WaitingForNextYear

The Tribe offseason has gotten off to a banner start. First, top managerial John Farrell announced he was taking his name out of consideration for the Tribe job, and now this. Up and coming OF/1B Matt LaPorta underwent not one, but two different surgeries in Vail, Colorado yesterday.

The first was to repair the left hip that nagged him over the last two weeks of the season. The other was to stabilize a loose joint in his big left toe. According to the Indians press release:

LaPorta missed several games in late September with left hip inflammation and injured his toe on the final game of the season on October 4th in Boston running down a fly ball in the outfield. Rehabilitation for Matt is between 4-to-6 months with the goal of making a full recovery in time for the start of the 2010 Championship Season. He will remain in Vail for a week and will spend most of the off-season rehabbing in Goodyear, AZ.

That’s right, you read that correctly. The press release did indeed say “….for the start of the 2010 championship season.” Try not to laugh.

Regardless, LaPorta was one of the few bright spots down the stretch for the Tribe as he hit .273/6 HR/17 RBI in 39 games in his second stint with the big club. He bounced between left field and first base, but is expected to be the every day first baseman in 2010.