Wood

[moorecg]

Listening to MLB homeplate on XM radio this morning (the coolest thing ever by the way) and they have repeatedly mentioned that Wood will be starting to throw soon but that he's not expected to be ready for Opening day.

 

When is he expected to be ready? 2 weeks in? A month in? 8 weeks? God forbid the ASB?

 

Thoughts?

[kente777]

Listening to MLB homeplate on XM radio this morning (the coolest thing ever by the way) and they have repeatedly mentioned that Wood will be starting to throw soon but that he's not expected to be ready for Opening day.

 

When is he expected to be ready? 2 weeks in? A month in? 8 weeks? God forbid the ASB?

 

Thoughts?

 

My guess is you won't see him until mid May. He'll be baby'ed for his first 3 or 4 starts. It won't be until sometime in mid June where he will be full strength -- IMHO.

 

Ken

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

I think a lot depends on how he progresses. I expect him ready by May 1st at the latest.

[CuseCubFan69]

This whole subject just frustrates the heck out of me. I swear sometimes it seems this organization wants to lose.

[fiver]

This topic makes me more than a bit hot as well...I'm not sure that anyone knows for certain when he'll be back and how effective he'll be. I'm saving any further comment for when more is known.

[rork73]

Damn, this guy can only be used for like half seasons........even when healthy I just don't recognize the old 20k Woody anymore.

 

Hope he'll be back when he's fully recovered and not too soon.

[Magnetic Curses]

Damn, this guy can only be used for like half seasons........even when healthy I just don't recognize the old 20k Woody anymore.

 

Hope he'll be back when he's fully recovered and not too soon.

 

wood's problem is that he had to go out and strike out 20 during his rookie season, which everyone then started expecting from him every time out.

 

one of the reasons that wood had TJS is because of that 20 k game. now, since he hasn't struck out 20 in a game in like 7 years, people are giving up on him, despiet the fact that he's a very effective pitcher.

 

the primary wood detractors, imo, are the ones who expected him to duplicate his 20 k performancence--and were extremely let down when he hasn't.

 

a 20 k game is lightning in a bottle, only 1 other pitcher has ever done it--it's simply unrealistic to expect woody to do it more than once.

[abuck1220]

Damn, this guy can only be used for like half seasons

 

if he misses time this year, it's not his fault. the cubs were flat out fools for pitching him out of the pen last year, and that's the reason he won't be ready by ST.

[nolanwood]

Kerry will not make the start of the season SOLEY because he was used out of the pen the end of last season. Had they not used him out of the pen, he would've had surgery sooner and would be starting at the beginning of the season instead of a month or so later.

[rocket]

Damn, this guy can only be used for like half seasons........even when healthy I just don't recognize the old 20k Woody anymore.

 

Hope he'll be back when he's fully recovered and not too soon.

 

wood's problem is that he had to go out and strike out 20 during his rookie season, which everyone then started expecting from him every time out.

 

one of the reasons that wood had TJS is because of that 20 k game. now, since he hasn't struck out 20 in a game in like 7 years, people are giving up on him, despiet the fact that he's a very effective pitcher.

 

the primary wood detractors, imo, are the ones who expected him to duplicate his 20 k performancence--and were extremely let down when he hasn't.

 

a 20 k game is lightning in a bottle, only 1 other pitcher has ever done it--it's simply unrealistic to expect woody to do it more than once.

 

Slight nitpick, 2 others have done it. Clemens and Randy Johnson.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Damn, this guy can only be used for like half seasons........even when healthy I just don't recognize the old 20k Woody anymore.

 

Hope he'll be back when he's fully recovered and not too soon.

 

wood's problem is that he had to go out and strike out 20 during his rookie season, which everyone then started expecting from him every time out.

 

one of the reasons that wood had TJS is because of that 20 k game. now, since he hasn't struck out 20 in a game in like 7 years, people are giving up on him, despiet the fact that he's a very effective pitcher.

 

the primary wood detractors, imo, are the ones who expected him to duplicate his 20 k performancence--and were extremely let down when he hasn't.

 

a 20 k game is lightning in a bottle, only 1 other pitcher has ever done it--it's simply unrealistic to expect woody to do it more than once.

