Posted on: Thursday, August 5, 2004
Giants' Williams has elbow surgery
By Andrew Baggarly
Special to The Advertiser
SAN FRANCISCO — Jerome Williams said he was frightened when he felt a searing pain in his pitching elbow. It turned out he had every right to be.
Williams had six bone fragments removed from his elbow in a one-hour procedure yesterday in San Francisco. The arthroscopic surgery was performed by team orthopedist Dr. Ken Akizuki.
Conte said the surgery was successful and Williams has a bright outlook.
"The ligament is fine. Long term, Jerome is fine," Conte said. "This is fairly common with pitchers. Usually, it will be six weeks before the pitcher is competitive. It could be sooner depending on the speed of the rehab."
A six-week timetable would put Williams back in the Giants rotation on Sept. 15, though any delay in his rehab likely would cause him to miss the remainder of the season.
Williams was recovering from surgery and unavailable to speak with reporters.
Williams, 22, was 9-7 with a 4.41 ERA in 21 starts this season. He ranked second on the Giants (behind Jason Schmidt) in wins and innings before elbow pain forced him to the disabled list.
Williams felt a sharp pain while throwing a slider in the fourth inning of his start Friday against St. Louis.
"Oftentimes these (bone particles) will sit in one spot and not cause problems," Conte said. "That's what happened with Jerome until he threw that one pitch. The (particles) moved into his joint, got caught between the two bones and it hurt a lot."
Major league sources confirmed that shortly before the injury, Williams' name came up in trade discussions with the Detroit Tigers. The Giants were interested in acquiring reliever Ugueth Urbina, but refused to part with Williams.
The Giants medical staff advised Williams to have surgery after a CT scan showed the loose particles. Conte said the elbow problem was not related to the biceps tendinitis in Williams' shoulder that forced him to miss a start on June 29.
The Giants are short on starting pitching after Williams' injury and the shift of Dustin Hermanson from the rotation to the closer role.
But the team has numerous off-days on the calendar in September and could mostly get by with a four-man staff. The Giants are currently in both the National League West race (5ý games behind the Dodgers) and the NL wild card picture.
Andrew Baggarly is a reporter for the Oakland Tribune.
The right-handed pitcher from Hawai'i underwent surgery to remove loose bodies from his right elbow and is expected to be sidelined for six weeks, San Francisco Giants trainer Stan Conte said.
