Sosa & Nats looking at 1yr deal?/Possible Retirement?

[NCCubFan]

if we're talking about pitching busts of our generation, wouldn't todd van poppel or bill pulsipher (sp?) or first round picks who turned into journeymen be on that short list?

I think Brien Taylor would be a better example still, since he was the number 1 overall pick and never made it to the majors. Another example would be Lance Dickson, who was drafted by the Cubs with a high first round pick (top 10 overall, I believe) in 1990 and never returned to the majors after a brief appearance late in 1990 because of injuries.

 

Wood may not (yet) have fully lived up to his promise, but he's a very solid pitcher when healthy, so he's not even close to being a bust.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

man, it's been a while since i've heard the 'it's kerry wood's fault that he has arm problems' crap. ah, baseball season is back.

 

Wait... are you saying it's not his fault that he gets injured all the time?

 

how would it be his fault?

 

if his mechanics are causing the injuries, it is the job of the coaching and training staff to fix it. that's not the responsibility of a 25 year old who has never coached nor gone to college. if rothschild came out and said 'we've been telling him to change his motion for three years, and he refuses to make adjustments' then that would be wood's fault. but that apparently isn't the case. why would kerry be asked to do the job of the pitching coach and the trainer?

Do you really think that no coaches, trainers, or doctors have talked to Kerry and gave recommendations as to how to not get hurt every two weeks? I think it's pretty safe to assume that Kerry has been given plenty of advice over the past few years. It's his own fault that he hasn't followed it.

 

I'm sure we'd have heard of it by now if Kerry had been given advice by the coaching staff and didn't follow it. And given how he seemed to make those mechanical adjustments last summer that the whole coaching staff was trumping up (and still needed to have surgery), I really don't think Kerry not listening is an issue.

[Backtobanks]

 

Yeah, he's easily the biggest pitching bust of our time.

 

tagged for true greatness and fell unbelievably short.

 

he's a bust on a level I've seldom seen.

 

wow, i hadn't realized that he'd retired.

 

If he can regain his health, he could easily pitch at least 5-6 more years, so how can he be a bust. Nolan Ryan wasn't injured, but look at his record at Wood's age. Hopefully, Wood will recover and straighten out his mechanics and end any talk of him being a bust.

[Mizzou]

man, it's been a while since i've heard the 'it's kerry wood's fault that he has arm problems' crap. ah, baseball season is back.

 

Wait... are you saying it's not his fault that he gets injured all the time?

 

how would it be his fault?

 

if his mechanics are causing the injuries, it is the job of the coaching and training staff to fix it. that's not the responsibility of a 25 year old who has never coached nor gone to college. if rothschild came out and said 'we've been telling him to change his motion for three years, and he refuses to make adjustments' then that would be wood's fault. but that apparently isn't the case. why would kerry be asked to do the job of the pitching coach and the trainer?

Do you really think that no coaches, trainers, or doctors have talked to Kerry and gave recommendations as to how to not get hurt every two weeks? I think it's pretty safe to assume that Kerry has been given plenty of advice over the past few years. It's his own fault that he hasn't followed it.

 

I'm sure we'd have heard of it by now if Kerry had been given advice by the coaching staff and didn't follow it. And given how he seemed to make those mechanical adjustments last summer that the whole coaching staff was trumping up (and still needed to have surgery), I really don't think Kerry not listening is an issue.

I'm not sure I follow you here. You're saying that Kerry has been given advice, and has followed it? So then who is at fault for his constant injuries?

[CaliforniaRaisin]

man, it's been a while since i've heard the 'it's kerry wood's fault that he has arm problems' crap. ah, baseball season is back.

 

Wait... are you saying it's not his fault that he gets injured all the time?

 

how would it be his fault?

 

if his mechanics are causing the injuries, it is the job of the coaching and training staff to fix it. that's not the responsibility of a 25 year old who has never coached nor gone to college. if rothschild came out and said 'we've been telling him to change his motion for three years, and he refuses to make adjustments' then that would be wood's fault. but that apparently isn't the case. why would kerry be asked to do the job of the pitching coach and the trainer?

Do you really think that no coaches, trainers, or doctors have talked to Kerry and gave recommendations as to how to not get hurt every two weeks? I think it's pretty safe to assume that Kerry has been given plenty of advice over the past few years. It's his own fault that he hasn't followed it.

 

I'm sure we'd have heard of it by now if Kerry had been given advice by the coaching staff and didn't follow it. And given how he seemed to make those mechanical adjustments last summer that the whole coaching staff was trumping up (and still needed to have surgery), I really don't think Kerry not listening is an issue.

I'm not sure I follow you here. You're saying that Kerry has been given advice, and has followed it? So then who is at fault for his constant injuries?

 

If we have to play the blame game, then it would have to be the coaching staff for not giving correct or proper advice (the mechanical adjustments that they heralded last season, which Kerry adhered to, weren't that big a deal).

[abuck1220]

man, it's been a while since i've heard the 'it's kerry wood's fault that he has arm problems' crap. ah, baseball season is back.

 

Wait... are you saying it's not his fault that he gets injured all the time?

