 08/11/2004 12:46 AM ET
Relievers diagnosed with tears
Guardado and Soriano given grim news
SEATTLE -- The Mariners received a double dose of bad news Tuesday night when injured relievers Eddie Guardado and Rafael Soriano were examined at Safeco Field by team medical director Dr. Larry Pedegana.
Guardado was diagnosed with a torn left rotator cuff and Soriano has a torn ligament in his right elbow.
As a standard practice, both pitchers will receive second opinions before having what is expected to be season-ending surgery later this month.
"A bad year just gets worse," manager Bob Melvin said after the Mariners' 4-3 victory over the Twins. "These are the guys we envisioned being our closer and setup guys. Raffy has had a tough go of it all year and I really don't know what to say about that.
"The good news on Eddie is that it didn't get to the labrum, but it's obviously not something that's good. It is piling on to a tough year."
The left-handed Guardado was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Aug. 1 with a "fatigued" shoulder, the apparent reason his effectiveness had decreased in recent weeks.
He surrendered a walk-off, two-run home run to Jose Guillen in the 11th inning on July 26 in Anaheim, giving the Angels a 9-8 victory.
"It's not the best news in the world," Guardado said. "I've been playing this game for a long time and I guess it finally caught up to me. I thought it was tired and stuff, but I didn't think this, you never expect the worst. When they told me, it was very shocking."
Guardado, who signed a three-year contract with the Mariners on Dec. 16, 2003, appeared in 41 games, posting a 2-2 record with 18 saves and a 2.78 ERA.
He has been one of the Major League's best closers for the past several seasons. The converted starter saved 41 games for the Central Division champion Twins last season, had 45 saves in 2002, and 12 in '01 when he became the team's primary closer.
Guardado said he would get a second opinion, from Dr. Lewis Yocum, on Monday and take it from there.
"If he says I need (surgery), then I'm going to stay there and do it," Guardado said.
"It's a sad day for me," he added. "I think I did enough crying all day today. I love this game and I love competing, we all do. Nobody wants to go under the knife or have this type of injury, but I'll definitely be back. They say the surgery takes six to eight (actually eight to 12) months, but I'm going to bust my behind and try to come back sooner.
"Will somebody please take this season and crumble it up and shove it under a door," he added.
Guardado surrendered runs in just seven of his 41 appearances, but four of those came in his last eight outings.
The recovery period for rotator cuff surgery generally is eight to 12 months, which means he could miss much of next season as well.
Soriano, meanwhile, faces Tommy John surgery, which could keep him out of action for at least one year.
The hard-throwing right-hander -- who was practically untouchable in 2003, holding opponents to a .153 batting average while posting a 3-0 record and 1.53 ERA -- has been sidelined for most of this season because of injuries.
A strained oblique muscle cost him most of Spring Training, but he started the season in the Mariners' bullpen, appearing in six games before being sent to the minor leagues after allowing five earned runs in his first 3 1/3 innings.
He also will be examined by Dr. Yocum before proceeding with a recovery plan. Jim Street is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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