Shut Down Wood For the Year...

[mjued926]

Does anyone agree with me that it might be time to just shut Wood down for the year and see if he can give it a go next year? Right now he is only hurting himself physically if he continues to pitch with tendonitis.

 

What about the possibility of moving him to a closer role and letting Dempster rejoin the rotation next year? Obviously it won't happen this year because Dempster has been lights out as our closer. Look at the other pitchers who have had arm troubles and been converted to closers, Gagne, Smoltz, LaTroy (before he joined the Cubs he was lights out as a set-up man in Minn.). He obviously could do it and right now all he is doing is putting a huge strain on the bullpen and making Hendry have to keep juggling the roster. Hill could also easily fill in for him this year if they do shut him down.

 

Just throwing it out there.

By the way I am new to NSBB, have been watching the site but this is my first post. Don't want to start off like sweetemotion did yesterday though.

[BleedCubbieBlue81]

I think by looking at the alternatives, shutting Kerry down isn't a great idea right now. He's too valuable to this team, whether most of the here want to admit it or not. Rusch and Mitre have really been struggling, and no one can be sure that Hill is ready yet or not.

 

But if Kerry's arm troubles continue, I don't think it's completely out of the question that he becomes a closer somewhere. While it's really not likely, each time he gets hurt, it becomes more of a possibility (at least in my mind).

 

By the way, welcome to the boards.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Does anyone agree with me that it might be time to just shut Wood down for the year and see if he can give it a go next year? Right now he is only hurting himself physically if he continues to pitch with tendonitis.

 

What about the possibility of moving him to a closer role and letting Dempster rejoin the rotation next year? Obviously it won't happen this year because Dempster has been lights out as our closer. Look at the other pitchers who have had arm troubles and been converted to closers, Gagne, Smoltz, LaTroy (before he joined the Cubs he was lights out as a set-up man in Minn.). He obviously could do it and right now all he is doing is putting a huge strain on the bullpen and making Hendry have to keep juggling the roster. Hill could also easily fill in for him this year if they do shut him down.

 

Just throwing it out there.

By the way I am new to NSBB, have been watching the site but this is my first post. Don't want to start off like sweetemotion did yesterday though.

 

Welcome! I think it's premature to shut down Wood for the year. If he is only hurting himself by pitching, what is rest going to do to help that? Also, I'm vehemently opposed to Wood becoming a closer. Wood is one of the better starting pitchers in major league baseball(when healthy of course). Most relievers are relievers because they aren't good enough as starters. I'd much rather have Wood for 150-200 innings than 80 as a reliever. Wood's injury issues are such that I don't believe throwing fewer innings would reduce his injury risk.

[mjued926]

I agree that I would much rather have him be a starter because when he is on he is one of the best in the game. But the last thing I want to see happen to him is another serious injury. I am just worried that he might be doing damage to his labrum (tendon in the shoulder) and that is almost if not as bad as having to have Tommy Johns surgery. And you are right there is no telling what he will do if he becomes a closer, he could be erratic like he often is. I think it is definitely worth a long look see by Dusty and Rothschild this winter to see if that is what is best for him and the team. Because sooner or later we are going to have bring along some of the pitching prospects that we have and if Hill is ready there is no sense throwing him into the bullpen, he is a starter and should be in the bigs.

[Cubzfan64]

Welcome as well!!

 

I think it's going to be totally up to the doctors and organization to decide what happens with Kerry - the rest of us here are just speculating whether he should rest or continue on. I don't know what his problem is, but I get the feeling sometimes that it's more than just one problem that's affecting him.

 

I don't know what his future holds and I'm hesitant to say that any kind of surgery or rest will ever make him the pitcher he really has the ability to be.

 

The comment someone made in this thread about relievers generally being guys who aren't good enough to start is true for most relievers with the exception of closers - closers are generally in that role because they have the mentality and the ability to dominate for short periods of time - either that or they have fantastic control and have the ability to work hitters and change speeds to also dominate for an inning or maybe two.

 

I would like to think that if it turns out Kerry's arm just won't allow him to throw 50+ pitches per game, I think he has the makeup mentally and the physical ability to be a very good closer, but I don't know that his arm will let that happen.

 

Closing requires you to get up and warm up quickly and be prepared every day, 2 out of 3 days etc... and I'm just worried that his arm won't hold up under those circumstances. It has to be physically taxing even if a guy doesn't throw more than 15-20 pitches - it's like starting your car up in the dead of winter, letting it warm up for 20 seconds and then driving 100mph 200 feet and then stopping - that isn't good for a car either.

 

Sometimes I find myself just thinking about what Kerry would have achieved had his arm acted like Roger Clemen's arm for him. I hate to see that kind of talent wasted - and although in a way, this isn't wasted talent, it's certainly not fully achieved talent either :-(

[MustangMike]

Does anyone agree with me that it might be time to just shut Wood down for the year and see if he can give it a go next year? Right now he is only hurting himself physically if he continues to pitch with tendonitis.

 

What about the possibility of moving him to a closer role and letting Dempster rejoin the rotation next year? Obviously it won't happen this year because Dempster has been lights out as our closer. Look at the other pitchers who have had arm troubles and been converted to closers, Gagne, Smoltz, LaTroy (before he joined the Cubs he was lights out as a set-up man in Minn.). He obviously could do it and right now all he is doing is putting a huge strain on the bullpen and making Hendry have to keep juggling the roster. Hill could also easily fill in for him this year if they do shut him down.

 

Just throwing it out there.

By the way I am new to NSBB, have been watching the site but this is my first post. Don't want to start off like sweetemotion did yesterday though.

