No, it is true. I had a torn labrum with a subluxing shoulder. Other muscles in the back and around the shoulder started to compensate for the injury. It's all connected, bud. If a guy has a bad back, compensates for it then the arm could see more stress. He's clearly a tough dude because he noted issues in the second inning but said nothing.
None of that has anything to do with elbows.
Don't be so simple. You're better than that.
I can call you and read this to you if that helps.... The literature on mechanics, body ailments and arm injuries is littered everywhere.
Villain - you can private message me your retraction and subsequent apology. I hate to call you out like this, but your smug attitude got you kind of owned on this subject matter:
No, I'm doing fine, but we can agree to disagree.
Indeed.... and what I am getting at is McCarthy had been on the DL 11 times in his nine year career prior to this recent surgery. Last season was the first year he had ever thrown over 200 innings (max before was 170 IP) nearly a 20% increase in innings pitched for a guy that has averaged 101 IP over his career.
Problem
Brandon McCarthy is out for the season and the news about Hyun-jin Ryu keeps getting worse.
The Dodgers have done well enough, seamlessly inserting Carlos Frias into the rotation, but they're still giving 20 percent of their starts to a cavalcade of emergency options that a $270 million team shouldn't have to depend on. Also, if you're expecting Clayton Kershaw-related panic here, you'll have to move on. He's fine.
Likely solution
Wait for teams to give up and deal away their competent pitchers. This has been the strategy for the last couple years, with Paul Maholm, Kevin Correia, Ricky Nolasco, Roberto Hernandez and Edinson Volquez serving as the makeshift cavalry when the need arose.
Alternative solution
Really, this is the whole point of the article, buried at the bottom. If the Dodgers enter another postseason with a top-loaded rotation, they're goofy. They've made it through the prospect gauntlet, and now there's a spot where they can say, "No, seriously, we aren't trading Joc Pederson or Seager," and people know to back off. It's not like teams are going to ask for Kris Bryant from the Cubs in a trade this summer. There's a tipping point from prospect to cornerstone, and the Dodgers are on the other side with Pederson and Seager. That means deals are likelier to happen, now.
How does the old poem go?:
Kershaw and Greinke, pray it ain't stanky.
I thought it was Spahn and ... whatever, you get the point. Brett Anderson is a fine pitcher. Frias looks promising. But for the last two postseasons, the Dodgers have been forced to start Kershaw on short rest because they didn't have that third ace. It's cost them. Considering the state of their farm and bank account, it makes no sense to do it again this year.
Cole Hamels? Hey, sure. Let's just see what his nickname is on Baseball-Reference:
Exactly. And ... wait, Colbert? Well, I'll be.
But the Dodgers have the prospects to make teams give up pitchers they really, really weren't expecting to discuss, like Julio Teheran or Sonny Gray. If the Indians and Mariners keep falling further out of their respective races, there could be all sorts of enticing options that would trump the Kevin Correias and Roberto Hernandezes of years past.
The Dodgers have shortstop handled. They're not worried about third base. They'll probably have to bench an outfielder with a .900 OPS or better when Yasiel Puig comes back. They have aces at the top of the rotation and a bullpen that has done just fine without Kenley Jansen, who should come back soon. Everything is working for the Dodgers, and what isn't working will soon be fixed.
Except for that third pitcher. It's pretty greedy to be talking about a third ace as the missing piece of the puzzle, but, well, we're talking about the Dodgers. They should be greedy. This is almost a perfect Death Star of a roster, but they keep screwing around and doing anything other than fixing the thermal exhaust port.
They've probably learned their lesson after the last two postseasons. We'll see if they'll change it up this year, now that they've had their prospect cake and are eating it, too.
