The Rangers work through the pleasant dilemma of Blalock, Teixeira and not enough space to play them both. The Cardinals have Albert Pujols learning underhand throwing drills. And the White Sox hope to limit the crazy people running on the field to Morganna and Ozzie Guillen on Sox Alumni Day.
Thanks to everyone who emailed their congratulations on the one-year anniversary. As I told many of you, what makes this fun for me is meeting readers–both in and outside of baseball–and getting to know them. There are great people in baseball: People who love the game like Peter Gammons and Rob Neyer (who has a kicking new Modesty Panel website); people like Alex Belth, Lee Sinins, and Jamey Newberg; people like the guys at BP that I’ve read for years, not to mention new friends like Nate Silver and Ryan Wilkins. People like…well, I can’t name the various players, trainers, and doctors I’ve gotten to know, but you know who you are and I know you’re reading. So thanks to you…each one of you.
I said yesterday that people were reading this column, but I said nothing about everyone being able to learn the lessons. Jack McDowell certainly doesn’t get it, and we’ve known for a while that Jeff Torborg and Brad Arnsberg don’t get it either. I’ll say it again: There are certain factors that make a pitcher more likely to get injured, and when a pitcher exhibits signs of injury or overuse, it is the responsibility of the manager and pitching coach to use that pitcher in a manner which will keep him healthy while retaining the maximum amount of value.
That said, it seems quite apparent that both Torborg and Arnsberg knew that one of their players was injured, but rode him hard nonetheless. This is absolutely inexcusable, and both men are–flat out–to blame for the loss of A.J. Burnett. Scalies fans, your manager and pitching coach just cost you at least two wins in 2003 (per his PECOTA projection) and a staff ace for the better portion of two years. For a team with serious financial issues this is simply untenable, and if anyone in that front office has the remotest of clues, that person needs to fire both men. Do it now, before Josh Beckett or Brad Penny gets badly hurt.
Burnett looks like he’s headed for Tommy John surgery, though the final determination won’t be made until Jim Andrews has his elbow open. Count A.J. out for the year.
“Derek,” people sometimes ask me, “you drink a lot of beer. And I by that I mean a frightening amount of beer. What should I, the casual beer drinker, enjoy while I sit at home and watch my Rangers get their ass handed to them game after game?”
So at great personal expense which, my accountant tells me, I will unlikely be able to deduct as a cost of business, I took the time to drink a lot during baseball games so that I could offer this report to you in the hopes that it enhances your enjoyment of this season.