Bad news Brewer fans

Mark Rogers, the big high school pitching prospect the Brewers took in the first round in 2004, and the Brewers got some tough news recently.

Surgery Should Sideline Rogers For '07
Procedure reveals SLAP lesion in throwing shoulder

There's a good chance that Brewers pitching prospect Mark Rogers will miss the 2007 season after having shoulder surgery in early January, though his family hopes for an earlier return.

Rogers, the Brewers' first-round draft pick in 2004, had a SLAP (superior labrum anterior-posterior) lesion repaired in his right shoulder by specialist John E. Conway in Fort Worth, Texas. Rogers, 20, began experiencing shoulder discomfort in the second half of last season and did not show enough improvement during a program of physical therapy and throwing.

"My last trainer's note indicated he would miss all of 2007 and we would hope he'd be ready for instructional league," said Brewers assistant general manager Gord Ash, who oversees the organization's medical program.

In an interview with the Kennebec (Maine) Journal, Rogers' mother, Stephanie, offered a more optimistic outlook for his return to action. Mrs. Rogers did note, however, that the Brewers would be cautious with her son, who received a $2.2 million signing bonus after being picked fifth in the '04 draft out of Mount Ararat High in Orr's Island, Maine.

And now for the typical passage in an article like this...who was drafted after Rogers.

The Brewers selected Rogers two picks before the Reds tabbed Texas prep star Homer Bailey, and 18 spots ahead of where the Yankees took righthander Philip Hughes out of a California high school. Three years later, Bailey and Hughes are battling for the title of best pitching prospect in the minors, while Rogers is batting his way back from serious shoulder surgery.

This is like the passage in Wisconsin newspapers back when Joe Montana was winning Super Bowls for the 49ers. I am paraphrasing or doing the following by memory, but if I find this passage anywhere in a google search later this week I will post it:

Montana led the 49ers on a thrilling last minute drive to defeat the Bengals in Sunday's Super Bowl, capping the drive with a pass to John Taylor. The Packers had their chance to select Montana in the 1979 NFL draft, but instead chose University of California quarterback Rich
Campbell. Campbell did not turn out to be the quarterback the Packers had hoped he would be.

Those were the dark ages of Packerfandom.