Bay recovers from knee surgery

By Rob Biertempfel
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, January 12, 2007


Jason Bay could've had his knee surgery in early November, but a baby got in the way.

The Pirates' all-star left fielder was bothered last season by grinding and soreness in his left knee. When it did not improve after a month's rest at the start of the offseason, he opted to have orthoscopic surgery.

"But my wife was due in the middle of November, so I couldn't leave," Bay said. "The baby was, for good reasons, holding things up."

Kristen Bay gave birth to a daughter, Addison, on Nov. 19. Nine days later, Jason Bay flew from his home in Arizona to Pittsburgh to undergo surgery.

"They cleaned it out," Bay said. "It makes a big difference; I can tell that already."

On Thursday, Bay was examined by team doctors at PNC Park. He has not swung a bat nor done any full-speed running for more than a month, but he expects to be ready for spring training.

"I fully anticipate being ready for playing games," he said. "If anything, I might not be out there sprinting on the first day or two. Ultimately, the main goal is to be ready by the first game in April. The way things are going right now, hopefully, I'll be ready way before that."

Position players are not required to report to spring training until Feb. 27. So there's still plenty of time for Bay to rest ... and change diapers.

"Everything's been quiet -- other than the baby," Bay said, smiling. "It's been nice to be around for that."

Note: Tomo Ohka's agent said the free-agent pitcher has received four contract offers, but he would not say if one of them is from the Pirates. Jim Masteralexis said two of the offers are two-year deals and the other two are one-year deals. "You can tell from how hoarse my voice is, I've been doing a lot (of negotiating) the past few days," Masteralexis said.


Rob Biertempfel can be reached at rbiertempfel@tribweb.com or (412) 320-7811.