J.J. Hardy on his shoulder injury

As Colby Rasmus was rounding the bases last night following his home run for the Astros in the American League wild card game, did anyone reflect back on his negotiations with the Orioles over the winter?

Rasmus came very close to signing with the Orioles, who thought they had an agreement on a one-year deal that guaranteed around $7 million. Then, agent Casey Close decided to keep looking and landed a deal with the Astros for $8 million.

Close threw a better curve than anyone on the Orioles staff.

Manager Buck Showalter visited with Rasmus in early January at the outfielder's home and was comfortable with a one-year deal. He had to be sold on Rasmus, who carried a reputation in dire need of repairing. Also, Rasmus mostly has played center field - up to 774 games now, compared to 81 in left and 49 in right - and the Orioles were searching for a corner outfielder.

Rasmus hit a career-high 25 home runs in 137 regular season games, though his .238/.314/.475 slash line left a lot to be desired. He played 72 games in left field and 43 each in center and right.

The Orioles didn't have anyone start more than 37 games in left field (Travis Snider) and 38 in right (Gerardo Parra). Delmon Young started 37 in right before being released on July 9.

Rasmus is a pending free agent and I wouldn't expect the Orioles to travel down that road again, but I've been wrong in the past. I just try to pretend that it never happened.

Shortstop J.J. Hardy would like for the 2015 season to fade from memory after he batted .219/.253/.311 with only eight home runs and 37 RBIs in 114 games. Most of the blame is delicately placed on his left shoulder, which he injured late in spring training, forcing him on the disabled list before opening day.

Hardy's defense remained on an elite level, but he had to compensate for the injury while at the plate.

"I think a lot of it is mental," Hardy said last week. "I don't want to have surgery, I don't want my shoulder to dislocate again. I know it's weak, it's not as strong as I'd like it to be, so I'm protecting it. And when I say protecting it, it's just like I'm not letting go with my top hand if I get fooled by a pitch, where before I can let it go. I hit the ball like I'm holding on with my top hand all the time and that's just protecting the shoulder. It's hard to hit and not get extended.

"It's something that I know what I need to do and that's what I'm going to do this offseason. I'm getting started a lot earlier than I normally do. So pretty excited about kind of moving on and getting it strong and coming back next year stronger and healthy."

Hardy underwent labrum surgery in 2004 and was limited to 26 games at Triple-A Indianapolis, his final season in the minors. He's still got a tear, though the Orioles described it as a sprain in spring training after he was injured while diving for a ball up the middle.

"I had surgery on this shoulder in '04 and it's been good," he said. "And then in spring training, I kind of reinjured it, so it's kind of the same injury I've had surgery on before, but not nearly as bad. Kind of, I guess, first stages of what it was before I had surgery. So from having surgery and going through what I know I need to do to keep it strong ... I mean, when I was 19 years old or whatever it was, I didn't know. I had a torn labrum and it hurt and I played through it, and eventually I took a swing and dislocated my shoulder completely and ended up having a pretty major surgery on it. Now I know what I need to do to keep it strong and that's what I'm going to do.

"I do not want surgery. It was miserable. I'm sure you've seen or maybe even done stories on how miserable I was in '04 and I don't really want to go through that again. My rookie year in '05, the first half was really the first baseball I played since the surgery the year before. And even until the second half I was a .170 hitter and couldn't do anything. More than just adjusting to the big leagues, it was my shoulder and I don't want to go through that again."

Hardy is confused as to why some fans think he hid the injury from the Orioles, who set up the MRI and obviously read the results.

"Everybody knew," he said. "It was kind of a big deal when it came out a couple days ago. I don't know why. It's not like I'm going out there and playing this terrible. I think everyone understood. I was in the lineup every day, I go out there and do what I can. Obviously, I'm not hitting and I know that, so I'm going to do what I can to help the team. Play defense and whatever. I don't know. It's been a frustrating year."

Hardy reluctantly tried to offer an explanation for why the injury this spring was classified as a sprain, which technically is a tear. Either way, he was going to play with it.

"I don't know why they did that the way they did it and I don't really want to speculate," he said. "I don't think you want other pitchers to know there's something wrong. You look at a lot of people who have had shoulder problems and it's really tough to hit when your front shoulder is not good, not strong."

Hardy has been bothered at times by discomfort in his back and wrist, to name a few of the ailments, and he takes the necessary steps to remain in the lineup. He could more readily accept his decline in production in 2012, when he batted .238/.282/.389 in 158 games, because the Orioles posted their first winning record in 15 years. They finished .500 this season and were fortunate to secure third place.

"I felt like I struggled a lot in 2012, but we were winning and we won the wild card (game), so it wasn't nearly as bad as this," Hardy said. "When you're struggling and you're not winning and then you don't make the postseason, and I'm someone to blame probably, then yeah, it sucks."