Stephen Strasburg. Cliff Lee. Derek Lowe. What do these pitchers have in common? Well, nothing, aside from the fact that all of them recently got injured.
Ubaldo Jimenez. Tim Lincecum. Javier Vazquez. These pitchers started out strong, and have recently run into a lot of trouble when it's counted most.
Dallas Braden. Edwin Jackson. Armando Galarraga. These guys threw a perfect game, a no-hitter, and a 28-batter perfect game, and still have losing records nearing the end.
For a season that was initially touted as the "Year of the Pitcher", it has quickly become, to use a Little League colloquialism, the "Year of the Belly Itcher".
Heading into the final stretch of the season, pitching becomes even more important than any other point in the year. Batters and fielders are slowing down, some due to fatigue and a desire to simply be put out of their misery, some due to injuries that prevent them from playing at the caliber they usually do, and some because they're more concerned with conserving their energies for their possible playoff bids. However, pitchers don't seem to be able to take advantage of this so easily, mainly because they too are getting worn out. A pitcher's arm goes through more in a season than any other part of any other type of player's body. Why do you think the players I listed above made such a big splash at the beginning, but now are fading into the background? There are a few reasons: a) they're getting injured, b) their team is slowly gearing down for the offseason, or c) their team is slowly gearing up for the postseason, and wants to make sure one of the best weapons in their arsenal is locked and loaded (just not with illegal substances, mind you). It's why the Cincinnati Reds called up Aroldis Chapman, one of the fastest pitchers in the league for years, to help give some of the rotation a break. It's why New York's CC Sabathia is as dominant as ever (and yet, surprisingly, this is the first time I've mentioned one of my favorite Yankees in this blog), leading the AL in wins and setting his sights on another World Series. It's why the Minnesota Twins scrambled to acquire closer Brian Fuentes from the Angels, to help secure some wins to ensure their lead over the White Sox is safe. Out of the 9 pitchers I mentioned, only a third of them are on teams that are likely to be playing in October: Lee, Lowe, and Vazquez. Lee's been absolutely horrid in his last 3 starts, and this injury certainly won't help. For such a dominant pitcher most of this season and last, it's a big detriment to the Rangers for him to be injured. Lowe, who already had a World Series ring with the BoSox in '04, has been day-to-day for a couple of weeks and just announced that he'll miss his next start against Florida on Friday, which also doesn't bode well for the Braves (considering they still have Hanson and Hudson, though, Lowe won't be missed so much). Vazquez has just been so atrocious lately that the Yanks decided to demote him to the bullpen "temporarily", which is a nice way of saying, "Hey, you stink, and we'll use you when you decide not to stink anymore." If there's one incredibly weak point of my normally-strong Yankees, it's by far the bullpen. Vazquez joins a wonderfully terrible lineup of Joba Chamberlain (one of the few Bronx Bombers that I can't stand), recently acquired Kerry Wood (who played for the Cleveland Indians, if that gives you any indication towards his abilities), and a bunch of other pitchers who aren't even worth mentioning. If Mariano Rivera ever retires, all these boys are in a world of trouble. So, many of these teams need to take care of their pitchers if they want a better shot at a championship.
I'd like to note that Roy Oswalt, a favorite player around this blog, is really showing he's worth all the money he's being paid and has managed to improve his season record to 10-13, although he does have a good ERA of 3.01. Also, he managed to take a no-hitter into the 6th inning, which is more a credit to the team behind him, but since he's such a wonderful pitcher, let's applaud his efforts of almost throwing a no-no (but falling 3 full innings short). Whoopie! Let's give him a Cy Young award. He's CERTAINLY earned it.
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