The frustrating season of Casey Blake has come to an end. The Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman, who has been bothered by injuries all season, has decided to undergo neck surgery to fix a pinched nerve that has plagued for two months. Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times has the details:
The neck injury was not only nagging, but potentially threatening to his long-term health. Said Blake to [LA Times reporter Dylan] Hernandez: "The more I play, the more chance I have to really put more pressure on that nerve. If you put enough pressure on it, you bang it enough, you can cause some damage."
Blake has been on the disabled list three different times this season. He opened the season on the DL with a back issue and missed the first five games, then missed 28 games with an infected left elbow in April and May. He missed 21 games in July with a cervical strain. Blake tried to play with the pinched nerve in his neck, which caused problems on popups and while batting.
On the season Blake hit .252/.342/.371 with four home runs in 63 games. The Dodgers hold a $6 million club option on Blake for 2012, for his age-38 season, which will almost certainly be declined. The option contains a $1.25 million buyout clause
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