 

how would it be his fault?

 

if his mechanics are causing the injuries, it is the job of the coaching and training staff to fix it. that's not the responsibility of a 25 year old who has never coached nor gone to college. if rothschild came out and said 'we've been telling him to change his motion for three years, and he refuses to make adjustments' then that would be wood's fault. but that apparently isn't the case. why would kerry be asked to do the job of the pitching coach and the trainer?

Do you really think that no coaches, trainers, or doctors have talked to Kerry and gave recommendations as to how to not get hurt every two weeks? I think it's pretty safe to assume that Kerry has been given plenty of advice over the past few years. It's his own fault that he hasn't followed it.

 

safe to assume? you have NO evidence whatsoever that wood has been given instruction and refused to follow it. with the way the cubs have been willing to throw their own under the bus lately, do you really think they'd have missed a chance to wash their hands of responsibility for wood's injuries? give me a break. if he was so uncoachable and difficult, why'd they give him a three year extension?

[Mizzou]

man, it's been a while since i've heard the 'it's kerry wood's fault that he has arm problems' crap. ah, baseball season is back.

 

Wait... are you saying it's not his fault that he gets injured all the time?

 

how would it be his fault?

 

if his mechanics are causing the injuries, it is the job of the coaching and training staff to fix it. that's not the responsibility of a 25 year old who has never coached nor gone to college. if rothschild came out and said 'we've been telling him to change his motion for three years, and he refuses to make adjustments' then that would be wood's fault. but that apparently isn't the case. why would kerry be asked to do the job of the pitching coach and the trainer?

Do you really think that no coaches, trainers, or doctors have talked to Kerry and gave recommendations as to how to not get hurt every two weeks? I think it's pretty safe to assume that Kerry has been given plenty of advice over the past few years. It's his own fault that he hasn't followed it.

 

safe to assume? you have NO evidence whatsoever that wood has been given instruction and refused to follow it. with the way the cubs have been willing to throw their own under the bus lately, do you really think they'd have missed a chance to wash their hands of responsibility for wood's injuries? give me a break. if he was so uncoachable and difficult, why'd they give him a three year extension?

I think you need to slow down and read my post again. I never said he was uncoachable or difficult. And I didn't say it was safe to assume he refused to do anything. I did say that it was safe to assume that his coaches had given him plenty of advice. And it is. That's their job.

[Mark_R]

I think you need to slow down and read my post again. I never said he was uncoachable or difficult. And I didn't say it was safe to assume he refused to do anything. I did say that it was safe to assume that his coaches had given him plenty of advice. And it is. That's their job.

 

100% agree. I've yet to see any evidence from Abuck about the Cubs not offering any advice for wood.

[abuck1220]

I think you need to slow down and read my post again. I never said he was uncoachable or difficult. And I didn't say it was safe to assume he refused to do anything. I did say that it was safe to assume that his coaches had given him plenty of advice. And it is. That's their job.

 

100% agree. I've yet to see any evidence from Abuck about the Cubs not offering any advice for wood.

 

and i have yet to see any evidence from anybody that he's been offered advice and refused to take it.

[Soul]

 

Yeah, he's easily the biggest pitching bust of our time.

 

tagged for true greatness and fell unbelievably short.

 

he's a bust on a level I've seldom seen.

 

wow, i hadn't realized that he'd retired.

 

If he can regain his health, he could easily pitch at least 5-6 more years, so how can he be a bust. Nolan Ryan wasn't injured, but look at his record at Wood's age. Hopefully, Wood will recover and straighten out his mechanics and end any talk of him being a bust.

 

....because he never will "regain his health." He's a walking injury, face it. He will always be one pitch away from an extended stint on the DL. Sorry if that's too harsh.

[Soul]

 

When he takes the ball for all of his scheduled starts and wins 20 games in just *ONE* season I will reconsider.

 

 

well that pretty much cements the fact that your opinions on anything baseball related won't be listened to or respected by me.

 

OOOooohh, I'm hurt :P

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

Yeah, he's easily the biggest pitching bust of our time.

 

tagged for true greatness and fell unbelievably short.

 

he's a bust on a level I've seldom seen.

 

wow, i hadn't realized that he'd retired.

 

If he can regain his health, he could easily pitch at least 5-6 more years, so how can he be a bust. Nolan Ryan wasn't injured, but look at his record at Wood's age. Hopefully, Wood will recover and straighten out his mechanics and end any talk of him being a bust.

 

....because he never will "regain his health." He's a walking injury, face it. He will always be one pitch away from an extended stint on the DL. Sorry if that's too harsh.

 

Well, so is every player in the sport.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

I think you need to slow down and read my post again. I never said he was uncoachable or difficult. And I didn't say it was safe to assume he refused to do anything. I did say that it was safe to assume that his coaches had given him plenty of advice. And it is. That's their job.

 

100% agree. I've yet to see any evidence from Abuck about the Cubs not offering any advice for wood.