 

Slight nitpick, 2 others have done it. Clemens and Randy Johnson.

 

And Clemens did it more than once. It's possible for Kerry to do it again.

[badger1679666666]

Damn, this guy can only be used for like half seasons........even when healthy I just don't recognize the old 20k Woody anymore.

 

Hope he'll be back when he's fully recovered and not too soon.

 

wood's problem is that he had to go out and strike out 20 during his rookie season, which everyone then started expecting from him every time out.

 

one of the reasons that wood had TJS is because of that 20 k game. now, since he hasn't struck out 20 in a game in like 7 years, people are giving up on him, despiet the fact that he's a very effective pitcher.

 

the primary wood detractors, imo, are the ones who expected him to duplicate his 20 k performancence--and were extremely let down when he hasn't.

 

a 20 k game is lightning in a bottle, only 1 other pitcher has ever done it--it's simply unrealistic to expect woody to do it more than once.

 

I think alot of Wood detractors cite his lack of "wins" as well. But I'm sure y'all know how I feel about that metric for judging starting pitchers.

 

(Hint: It makes badger a very angry badger).

[CubinNY]

wood's problem is that he had to go out and strike out 20 during his rookie season, which everyone then started expecting from him every time out.

 

one of the reasons that wood had TJS is because of that 20 k game. now, since he hasn't struck out 20 in a game in like 7 years, people are giving up on him, despiet the fact that he's a very effective pitcher.

 

the primary wood detractors, imo, are the ones who expected him to duplicate his 20 k performancence--and were extremely let down when he hasn't.

 

a 20 k game is lightning in a bottle, only 1 other pitcher has ever done it--it's simply unrealistic to expect woody to do it more than once.

 

Not to me. I am a Wood detractor becuase he hasn't learned to be a pitcher yet. He is still a thrower. He has yet to learn to control the strike zone and seems to lose concentration at times.

 

IMO, all this leads to arm and shoulder troubles.

[Magnetic Curses]

wood's problem is that he had to go out and strike out 20 during his rookie season, which everyone then started expecting from him every time out.

 

one of the reasons that wood had TJS is because of that 20 k game. now, since he hasn't struck out 20 in a game in like 7 years, people are giving up on him, despiet the fact that he's a very effective pitcher.

 

the primary wood detractors, imo, are the ones who expected him to duplicate his 20 k performancence--and were extremely let down when he hasn't.

 

a 20 k game is lightning in a bottle, only 1 other pitcher has ever done it--it's simply unrealistic to expect woody to do it more than once.

 

Not to me. I am a Wood detractor becuase he hasn't learned to be a pitcher yet. He is still a thrower. He has yet to learn to control the strike zone and seems to lose concentration at times.

 

IMO, all this leads to arm and shoulder troubles.

thank you for not mentioning "mechanics", i would have gone on my token steve stone rant.

[fiver]

wood's problem is that he had to go out and strike out 20 during his rookie season, which everyone then started expecting from him every time out.

 

one of the reasons that wood had TJS is because of that 20 k game. now, since he hasn't struck out 20 in a game in like 7 years, people are giving up on him, despiet the fact that he's a very effective pitcher.

 

the primary wood detractors, imo, are the ones who expected him to duplicate his 20 k performancence--and were extremely let down when he hasn't.

 

a 20 k game is lightning in a bottle, only 1 other pitcher has ever done it--it's simply unrealistic to expect woody to do it more than once.

 

Not to me. I am a Wood detractor becuase he hasn't learned to be a pitcher yet. He is still a thrower. He has yet to learn to control the strike zone and seems to lose concentration at times.

 

IMO, all this leads to arm and shoulder troubles.

thank you for not mentioning "mechanics", i would have gone on my token steve stone rant.

 

Sully,

 

Without search being enabled, some may not know what beef you have with Stone and his criticism of Woody's mechanics. Can you elaborate?

[Magnetic Curses]

wood's problem is that he had to go out and strike out 20 during his rookie season, which everyone then started expecting from him every time out.

 

one of the reasons that wood had TJS is because of that 20 k game. now, since he hasn't struck out 20 in a game in like 7 years, people are giving up on him, despiet the fact that he's a very effective pitcher.

