As if the Texas Rangers needed another big injury blow this season. At this point, it's almost becoming comical, but Prince Fielder missed Saturday's and Sunday's games with neck soreness that was revealed to be a herniated disk. His consecutive game streak, which was nearing 600 games, came to an end, as did his title at baseball's current iron man.
Fielder received an epidural injection in his neck and the hope was that it would alleviate the soreness and stiffness in his neck that general manager Jon Daniels revealed last week that Fielder had been playing with all season.
Fielder is supposed to return to the Rangers' lineup on Tuesday after missing two games, at least that's the plan. But what if things don't get better? Herniated disk is a scary term, especially for the guy with huge contract you just traded for and has yet to perform up to expectations.
The idea behind that injection is that it could, along with treatment and rehab, help the herniated disk slip back into place naturally. If it doesn't, it will require surgery eventually, though players have played through the injury plenty of times and done so successfully.
If Fielder is going to require surgery, they would be best served to get that out of the way this season when everything else has gone wrong already.
Hopefully, it never comes to that point and we'll see Fielder back in the lineup on Tuesday and continuing to build on his recent hot streak at the plate. Now all that's missing is the power.