 

We know the Cubs offered him advice, they trumped it up last season saying they had fixed his mechanics. But Kerry took the advice, as seen by the change in his mechanics. And yet he still needed surgery. Maybe it wasn't the right advice, maybe the Cubs don't know what Kerry can do to alter his mechanics, maybe Kerry is always going to have arm/shoulder issues no matter what mechanics are altered. But given he changed his mechanics at the behest of Rothschild and company, I don't think anyone can say Kerry doesn't listen to the coaches. And abuck makes a good point, if Kerry hadn't listened, the Cubs would have publicized this a whole lot more than with what Steve Stone said.

[Soul]

Well, so is every player in the sport.

 

Well yeah, but Woody's rate of return on complete seasons has been running at 0% for years now. Sure everyone's one play away, but Woody's been rolling snake eyes so often, I can't see how he will suddenly become a rock in the rotation.

[imb]

every pitcher that throws their elbow out is a wuss. i dont see how anyone could hurt themselves throwing a little ball, it's such an easy and injury free thing to do.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Well, so is every player in the sport.

 

Well yeah, but Woody's rate of return on complete seasons has been running at 0% for years now. Sure everyone's one play away, but Woody's been rolling snake eyes so often, I can't see how he will suddenly become a rock in the rotation.

 

2 years.

[Soul]

Well, so is every player in the sport.

 

Well yeah, but Woody's rate of return on complete seasons has been running at 0% for years now. Sure everyone's one play away, but Woody's been rolling snake eyes so often, I can't see how he will suddenly become a rock in the rotation.

 

2 years.

 

....and counting.

[abuck1220]

just curious...do you get mad at zambrano when he does stupid things like get ejected, argue w/ umpires, throw at batters, slide head first, show up his teammates, etc? because i bet all the coaches told him not to do that stuff.

[NCCubFan]

Well, so is every player in the sport.

 

Well yeah, but Woody's rate of return on complete seasons has been running at 0% for years now. Sure everyone's one play away, but Woody's been rolling snake eyes so often, I can't see how he will suddenly become a rock in the rotation.

 

2 years.

 

....and counting.

And before that he had two years in a row (2002 and 2003) where he didn't miss a single start either season. So you can't be certain that, just because he's had injuries the past couple of years, that it will continue.

[USSoccer]

Well, so is every player in the sport.

 

Well yeah, but Woody's rate of return on complete seasons has been running at 0% for years now. Sure everyone's one play away, but Woody's been rolling snake eyes so often, I can't see how he will suddenly become a rock in the rotation.

 

2 years.

 

....and counting.

And before that he had two years in a row (2002 and 2003) where he didn't miss a single start either season. So you can't be certain that, just because he's had injuries the past couple of years, that it will continue.

 

Between 2001 and 2003, Wood made 93 starts. Only after the 2003 campaign in which he threw the most pitches in baseball did he break down again.

[MeatampPotatoesMan]

just curious...do you get mad at zambrano when he does stupid things like get ejected, argue w/ umpires, throw at batters, slide head first, show up his teammates, etc? because i bet all the coaches told him not to do that stuff.

 

when has he shown up his teammates? :?

 

he's a young kid. i've seen a lot less antics on the mound as he's gotten older. blanco also keeps a leash on him, so that's good. :D

[Mark Priors Calves]

just curious...do you get mad at zambrano when he does stupid things like get ejected, argue w/ umpires, throw at batters, slide head first, show up his teammates, etc? because i bet all the coaches told him not to do that stuff.

 

when has he shown up his teammates? :?

 

Todd Walker last year.

[MeatampPotatoesMan]

just curious...do you get mad at zambrano when he does stupid things like get ejected, argue w/ umpires, throw at batters, slide head first, show up his teammates, etc? because i bet all the coaches told him not to do that stuff.

 

when has he shown up his teammates? :?

 

Todd Walker last year.

 

How so?

[FergieJ31]

just curious...do you get mad at zambrano when he does stupid things like get ejected, argue w/ umpires, throw at batters, slide head first, show up his teammates, etc? because i bet all the coaches told him not to do that stuff.

 

when has he shown up his teammates? :?

 

 

there was one over-publicized incident against the Astros in June 2004: Z threw a tantrum on the mound when Todd Walker missed a play on the field. Walker called him out on it in the press after the game, which was a mistake: Dusty should have been settled that in the clubhouse, and besides that the Cubs won the game. Z apologized the next day and everyone put on a nice public face after that.

[MeatampPotatoesMan]

just curious...do you get mad at zambrano when he does stupid things like get ejected, argue w/ umpires, throw at batters, slide head first, show up his teammates, etc? because i bet all the coaches told him not to do that stuff.

 

when has he shown up his teammates? :?

 

 

there was one over-publicized incident against the Astros in June 2004: Z threw a tantrum on the mound when Todd Walker missed a play on the field. Walker called him out on it in the press after the game, which was a mistake: Dusty should have been settled that in the clubhouse, and besides that the Cubs won the game. Z apologized the next day and everyone put on a nice public face after that.

 

Ah, I'd forgotten about that. Didn't he also get a little pissed after a botched play in the OF (Murton?) last season? I think he immediately apologized to whomever it was.