Cohn: Why hitting two homers doesn't excite Chavez

<p>PHOENIX</p><p>Eric Chavez hit two home runs on Wednesday in the cool, thin, desert air. The first home run was a shot and it reminded everyone Chavez used to be a hitter. He had a quick bat and power and a handsome swing and one assumes — one hopes — he has them still.</p><p>So it was surprising afterward — after he had pumped weights and iced his back and broke into an athletic sweat — well, it was surprising how utterly unmoved he was by his accomplishments on this very special day.</p><p>Remember, he played eight games last season — eight games. That’s not playing. That’s clearing his throat. In the A’s media guide, under 2009 highlights, the A’s list his season-ending surgery for the third season in a row. That one was back surgery, his fifth surgery since Sept. 2007, bringing his grand total for surgeries to five — three shoulder, two back. His final shoulder surgery had preceded spring training 2009. I could go on, but you get the point. It is revealing when multiple surgeries dominate the highlights column.</p><p>A few words in praise of Chavez before I let him speak. Fans should commend him for submitting to the surgeries. He has a guaranteed contract (this is his final year) and he could have said the heck with it and retired a highly rich man. But he’s undergone risky surgeries just so he could play, even though he hasn’t played a lot. This doesn’t make him a saint. It makes him a dedicated ballplayer and it makes him a guy who tries to earn his dough.</p><p>But he is a day-to-dayer. He came to spring training last year and felt good — not as good as now — and things fell apart. He knows the feeling of anticipation destroyed by reality. That’s why he keeps his tone neutral.</p><p>“It went downhill for me fast last year with the shoulder,” he said. “I’m not saying I’ve been shoulder pain-free because I haven’t. I’ve been trying to improve or maintain. Right now my focus is just daily feeling good, knowing when I come to the park what I can do and can’t do.”</p><p>It’s interesting what he can do and can’t do. He can’t play catch. Consider that. He has been a great third baseman but the idea of standing at third and fielding a routine grounder hit by a coach and then — here’s the rub — throwing the ball to first base, even throwing it easily, represents a form of self-destruction or at its extreme a kind of masochism. His injured right shoulder is a potential enemy — as is the left. So he doesn’t throw. He rarely plays catch like you might play with your kid in the driveway. Risky in the extreme.</p><p>He will concentrate on playing first base and hitting, and somewhere down the line — who knows how far — he will move to third some of the time and then he will throw. He is a whole ballplayer who still plays half-ball.</p><p>Another thing he can’t do. Let’s be more precise. It’s something he’s afraid to do. That would be taking a coast-to-coast flight. It may not scare you to fly from Oakland to New York but you haven’t had the two back operations. He’s afraid of his back seizing up on a flight. He can’t sit more than 45 minutes. Mostly, he stands in the aisle or walks around. He’s considered lying down but he prefers standing, which makes him a coast-to-coast stander.</p><p>And then there’s the issue of waking up. Waking up? Yes, waking up and not knowing who he is and if the shoulders and back want to cooperate with Project Chavez.</p><p>“I already know how I’m going to feel when I wake up,” he said. “The first 45 minutes are the most critical of my day. I feel like something could go wrong. I’ve got to be careful. I’m walking on egg shells. That’s why you hear caution (in his voice) because as good as I feel when I get going, I know how I feel when I’m sitting around the house and get up in the morning. There’s a little bit of fear in that, but I’m going to bet on myself.”</p><p>All of that would explain his flat tone, his neutral tone, his tone of wariness.</p><p>So, what did the two home runs tell him?</p><p>“Just that it’s in there,” he said. “But like I told you before, the ability is never what’s been in question. It’s just feeling good. The pain in the shoulder the last two days, it’s unbelievable, it’s been kind of pain-free. But I also know no matter how good I feel tomorrow may be a different story. That’s why I’m cautious. I’m just thankful to be here today in a uniform. I’m never going to be completely healed of anything.”</p><p>For more on the world of sports in general and the Bay Area in particular, go to the Cohn Zohn at blog.pressdemocrat.com/cohn. You can reach Staff Columnist Lowell Cohn at lowell.cohn@pressdemocrat.com.</p>