Jermaine Dye returned to the disabled list yesterday. Dye left Oakland's July 6th game against the Angels after the fourth when he collided with Bengie Molina in a play at the plate for the last out of the inning. The ball had beaten Dye to the plate and he was attempting to knock it from Molina's glove by bowling into him with his shoulder. The A's estimate Dye will miss a minimum of three to six weeks, as he suffered a separated shoulder on the play. Season-ending surgery also is a possibility, but Oakland first wants to attempt to allow to the joint to heal by itself.

Of course, this trip is not Dye's first to the DL this season. Dye tore cartilage in his right knee when he slipped on wet dirt during Oakland's April 24th game against Detroit. The A's then placed him on the disabled list, and he underwent surgery to remove loose cartilage from his knee. While he rejoined the team May 30th, he's continued to experience lingering troubles as a result of the injury. Ideally, his shoulder will heal quickly allowing him to come off the DL in early August with the additional rest having cleared up the remainder of his knee problems. Once he's healthy, we should witness a rebound in his production. However, I think the A's should view that scenario as a potentially nice surprise while planning to complete the season without him.