Wednesday, May 30, 2001
Bowden says Griffey was misdiagnosed
GM later backtracks, apologizes to team doctor
By Chris Haft
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The confusion in the Reds' organization stemming from Ken Griffey Jr.'s partially torn left hamstring crested Tuesday when general manager Jim Bowden was forced to apologize for saying the center fielder was “misdiagnosed.”
Bowden made the remark on his weekly radio show on WLW-AM (700). He, chief operating officer John Allen and team medical director Dr. Tim Kremchek joined forces for a hasty news conference to quell the sudden controversy.
Said Bowden: “I was just trying to explain the timetable and the fact that had we known the hamstring had been pulled higher up, we would have known (Griffey) would have been out six to eight weeks. I did not mean to say anything derogatory about Dr. Kremchek or his job as a physician, because I believe he's the best physician in the country.”
Allen said the issue, which caused an instant fuss, “totally got blown way out of proportion.”
Said Allen: “I consider the issue behind us. ... This was not intended to hurt Tim Kremchek in any way. This organization has all the confidence in the world in Dr. Kremchek. It's unfortunate this situation arose, but we're going forward, and we consider it behind us.”
Kremchek, who's in his fifth season with the Reds, admitted feeling upset when he heard Bowden's remark. “My initial reac tion was kind of tough,” he said. But he and Bowden shook hands after the news conference.
“When you use the words "misdiagnosis,' medically, it sends off alarms,” Kremchek said. “I know he didn't mean that.”
Brian Goldberg, Griffey's agent, refused to comment on the matter.
Asked about Griffey's progress by WLW host Gary Burbank, Bowden issued his provocative comment:
“... Originally, it was misdiagnosed. They thought the hamstring pull was in the middle. It was thought he might be able to go Opening Day. Then when an MRI was taken later on, it was revealed it was actually up higher.”
Griffey's injury was among the first of many in Cincinnati's season, which has been characterized by a lengthening disabled list and plummeting on-field fortunes. A date for the All-Century Team center fielder's return to the lineup remains uncertain.
In the days following Griffey's March 26 injury, it was believed Griffey hurt a lower portion of his leg than he did last September, when he did not start after Sept.11. At the time, Kremchek left open the possibility Griffey might be able to participate in the April 2 season opener.
Griffey began the season on the active roster but went 0-for-12 as a pinch hitter and didn't go on the disabled list until April 29. He wasn't given a magnetic resonance imaging examination until April 17, when the partial tear was discovered.
Kremchek agreed with Bowden's assessment of Griffey's ailment: “The area of where it was, was found out in the MRI. The extent of the injury, when we did the MRI, was a little bit worse.”
Bowden lavished praise upon Kremchek, ranking him with noted orthopedists Dr. Frank Jobe and Dr. James Andrews as among the best in the country.
“His diagnoses and treatments on players have been almost 100 percent in his entire career with the Reds. You can't beat that anywhere in baseball,” Bowden said.
In a statement the Reds issued in an attempt to silence controversy, Bowden said Kremchek “makes more personal sacrifices and gives more time and energy to this organization than anyone associated with the Reds, and I did not intend in any manner to criticize him or tarnish his reputation. If I have done that, I apologize.”
The upshot of all this, said Allen, is that Kremchek will be the only Reds official allowed to comment publicly about Griffey's medical progress.
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Bowden says Griffey was misdiagnosed
