Derrek Lee will miss the rest of the season to be with his family

Derrek Lee had missed the last two games before he said on Sunday he was taking a leave of absence to be with his wife and his daughter.

"My daughter's lost some vision in one eye and we'll find out more at a later time; we have to go through some more tests," Lee said in a statement. "Right now we just ask for everyone's prayers. We need a miracle, we need your prayers. We need everyone to believe she's going to be OK."

Jada is the only child for Derrek and his wife, Christina. Lee fought back tears as he publicly addressed the media and then he spoke to the team in a private meeting in the Cubs' clubhouse.

"Some of us have known for a few days," Cubs manager Dusty Baker said. "But you can't say anything if he didn't want to say anything. Quite frankly, I'm surprised he said anything."

Lee who turned 31 this month and won the 2005 NL batting title, has only played in 49 games this season, even though he hasn't played much he has been able to hit .287 with 8 homeruns and 30 RBI. You may remember, Lee broke his left wrist on April 19 and he missed 58 games before returning to the team in late June. He then went on the DL again later the next month due to inflammation in the same wrist and it caused him to miss another mont.

"You break your wrist and you think that's a big deal," Lee said. "Then something like this happens and it kind of slaps you in the face of what really matters."

My prayers are with you and your family and I hope your daughter has a speedy recovery.