Name That Injury
My drivel is not needed to express the silliness of Phil Rogers’ analysis of Chris Carpenter’s injury:
Funny thing about Carpenter’s injury. He said he first felt something in his side when he was batting and that the pain got worse when he went to the mound and tried to pitch.
I know this is the minority opinion but I’ve said for a long time that both leagues should have the designated hitter rule, and this is a prime example why. Teams invest too heavily in pitchers, who carry so much significance for their teams, to willingly risk that by having them bat or run the bases. It just doesn’t make sense.
I dare anyone out there to name 5 pitchers in the last 20 seasons of baseball that have injured themselves batting or running the bases.
Good luck with your Google searches.
And while my drivel is not needed, this is a blog so I’ll add it anyway. Carpenter is the most insane example for Rogers’ argument. Had he picked a player that played in more than 6 games over the last 2 seasons, then his argument might stand a bit of a chance. But when Carlos Zambrano is jacking homers and a 40+ year-old Greg Maddux is stealing bases, this argument holds no water. Not to mention that pitchers rarely if ever get hurt at bat and the team that Carpenter plays for routinely bats their pitchers 8th.
