SAN FRANCISCO — Rest should heal Carlos Gonzalez’s right wrist but might not calm his nerves.
An exam by the San Francisco 49ers team doctor Monday confirmed a deep bone bruise and tendon inflammation.
Gonzalez was relieved there was no break or tear, but he remains concerned. He won’t swing a bat until Nov. 1 as a precaution.
“That’s the problem. It’s never healed the way it’s supposed to because I was trying to get back in July when we had a chance to do something special,” said Gonzalez, who hit .295 and had 26 home runs and 92 RBIs this season. “We will see where it is in three weeks. And if it’s not getting better, we will look at something else.”
Gonzalez doesn’t believe surgery will be necessary. He remains a bit unnerved, however, that his wrist hasn’t felt right since he ran into the center-field wall at Coors Field on July 3. But he can look to last winter for optimism. He didn’t perform baseball activity for six weeks after the final game because of tendinitis in the same wrist.
“And when I picked up a bat for the first time, there was no problem. And it felt fine in spring training,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez has no plans to play winter ball in Venezuela, citing his need to heal his body. As part of his seven-year, $80 million contract extension, the Rockies must grant permission for him to participate. He will live in Venezuela, however, and work out with the winter ball team near his home.
Sidelined since Sept. 15, Gonzalez has missed time because of three separate wrist injuries and a stiff back this season.
Gonzalez won’t repeat his postseason award haul in October, when he won two Players Choice Awards, a Silver Slugger and Gold Glove. He still has a good shot to win his second consecutive Gold Glove. This season, coaches and managers were instructed to select outfielders by position, and Gonzalez was listed as left fielder on the ballot because that’s where he had accrued the most innings at the time of the voting.
“I really hope to get another one,” Gonzalez said. “I am worried I am going to get robbed.”
Footnotes.
In the final leg of the hazing, the Rockies’ rookies, outfitted in “Star Wars” costumes, were dropped off roughly a mile from the team hotel Sunday night. Dressed as Chewbacca, Edgmer Escalona spent the walk scaring onlookers. . . . Said Wilin Rosario of the experience, “I am definitely going to watch the movie now.”
