D'oh-tel: No Tommy John needed

Octavio Dotel got a second opinion on his aching elbow on Wednesday and it was about the same thing he'd been told before: The A's closer is going to have to get used to pitching with pain.

Like fellow arm specialist Dr. Lewis Yocum before him, Dr. James Andrews did not recommend surgery for a painful case of tendon calcification in Dotel's right elbow. Dotel expressed concern last week that the problem was more serious, so he decided to visit Andrews in Birmingham, Ala. He'll be back in Oakland today and will sit down to discuss plans for his treatment with the training staff

-Susan Slusser, SF Chronicle 6/2/05

Whew, just dodged one. So he's OK(ish). Now let's get on a rehab program and get off the DL, get some saves and build up some trade value. However, the trade value will not be as high as it once was now that Dotel is an "injury risk." Either way, trade or no trade, I don't envision Dotel in the Green and Gold next season.