Jose Guillen said he almost died

Jose Guillen was largely ignored in fantasy drafts this season because he was coming off a season where he hit .242 with nine home runs and 40 RBIs in 281 at-bats as injuries slowed him. But Guillen is off to a fantastic start with a .361 average, five home runs and nine RBIs and nine runs scored in 36 at-bats.

Of course, he will cool off. But Guillen beleived many people thought he was done, but he said it was health and he told the Kansas City Star that he almost died due to blood clots in both of his legs. After offseason surgery on his lower back and ankle, he experienced complications.

“I had to stay in St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City for 20 days just lying in bed," Guillen told the Kansas City Star. “My legs were so big, so swollen up. They were purple. I couldn’t even walk on them. I couldn’t feel my legs. That was right after my ankle surgery and the surgery on my lower back. I went to the hospital, and I was crying because I couldn’t feel my leg. I was thinking, ‘What’s going on here?’"

Guillen said he had no strength and his weight dropped to 180 pounds. We often don't know these type of things and it makes it more difficult to gauge players sometimes. Gio Gonzalez is another example. He was great in his season debut, but shaky on Wednesday. His girlfriend got into a car accident with her family on Saturday and she was in the hospital with a serious head injury. Just two weeks ago, he lost a close friend in a car accident.

As for Guillen, he will cool off, but he remains available in a lot of leagues. It helps that he is hitting cleanup, even if it is for the Royals and in the last five seasons he has been healthy, he has hit 20 home runs.

Here's the full story on Guillen: www.kansascity.com/2010/04/15/1880658/guillen-says-he-almost-died-in.html