[ThePundit]

The Athletics' Eric Chavez has been dealing with back problems most of his professional career. His latest setback has him baffled.

Chavez was unable to hit or do any type of baseball activities on Thursday as planned. Instead he received further treatment on his quirky back.

"It really hasn't gone as planned," said the six-time Gold Glove winner after missing his eighth straight game and 14 of the A's last 17. "I've had back problems before and recovered from them pretty quickly. This one is a little puzzling."

Chavez has never spent time on the disabled list because of his back, and neither he nor A's manager Bob Geren thinks that's still a possibility.

"I'm not sure what the plan is," Chavez said. "I want to get healthy before I do anything."

Chavez is batting .240, which would be a career low, with 15 home runs and 46 RBIs. He's hitting just .204 with runners in scoring position.

Chavez baffled by current back problems - MLB - Yahoo! Sports

It's too bad. Chavez was really a budding star. But when you hurt your back...it's almost impossible to hit...ask Don Mattingly.

[ThePundit]

Chavez said he was diagnosed with a bulging disk in his back, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Chavez will now rest for two weeks before being re-evaluated. It appears the third baseman will miss significant playing time with the injury.

Considering how astute Billy Bean is, this was a bad investment he made in Chavez. He's getting paid something like 50 million bucks.