If you have ESPN Insider and are a baseball fan, Buster Olneys blog from 8/27/14 is a great read. The moral/ethical debate on the usage of relief pitchers is vastly overlooked in my opinion. I am not saying there should be pitch/innings/appearance limits, but it is definitely worth noting that some managers (professional and college) need to be held accountable for the absolute shredding of elbows and shoulders. In regards to Johnny Venters who just blew out his UCL for a third time a few days ago: Venters was called up to the big leagues midway through April 2010, and despite that late start, he finished the season tied for seventh in appearances among MLB relievers. He pitched eight times in the span of the first 11 days in August, five times in six days in September. In 2011, he led the majors with 85 appearances, throwing in six more games than any other reliever, dominating hitters with his hard-diving, two-seam fastball. He began to break down in 2012, going on the disabled list in July, and making his final appearance in a short, ugly outing in the postseason. He has not thrown a pitch in a big league game since, and at age 29, his future as a pitcher is in question. Do not use the whole Oh well he could have said no I am tired excuse because anyone who has ever competed in anything knows that the athlete will rarely, if ever, think in a rational way in these circumstances. Sorry for the rant, continue on with your lives....
Posted on: Fri, 29 Aug 2014 13:45:57 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015