THE INJURY BUG HAS SPREAD BEYOND YANKEELAND

Year Of The Pitcher?  Maybe not. The 2012 season has brought with it a surge of tremendous pitching performances.  Already to date, there have been five no-hitters thrown, including two perfect games and the first no-hitter in New York Mets history. This has led some to say that this year is the year of the pitcher.

Yankee fans have experienced this first hand during June as their starting five have been a “fab five” by going 19 – 5 with a 2.66 ERA.  Wednesday, June 27th may end up being remembered by Yankee faithful as our “day that will live in infamy”.  In one 24 hour period we lost our ace CC Sabathia – placed on the DL with a adductor (groin) strain - and our beloved southpaw Andy Pettitte -  out for at least six weeks with a fractured ankle. Read HERE.

Combined, the two were 12 – 6 with a 3.37 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP.  During June, they were 4 – 2 with a stellar 2.96 ERA.  To say that we lost a key portion of our rotation would be the understatement of the year.

We fans of the boys in pinstripes can take heart.  We are not alone in our wallowing for the loss we experienced on our “black Wednesday”.   A look at the current MLB disabled list reveals an absolute pitching pot-o-gold across both leagues.  As of today, five Cy Young awards reside on the DL, and numerous team “aces” are out of action for various periods of time.  Included on the list of arms currently not taking the mound anytime soon are:

•  Josh Beckett – the beer drinking, chicken loving ace of the Red Sox staff

• Ryan Dempster – Ace of the Cubs and rumored to be on the New York Yankees short list.

•  Bartolo Colon – Veteran ace for the A’s who began the season looking like the Cy Young award winner he once was (2005).

• Roy Halladay – Ace of the Phillies and widely considered the premier pitcher in all of baseball.  He has two Cy Young awards sitting on his mantle.

• Chris Carpenter - Another former Cy Young winner on the DL for the Cardinals (meaning both 2005 Cy Young  winners are currently on the disabled list with a nerve issue, read HERE.)

• Daniel Hudson – 16 game winner for the Diamondbacks last season

•  Jeremy Hellickson – The 2011 Rookie of The Year for the Rays

As you can see, our team isn’t the only one with a less-than-complete starting rotation.  As the old adage goes “you can never have enough pitching”, and in 2012 that rings truer than ever.

Year of the pitcher?  I think not, unless you are a doctor or trainer.  In that case, yes, it’s a banner year for hurlers across the league.
 


--Steve Skinner, BYB Guest Writer

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