is the fear of the unknown that troubles the second baseman.
"You're between a rock and a hard place," Vina said.
Meanwhile, he has to watch the team he wanted to help so badly move on without him. Omar Infante has effectively taken over at second base without missing a turn on the double play. Vina doesn't want to come back in a limited role because of his health, and has never been a bench player. But far from jealous, Vina feels pride for his brief understudy.
"I'm proud of the way he's played," he said. "I'll tell you what, I'm his biggest supporter."
It might well be the end of his Tigers' tenure either way, making his most famous accomplishment the fact that he was the first of the free agents to sign with the club. But he doesn't want his career to end -- not like this, even if it means going to Spring Training with little more than hope. For now, retirement is the one option he won't choose.
"You hate to have it end like this," he said. "I've overcome everything before. I don't see why I couldn't here. But you just get to a point where you get cornered in. All the years of grinding and playing hard and diving --who knows?"
Official Web Site of the Detroit Tigers
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