 

the primary wood detractors, imo, are the ones who expected him to duplicate his 20 k performancence--and were extremely let down when he hasn't.

 

a 20 k game is lightning in a bottle, only 1 other pitcher has ever done it--it's simply unrealistic to expect woody to do it more than once.

 

Not to me. I am a Wood detractor becuase he hasn't learned to be a pitcher yet. He is still a thrower. He has yet to learn to control the strike zone and seems to lose concentration at times.

 

IMO, all this leads to arm and shoulder troubles.

thank you for not mentioning "mechanics", i would have gone on my token steve stone rant.

 

Sully,

 

Without search being enabled, some may not know what beef you have with Stone and his criticism of Woody's mechanics. Can you elaborate?

 

i think steve stone is full of crap when it comes to woody. does he have bad mechanics? probably, but there are many pitchers who have bad mechanics that are also very successful.

 

pitching is very hard on your shoulder, and if you're good pitcher, it's also pretty hard on your elbow. overhand throwing is not a natural motion, so, you could say that all overhand pitchers have bad mechanics.

 

woody has also gotten this far based on his mechanics, any attempt to perform a major overhaul to his motion and mechanics could result in him losing the effectiveness that has gotten him so far in this league. maybe you could slightly tweak his mechanics, but anything major would be detrimental. yes, we all want to magically fix our pitchers and make them superstars that never get hurt. we all want Dr. Tom Marshall to be some sort of sorcerer that has discovered some occult way of creating the perfect pitcher, but the reality is, any pitcher can get hurt at any time.

 

wood has been a very above average pitcher during his career that has thrown over 200 innings twice, and thrown over 140 innings five times, it's not like he runs into the clubhouse screaming and holding his arm after his first spring training toss every season.

 

leave it be, if he gets hurt again, he'll probably be close to being out of baseball, if he doesn't, he'll probably be a top 10 pitcher and a strikeout champ that throws the most insanely sick pitches in baseball, let's not try to mess with that.

[FergieJ31]

wood's problem is that he had to go out and strike out 20 during his rookie season, which everyone then started expecting from him every time out.

 

one of the reasons that wood had TJS is because of that 20 k game. now, since he hasn't struck out 20 in a game in like 7 years, people are giving up on him, despiet the fact that he's a very effective pitcher.

 

the primary wood detractors, imo, are the ones who expected him to duplicate his 20 k performancence--and were extremely let down when he hasn't.

 

a 20 k game is lightning in a bottle, only 1 other pitcher has ever done it--it's simply unrealistic to expect woody to do it more than once.

 

Not to me. I am a Wood detractor becuase he hasn't learned to be a pitcher yet. He is still a thrower. He has yet to learn to control the strike zone and seems to lose concentration at times.

 

IMO, all this leads to arm and shoulder troubles.

thank you for not mentioning "mechanics", i would have gone on my token steve stone rant.

 

Sully,

 

Without search being enabled, some may not know what beef you have with Stone and his criticism of Woody's mechanics. Can you elaborate?

 

i think steve stone is full of crap when it comes to woody. does he have bad mechanics? probably, but there are many pitchers who have bad mechanics that are also very successful.

 

pitching is very hard on your shoulder, and if you're good pitcher, it's also pretty hard on your elbow. overhand throwing is not a natural motion, so, you could say that all overhand pitchers have bad mechanics.

 

woody has also gotten this far based on his mechanics, any attempt to perform a major overhaul to his motion and mechanics could result in him losing the effectiveness that has gotten him so far in this league. maybe you could slightly tweak his mechanics, but anything major would be detrimental. yes, we all want to magically fix our pitchers and make them superstars that never get hurt. we all want Dr. Tom Marshall to be some sort of sorcerer that has discovered some occult way of creating the perfect pitcher, but the reality is, any pitcher can get hurt at any time.

 

wood has been a very above average pitcher during his career that has thrown over 200 innings twice, and thrown over 140 innings five times, it's not like he runs into the clubhouse screaming and holding his arm after his first spring training toss every season.

 

leave it be, if he gets hurt again, he'll probably be close to being out of baseball, if he doesn't, he'll probably be a top 10 pitcher and a strikeout champ that throws the most insanely sick pitches in baseball, let's not try to mess with that.

