Cuddyer Feels Good About Recovery From Stiff Neck
DENVER (AP) - Colorado Rockies outfielder Michael Cuddyer says he doubts his neck will bother him again this season after getting an epidural that relieved pain and stiffness.
He returned to throwing and taking batting practice Saturday.
"Today was the best I've felt," said Cuddyer, who is on the 15-day disabled list with an inflamed cervical disk. "It's definitely gotten better every day."
Cuddyer got an injection Tuesday and said he was pain-free 48 hours later, just as he was two years ago when he had a shot for the same ailment.
"Yeah, that's why I wasn't worried, because I knew 48 hours after the first one, I was fine," he said.
The 34-year-old Cuddyer was among the league leaders with a .319 batting average to go along with seven home runs and 23 RBIs when he went on the DL Sunday.
"It stinks, I hate it," Cuddyer said of having to sit out. "It doesn't matter who we're playing, where we're playing, I don't like sitting and watching."
The Rockies' medical staff hasn't been able to determine why Cuddyer had a recurrence of his neck problem two years after he first had trouble with it. Either way, Cuddyer said he's confident that it's not something that will recur anytime soon.
"It's been two years since I had the problem," he said. "So, I'm assuming that I won't deal with it again this season."
Manager Walt Weiss said it hasn't been determined if Cuddyer will go on a rehab assignment when he's eligible to return May 24.
- By Arnie Stapleton, AP Sports Writer
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