Franklin Gutierrez Sent To Seattle Due To Stomach Problems

You might remember that, on a few occasions last season, we heard talk that Franklin Gutierrez was dealing with something of a stomach bug. It was never discussed as much of an issue, and you wouldn't know Gutierrez was suffering from his 152 games played, but it turns out whatever it is is still flaring up from time to time, and now he's being sent to Seattle for further tests.

Eric Wedge calls this a "proactive measure," and nobody seems to be gravely concerned. Baker reassures us that Gutierrez doesn't have anything serious or potentially life-threatening. But Gutierrez has already undergone a number of tests at the hands of a few doctors, and none of them have been able to tell him what's wrong, and that's understandably both frustrating and worrisome. Ideally, this trip to Seattle will be able to determine once and for all what's going on. At the very least, though, one hopes they'll be able to help him manage his discomfort.

Management and/or recovery would be terrific - not just for Gutierrez's own well-being, but also because it's pretty easy to draw a link between Gutierrez's performance last season and the onset of symptoms. Guti had an .820 OPS on June 4th. From then on, it dropped to .582, and there was also chatter that he didn't seem to be moving around as well in the field. When your GI tract is acting up, it's hard to eat and it's hard to maintain a high level of energy, so I don't think it's a reach to suggest that Gutierrez's health was at least in some way tied to his decline.

So we cross our fingers and hope for the best. A healthy Guti is a happy Guti, and a productive Guti. A less healthy Guti isn't good news for anyone, least of all Guti himself, since stomach problems evoke the least sympathy of all possible medical problems. Everybody's familiar with the symptoms of a stomach problem.