The most-watched elbow in St. Louis is doing fine right now, thank you very much, Albert Pujols says.
But as he rehabs after undergoing a mid-October procedure to relieve nerve irritation in his troubled right elbow, Pujols said Monday that there remains a "25 percent chance" that he'll still need Tommy John ligament transfer surgery.
It's what the newly minted NL Most Valuable Player has been hoping to avoid for the past couple of seasons and, despite the outpatient procedure he had last month, there's a part of him that sounds like he's still holding his breath.
"Hopefully I don't have to have the Tommy John surgery," Pujols said. "There's a 25 percent chance I'll still have to have it."
But there is no way to know "until I get on the field and perform and see how it is."
Doctors estimate that Pujols would miss half-a-season if he undergoes the ligament transfer procedure.
So for now, he's rehabilitating the elbow from the procedure he underwent in October. His second MVP award might even be more remarkable than his first, which he won in 2006, because he played all season with a bad elbow.
"The worst part was the last two months," Pujols said. "It was really tingling. I was more uncomfortable with that than with the pain. I was used to the pain.
"But after the game, sometimes I wouldn't be able to feel my pinky (finger)."
Pujols said he hopes his doctor clears him to begin lifting weights soon after Thanksgiving.
Likes: It's on to the Michigan state high school football semifinals for the Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central Falcons, who staged another miraculous last few minutes in Friday's 18-14 win over Manchester. Kudos not only to the kids, who have the heart of a lion, but to Coach Jack Giarmo, who started this season with a very young team (eight sophomore starters) and continues what might be the best coaching job of his career.
Dislikes: Every fall, scorching hot, dry conditions cause these devastating Southern California wildfires, and lives change in the snap of a finger. When you have a second, say a prayer for everyone in Orange County and Los Angeles whose lives have been thrown into chaos these last few days. Heartbreaking picture on the front page of the Los Angeles Times today of a young boy hugging his dog on in the burned-out wreckage of what once was his neighborhood.
Rock 'N' Roll Lyric of the Day
"Grab your ticket and your suitcase
Thunder's rolling down the tracks
You don't know where you're goin'
But you know you won't be back
Darlin' if you're weary
Lay your head upon my chest
We'll take what we can carry
And we'll leave the rest
Big Wheels rolling through fields
Where sunlight streams
Meet me in a land of hope and dreams"
-- Bruce Springsteen, Land of Hope and Dreams
