Report: Many Rookie Pitchers Not Man Enough To Handle Full Season

MINNEAPOLIS, MN--According to an article in this weekend’s USA Today, many rookie pitchers are not man enough to handle a full season of baseball and are suffering fatigue-related injuries at an alarming rate. Some will miss a few starts while others may be forced to pussy out of the rest of the season.

In Minnesota, rookie sensation Francisco Liriano “hit a wall” after a sensational first half, something team officials attributed to being all tuckered out from throwing the ball.

“Francisco just hit a wall in the second half,” said manager Ron Gardenhire. “You see that happen all the time with rookie pitchers. All that pitching and throwing and sitting in the dugout can really put a strain on their little bodies. So we sit them down and rest them until they’re good and ready to come back and do the job they’re paid millions of dollars to do. Of course, they still get paid while they’re resting. See, the payroll department doesn’t get a rest. They keep soldiering on even if they hit that wall.”

Gardenhire, like other managers, longs for the olden days when pitchers were man enough, even as rookies, to withstand an entire season without flinching. Unfortunately, those days are long gone.

“Back in my day, pitchers kept going unless they broke and arm or something,” he said. “Being tired came with the territory. I don’t remember a young Roger Clemens or a young Dwight Gooden being placed on the DL at the end of their rookie seasons. Now I’m not saying that Francisco doesn’t have a legitimate injury. He’s got an elbow or a shoulder thing. Whatever. It’s legitimate. But that doesn’t make him any less of a pussy.”

The Detroit Tigers, leaders of the AL Central, boast the league’s best young pitching staff, which means fatigue is an area of concern for them as well. They’ve already had one youngster, Justin Verlander, miss a start because of arm fatigue and are wondering if the rest of their talented staff can get through the season without whining about being tired.

“Well, Justin is back and seems to be okay, but there is always concern with young guys,” said GM Dave Dombrowski. “We have a couple guys in the bullpen, Zach Minor and Joel Zumaya, who are rookies that we are monitoring very closely. They’re keeping their fingers crossed that they can make it through the whole season. Actually, we’ve forbidden them from crossing their fingers because of the strain it puts on the elbow ligaments.”

Verlander defended his missed start earlier this month, saying that it was merely a brief respite and that he fully expects to be a key contributor the rest of the season and into the postseason.

“I took a break for one start. So sue me,” he said. “I got a little tired and I rested. Now I’m fresh and ready for the postseason. This is something that almost every rookie pitcher goes through. It’s not because we aren’t man enough, it’s because we aren’t used to the strain of pitching a full major league season, okay? Anyway, I have to go. All this talking is making my arm hurt.”

Soon after Verlander was shelved due to tiredness, yet another rookie hurler, Anaheim's Joe Saunders, complained of arm fatigue after getting shelled in a game against the Texas Rangers.
Having lasted just 2 2/3 innings, Saunders reflected on the number of innings he’s pitched this year and claimed he was in “uncharted territory.”

Manager Mike Scioscia responded by putting Saunders on a pitch count.

“Joe is a young guy who’s logged a lot of innings for us and his body just isn’t used to that,” said Scioscia. “So we’ve got to monitor him. We’ve got to get him on a pitch count and make sure he doesn’t overextend himself - you know, by throwing a baseball, which is what he’s been doing his whole life. Hey, I’m not knocking the guy. He just comes from a different generation of pitchers and you have to treat him accordingly. I’m sure he’ll be fine next season when he grows a pair of balls.”

Scioscia then pointed out that even though batters sometimes get tired, he doesn’t have to keep them on a swing count.

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