White Sox’ Morel hoping to avoid back surgery
Brent Morel was the picture of optimism before heading for a rehab assignment with Class AAA Charlotte at the end of May.
The bulging disc in his back was checked out, and Morel was under the impression an exercise program could keep him on the field and away from the surgeon’s table.
That changed Thursday, when Morel had to pull himself out of a minor-league game.
“It progressively got worse, kind of every day there,” Morel said Sunday. “It felt good for a couple of days and then just got back to where it was and not being able to play.”
The White Sox’ third baseman is back in Chicago, and he will meet with a spine specialist Monday.
“Then I go from there,” Morel said. “I think I’m going to see a doctor out in (Los Angeles), but it’s kind of all up in the air. I just know I have an appointment tomorrow and kind of go from there.”
Morel is obviously hoping to avoid surgery, but the fear is he is headed down the same path as former Sox third baseman Joe Crede. Before being forced into retirement after the 2009 season, Crede had three operations on his back.
“I definitely don’t want to have surgery,” Morel said. “I’m going to do everything I can to not do that, and hopefully with some time off I won’t have to.”
Seeing stars:The White Sox were not faring well when the first all-star ballot results were announced last week.Paul Konerko ranked third among American League first basemen, and A.J. Pierzynski had the fifth most votes for catchers.With the All-Star Game a month away, Konerko and Pierzynski already have shown they belong on the American League team.Konerko leads the league with a .365 batting average, and Pierzynski led AL catchers with 38 RBI and was second in batting average (.288) and home runs (10) heading into Sunday.Aside from Konerko and Pierzynski, no White Sox players made an impact on the early all-star ballot.But with the Sox leading the AL Central, Konerko and Pierzynski are likely to be added to the all-star team by manager Ron Washington or through player voting.The Sox have several other all-star candidates: starting pitcher Chris Sale, designated hitter Adam Dunn, starter Jake Peavy, center fielder Alejandro De Aza and right fielder Alex Rios.#147;There are guys who have had good years that deserve it,#148; manager Robin Ventura said. #147;You like having that. It means your season is going fairly well. If you end up with one guy on (the all-star team), you#146;re probably not doing too good. It#146;s a fun game. Guys enjoy it.#148;Viciedo returns:After coming out of Friday night#146;s game against the Astros with tightness in both hamstrings and sitting out Saturday, Dayan Viciedo was back in left field for the Sox on Sunday.The White Sox play six interleague road games this week, three at St. Louis and three at Los Angeles.With no designated hitter available, manager Robin Ventura said Adam Dunn is going to start five games in left field.Viciedo is expected to start in left field Friday, when ace Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw is scheduled to start.