Manager Manny Acta says life without injured center fielder Grady Sizemore won't be easy, but he has no other option. Sizemore was lost for the season after undergoing knee surgery Friday.
Cleveland Indians' Grady Sizemore is out for the rest of the season. (Chuck Crow/The Plain Dealer)Chicago -- It was the worst outcome possible for Grady Sizemore, and it sounded like he expected it.
Dr. Richard Steadman performed microfracture surgery on Sizemore's left knee Friday in Vail, Colo. The arthroscopic procedure took only 90 minutes, but Sizemore will miss the next six to nine months recovering.
Goodbye, 2010 regular season. Hello, spring training 2011 in Goodyear, Ariz., for the face of the franchise. The Indians think Sizemore will be able healthy enough to play some Cactus League games by then.
Steadman pioneered microfracture surgery, but he didn't know if Sizemore would need it until he started the operation. Steadman explained the operation and the options step by step to Sizemore before surgery.
In microfracture surgery, loose or damaged cartilage is removed, and tiny holes are drilled in the joint. The blood from those holes form a scab to replace the missing cartilage.
Sizemore, 27, made a couple of things clear to Steadman before the operations.
No. 1: He wanted to play at least 10 more years at a high level.
No. 2: He only wanted to undergo knee surgery once, if possible.
So it appears Sizemore received the deluxe model of microfracture surgeries. Indians head athletic trainer Lonnie Soloff said Sizemore will return to Cleveland on Thursday.
"We were hoping he wouldn't have to get the microfracture surgery," said manager Manny Acta. "But that's going to be best for him. It will give him the best chance to play longer, probably for the next 10 years, and be as healthy as he can.
"What's good for him is good for us."
In Sizemore's absence, Trevor Crowe will continue to see the majority of playing time in center field. Acta said Michael Brantley will join the team "in the near future" and play center as well. Acta said there was no timetable on Brantley's promotion, but he made it sound as if it would happen after the All-Star break.
"Life without Grady is not easy," said Acta. "We're suffering through that right now. We're going to have to be prepared for it for the rest of the season.
"It's an opportunity for some of those young kids to contribute."
Soloff said Steadman's other option would have been doing an arthroscopic procedure on the knee to evaluate the knee joint's surface. It would have taken Sizemore at least six to eight weeks to recover from that.
"But if he had left the knee alone, there was a chance that cartilage could have sheered off, and Grady would have had another issue," said Soloff. "That's why it was an intra-operative decision."
Soloff said the Indians told Dr. Steadman about how hard Sizemore plays.
"That went into the decision-making process," said Soloff. "Grady said, 'Look, I want to have one knee operation.' "
New arm in town: The Indians purchased the contract of right-hander Frank Herrmann from Class AAA Columbus. Jamey Wright was designated for assignment to make room.
Herrmann, 26, was 3-0 with a 0.31 ERA at Columbus in 19 appearances. Acta said he had no problem with Wright, but with the Indians stuck in last place in the AL Central, it was time to look at some of the organization's younger arms.
"I was really comfortable at the end of last season at Columbus, and I was just able to carry it over to this year," said Herrmann.
Herrmann, who has an economics degree from Harvard, received the call Thursday while he was window shopping at a mall in Columbus. His fianc e, Johanna Rangel, parents, Frank and Mary Ann, and other family and friends were at U.S. Cellular Field on Friday to see if he'd make his big-league debut.
His parents, along with his younger brother, made the drive from New Jersey.
"I'm happy for Frank," said Acta. "He worked hard in our farm system, and he earned it."