Eric Chavez discusses his three surgeries:

In November, Chavez had a procedure to remove damaged tissue from his left shoulder. Before that, he had right shoulder surgery performed by Dr. Lewis Yocum on Sept. 5 to repair a torn labrum, fix a damaged biceps tendon and remove a loose body from the joint. Then on Oct. 9, Chavez had surgery on his back.

In hindsight, he wishes he would have had the operation on his right shoulder after the 2006 season instead, saying it was a "foregone conclusion." The left shoulder, which began bothering him again during rehab on the right side, surprised him most. There was a fairly significant tear in that side also.

"It was kind of a relief because I knew the problems I was having with my arms, now I knew there was a relation there," he said. "The two surgeries, the right shoulder and the back, I was fine with. When I heard about the third, I was kind of waving the white flag a little bit."

That's quite a lot of healing to go through in one winter. The Athletics shouldn't expect much from Eric any more, but it would be a pleasant surprise if he does return somewhat to form and a boost for the A's offense.