 

I agree whole-heartedly. I remember an interview with Damian Miller in 2003...at some point early in the season he was asked about catching Schilling/Johnson in 02 and Prior/Wood in 03, and who among those 4 had the filthiest stuff. He didn't hesitate, said something like "this'll get me trouble but I've gotta go with Woody. When his slider is on it's just sick."

 

I've been on the Wood bandwagon (which I share with an MRI machine at the moment) since 98. NLDS game winning double vs the Braves...good times: http://a1259.g.akamai.net/f/1259/5586/1d/images.art.com/images/-/Kerry-Wood-2003-NLDS-Game-Winning-Double-Photograph-C10127556.jpeg

[badger1679666666]

I love Kid K. I really hope the surgery helps him. He'll always be my favorite pitcher.

[Laura]

This kinda-sorta update was hidden at the bottom of the Patterson trade article.

 

Cubs.com[/url]"] The Cubs' rotation also is set for now with Carlos Zambrano, Mark Prior, Greg Maddux, Glendon Rusch and Jerome Williams. Kerry Wood, who is coming off arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder, has started throwing in Mesa.

 

"There's no sense trying to put a track on it or a date," Hendry said of Wood. "All indications are that he's coming along well, he's enthusiastic, he's really into his work. It's too early to tell what a time frame would be. He hasn't gotten on the hill and done a bullpen yet."

[E.J.]

Hendry better be asked about 500 times at this weekend's convention on why he allowed Wood to pitch with a bum shoulder when he should have had surgery. I can't wait to hear what crappy answer he's got up his sleeve.

[FergieJ31]

It would be nice if the Cubs learned a lesson from the last two years, and have decided to underpromise Wood's expected return date. Something tells me he'll only miss 2-3 April starts -- maybe just wishful thinking.

[UK1679666180]

It would be nice if the Cubs learned a lesson from the last two years, and have decided to underpromise Wood's expected return date. Something tells me he'll only miss 2-3 April starts -- maybe just wishful thinking.

 

I hope so as that would likely be a combo of not going to a 4 man rotation while they all the offdays in April.

 

I wish they felt the extra days of rest were the luxury instead of the ability to go to a 4 man rotation.

[Brian]

This kinda-sorta update was hidden at the bottom of the Patterson trade article.

 

Cubs.com[/url]"] The Cubs' rotation also is set for now with Carlos Zambrano, Mark Prior, Greg Maddux, Glendon Rusch and Jerome Williams. Kerry Wood, who is coming off arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder, has started throwing in Mesa.

 

"There's no sense trying to put a track on it or a date," Hendry said of Wood. "All indications are that he's coming along well, he's enthusiastic, he's really into his work. It's too early to tell what a time frame would be. He hasn't gotten on the hill and done a bullpen yet."

 

As was this in the mailbag

 

When will Kerry Wood be ready for some Major League action? Will the Cubs pitch him in Class A ball before the Majors? When he is ready, will he have a role as a starting pitcher or be in the bullpen? -- Kevin S., Joliet, Ill.

 

Wood, who is coming off arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder, just started his throwing program this month. He's making good progress, but the Cubs won't be able to determine when or where he'll pitch for some time. The medical staff does not like to announce a time table because if Wood misses a pre-announced deadline, the result often is unnecessary panic. The team will have a better idea as to where Wood is in his rehab when they see him in mid-February, when pitchers and catchers report to Mesa, Ariz. And when he is ready, Wood's intention is to return to the rotation.

 

I've kind of always figured that all the reports of wood missing time were precautionary. I don't think we will really know until Spring Training when we really get a idea as to how he is coming along.

[badger1679666666]

Hendry better be asked about 500 times at this weekend's convention on why he allowed Wood to pitch with a bum shoulder when he should have had surgery. I can't wait to hear what crappy answer he's got up his sleeve.

 

If it doesn't get asked by someone at some point in time, I'm gonna be awfully upset.

[hardcorecubfan]

This topic makes me more than a bit hot as well...I'm not sure that anyone knows for certain when he'll be back and how effective he'll be. I'm saving any further comment for when more is known.

 

Exactly, let's reserve judgemnt For October 15 game five of the WS, or hope he makes it to aAugust