Aubrey Huff Could Rejoin Giants, Continue Treatment For Anxiety Disorder

Giants first baseman Aubrey Huff has been placed on the 15-day disabled list for an anxiety disorder, and has returned to his home in Tampa.

CSN Bay Area’s Andrew Baggarly reports that Huff could rejoin the team and continue treatment:

Giants manager Bruce Bochy still hasn’t addressed the team to explain Aubrey Huff’s situation, but he plans to call the group together soon.

The veteran was placed on the 15-day disabled list because of what Bochy described as “an episode of anxiety” and already has received treatment in Florida. He’ll rejoin the team Friday or Saturday in San Francisco, where he’ll continue in some sort of undisclosed treatment program, Bochy said.

Baggarly goes on to say that Huff’s wife has filed for divorce; he first heard about this during spring training and, after the reports of Huff leaving the team surfaced, Baggarly confirmed this through publicly-available court documents. He goes on to say:

I do not revel in discovering these documents, nor do I wish to inflict any more pain on Huff as he goes through what by all accounts is a very difficult time. Anxiety is a complex disorder that can be caused by many things, and I was careful in my story not make a direct link between the divorce proceedings and any mental difficulties that Huff is dealing with now. For most people, sure, it would be a contributing factor. But until Huff decides to issue public comments on his situation, it’s not right to make any assumptions.

It’s a tough call. As Baggarly writes, “It took me five minutes on my laptop to find the court records from Hillsborough County, Fla. Anyone could have done it. The court filings are public record.”

At the same time, he says we shouldn’t make any assumptions. So I won’t; I simply pass along what’s already been written.

Henry Schulman: Aubrey Huff And Anxiety

Just when it looked like the Aubrey Huff situation in San Francisco was getting to be its most hilarious, it was all turned on its head. Wednesday, Huff was placed on the disabled list with anxiety. There's no physical problem with his body - there's something going on in his head. In some ways, that's better. In some ways, that's much much worse.

At The Splash, Henry Schulman takes a minute to editorialize:

I say this, then, from experience. Everybody will have an opinion about what set this off, but you can't know, and it's possible Huff doesn't know. Sometimes a panic attack just happens.

Remember, Huff has gone through a lot in his life, including his father being murdered when Aubrey was 7. Huff's career has stalled, and he has made many comments (usually in jest) about the end of his baseball days. Saturday's episode at second base had to be embarrassing. There also must be personal issues that remain undisclosed, too. It's foolish to try to play psychoanalyst in a blog or a living room and try to pick a cause.

Bochy was asked if Huff's anxiety attack could be related to baseball or personal issues. He said, "I don't know if he knows. It could be both."

That's a critical thing to understand about anxiety - while it can have a singular cause, more often it's mysterious, coming from a place or places unknown and manifesting in more than one way. It can be a very difficult thing to manage, let alone treat, so Huff's timetable is unclear. Huff's timetable also isn't important. What's important is that Huff finds his way back to something like normalcy, whether that takes a little while or a longer while.

Aubrey Huff Leaves Giants, Placed On DL For Anxiety Disorder

After Aubrey Huff failed to cover second base in a crucial spot on Saturday, the San Francisco Giants lost the game. Back up: Aubrey Huff was playing second base for the first time in his life. The (understandable) mental error accompanied an 0-for-4 performance at the plate. After the game, Huff gave the following interview:

After that, he left the team and didn't return, texting manager Bruce Bochy that he had "personal concerns." Following all sorts of speculation, the Giants revealed a little bit of what is going on:

Huff on 15-day DL with anxiety disorder.

— Henry Schulman (@hankschulman) April 25, 2012

Details are, as you'd expect, a little thin at this point. The Giants recalled Joaquin Arias to take Huff's spot on the roster, and they'll likely go with some combination of Brett Pill and Brandon Belt at first base, though there's also the possibility of Buster Posey playing games at first with Hector Sanchez catching, which is the permutation they're using on Wednesday.

This is the kind of thing that transcends wins and losses, so the Giants will likely handle this situation with extra care.

Aubrey Huff Replaced On Giants' Roster