Bill Mueller retires, then takes office job...

Originally Posted by prosportsdaily.com

Dodgers infielder Bill Mueller hoped to be ready to play by the start of the 2007 season, but his right knee made it impossible.

Mueller announced his retirement as a player Friday and took a job as a special assistant to General Manager Ned Colletti.

"I feel like I'm at peace with the playing part, but there will be things that come up where I would want to be back out there playing and still preparing," Mueller said. "It's something that I had thought of over the summer, and it's come to reality and I'm happy with the next chapter."

Mueller signed a two-year contract before the 2006 season, but problems with the knee limited him to 32 games. The remainder of the guaranteed contract ($4.5 million) will be paid to him this season, but he also has a one-year deal that will keep him in the front office through 2008. That deal is for less money.

"He's a very smart, smart guy," Colletti said. "If he attacks this position the way he did his playing career he's going to be a special person in the ranks."

Mueller tried playing through what was initially described as an arthritic condition in the knee, but the pain persisted so much that he no longer was able to play. He had surgery in May, and doctors alerted him that he had lost the cartilage in the knee. By July it became less likely he would return to the field.

"It's kind of, in one way, really disappointing because I love what he brings to the table as a player," Colletti said. "He's somebody who I watched play for a long time. When he got hurt last year, it was probably as big an injury as we had in what he meant to the club."

Mueller won the AL batting title with a .326 average while playing for Boston in 2003. A year later, he helped the Red Sox win their first World Series in 86 years.