Injury problems plagued Travis Fryman last season. Tuesday, as a result of complications from an arm injury early last year, he underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder. The original injury appeared to have been caused while the third baseman was swinging a weighted bat last March.

The shoulder should heal from the surgery by the time spring training starts; however the elbow problems he experienced as a result of the same incident may continue to bother him. If he alters his throwing motion to compensate for the elbow, he may have more problems with the shoulder.

Included among Fryman's other 2001 injuries were back and groin troubles, both are problems that tend to recur. During the months when he was not on the disabled list, his performance suffered tremendously both at the plate and on the field. The situation was all the more disappointing given that Fryman had a career year in 2000 and might have improved upon that quality of play if healthy.

Russell Branyan started at third base for Cleveland when Fryman was injured last year. If Travis were to be out again for an extended time during the 2002 season, Branyan would again be first in line to receive the playing time.

Tuesday must have been Arthroscopic Shoulder Surgery Day, because Geoff Jenkins of the Milwaukee Brewers also went under the knife. Jenkins' left shoulder injury resulted from an episode in early May when he collided with a wall trying to avoid teammate Jeffery Hammonds.

He went on the disabled list shortly following the incident and was out for a total of almost three weeks. Jenkins was again feeling some soreness in the shoulder when he went back on the disabled list at the end of July for a torn adductor muscle in his left thumb. A bone bruise on his right hand hampered his play between his two stints on the DL.

Jenkins' recovery should be accelerated because the surgery was not on his throwing arm, which allows him to completely rehab by spring training. It is unlikely that the outfielder will suffer any prolonged troubles as a result of last year's injuries, though he did manifest some brief back problems near the end of the season. The most likely side effect would be a slight loss of power early in the season while he readjusts. In all probability he will have worked through everything before spring training ends.

On a less serious but related note, while attending a game at Miller Park last year I noticed that the scoreboard contained a large advertisement for the official hospital of the Milwaukee Brewers. During my search of the Brewers site for the name of the hospital, I ran across a list of their promotions from last season, a list that includes a St. Michael Hospital Miller Park Snow Globe give away. I have seen similar hospital/team relationships advertised on television for various teams while watching games on DirectTV. Given the widespread use of this marketing strategy, I'm just wondering how many people actually base the location of their medical treatment upon the hospital that their favorite baseball team frequents.

New Contraction-Related Developments

With the help of arbitrator Shyam Das, Major League Baseball and the player's union agreed upon dates for Das to hear arguments relating to the players' grievance claim regarding contraction. Before the owners can go move forward with the contraction of two teams as voted upon November 6th, an arbitrator must rule on the topic of whether or not such actions violated the labor agreement which expired November 7th, an agreement still in effect until the new deal is completed. December 4th is the first date agreed upon for the hearings; they will continue on the 5th, and then if necessary move from Irving, Texas to New York on the 10th for four more days of hearings. Das will rule after he hears all of the arguments.

The grievance is just another of the many roadblocks standing between the owners and contraction. There are numerous crossroads at which the entire process could be brought to a halt for anywhere from a short time to forever. All the while they still need to focus on working out a new labor agreement along with the regular business of running their franchises.

One Last Note

Before I end today's column, I want to provide you with an update on the Texas Ranger's coaching staff. As of my article last week, they still had one coaching opening at the major league level. Wednesday, they hired DeMarlo Hale to fill that opening. He will be the first base and outfield coach for the team, which means that infield instructor Steve Smith will be the third base coach.

Hale, who has been managing in the minor leagues for almost a decade, has a fairly distinguished record. He entered baseball as a 1B/OF for the Red Sox and played 5 years of professional ball, split between the Boston and Oakland organizations. His most recent position was the manager for Texas' AAA team in Okalahoma. Hale fits well with the other members of the coaching staff with regards to his experience level, but beyond that I do not know much about how his hiring might affect the team.