 

I wouldn't shut him down, I'd get him healthy enough to finish the year strong and then trade him in the offseason when his value is highest. Wood isn't a closer, not with his control, plus we have 2 closers in Dempster and Williamson. I really like Wood, and I'm sad that this has happend, but we've gone down this road enough with him. What will it take to get rid of him.

[katway]

I'm beginning to wonder if Wood's arm will ever be reliable enough that we can count on him for starting and/or relieving this year.

 

As far as starting is concerned, it currently looks like its the same issue that kept him on the shelf for 2 months; so, I really don't see him providing valuable starts down the stretch unless this is only a slight aggravation that goes away quickly.

 

As far as relieving is concerned, I don't think he can make that switch mid-year given all his arm troubles. It seems like he takes a while to loosen up and his arm isn't durable enough for the pen.

 

At this point, it's really hard to say what can be done with him. He's untradeable with a large contract. He's not reliable as a starter and probably can't make the switch to relief this year. Perhaps shutting him down and deciding what to do with him next year might be the best course of action for the team.

[mjued926]

At this point, it's really hard to say what can be done with him. He's untradeable with a large contract. He's not reliable as a starter and probably can't make the switch to relief this year. Perhaps shutting him down and deciding what to do with him next year might be the best course of action for the team.

 

I couldn't agree more!

 

For some reason or another this guy keeps breaking down, whether it is mechanics (which were supposedly fixed), bad genetics, or what have you I think it is fair to say now that he has been injured in almost every single major league season that he is not someone the Cubs can rely on for 30-35 starts a year. What they need to do is find out where his highest value for the Cubs is for the rest of the year, if he can even pitch, whether it be making a start every 6th turn or going into the bullpen. I am concerned about putting him into the bullpen as many of you are too, but if Schilling can do it (albeit not that effectively yet) why couldn't Wood? It is a lot harder to go from bullpen to starter than than starter to bullpen.

[Cubzfan64]

I am concerned about putting him into the bullpen as many of you are too, but if Schilling can do it (albeit not that effectively yet) why couldn't Wood? It is a lot harder to go from bullpen to starter than than starter to bullpen.

 

I understand what you're saying, but it's just really impossible at a fan's level to compare what one pitcher can do with what another is capable of. Schilling essentially is only trying to rebuild ankle strength so he can drive off his foot - he doesn't have arm trouble as far as I know, except that he's probably trying to rebuild his strength after such a prolonged downtime.

 

Kerry is in a whole different ballpark and I'm honestly concerned that his arm problems would only be further exasperated (sp?) if he were to be moved into a bullpen role which his body/arm isn't conditioned for.

 

That said, he and the Cubs have to come to a decision soon, because "experimenting" with your #1 or #2 pitcher from start to start never knowing what you're going to get from him is NOT a good thing for the team and probably not a good thing for Kerry long term either.

 

I'm just so disappointed with how things have turned out for him it makes me very sad to see.

[DomingoRamos]

I'm very tired of Wood's arm problems, but I wouldn't shut up down. Rather, I'd like see the Cubs tie a long reliever with Wood's starts. FOr the rest of the season, Kerry potentially will not go farther than a few innings. I'd love to see Hendry bring up Hill to be the potential backup for each of Kerry's starts. I'm not a supporter of Hil being a reliever, but if there is a strong probability that he can pitch 3+ innings in one game every week. If there is also the potential to pitch more based on Wood's health, it should be considered.

[mul21]

1. Any injury to the shoulder that requires surgery is almost always worse than an elbow because there is so much soft tissue and it is such a difficult area to get repaired properly (I've had my labrum repaired twice now)

 

2. Sending Wood to the pen at this point makes sense to me due to the disarray it is in. We have extra guys around who can start so they might as well be used. If Kerry can only pitch 1 inning twice a week, so be it. If he's effective in the pen it does the team a whole lot more good than having him pitch 3 innings every start and having to burn up the pen. I say stick him in there, use him in a setup role and see what happens. it seems to me that it gets aggravated when he pitches a lot of innings so reducing the # he pitches may help.

[mjued926]

1. Any injury to the shoulder that requires surgery is almost always worse than an elbow because there is so much soft tissue and it is such a difficult area to get repaired properly (I've had my labrum repaired twice now)

 

2. Sending Wood to the pen at this point makes sense to me due to the disarray it is in. We have extra guys around who can start so they might as well be used. If Kerry can only pitch 1 inning twice a week, so be it. If he's effective in the pen it does the team a whole lot more good than having him pitch 3 innings every start and having to burn up the pen. I say stick him in there, use him in a setup role and see what happens. it seems to me that it gets aggravated when he pitches a lot of innings so reducing the # he pitches may help.

 

Agreed, neither time has he come out after an inning because of the soreness, he usually complains about it after a few innings. So he has three options the way I see it:

1) Tough it out if it isn't doing structual damage

2) Go into the bullpen and limit him to 2 innings max

3) Shut him down

[Larry Horse]

Shouldn't a scope be inserted in his shoulder so a doctor can look around and figure out what the problem is? Sorry if I'm wrong , but my medical knowledge is lacking.

[CubFanPhilly]

I think the answer depends on many factors. Some of them we'll know the answers to, others we'll likely never be privy to:

 

1) What's the Cubs' record in 10 days? Does the team still have a realistic chance to contend?

 

2) What is the likelihood that pitching the rest of the year further aggravates the injury?

 

3) Is this an injury that rest will help? Is surgery realistic or helpful in his case?

 

4) What is the status of Wood's heart defect? Do his doctors think the corrective surgery should occur during his baseball career? Or can it be postponed until retirement? What is the expected recovery period?

 

If the Cubs are out of contention, rest will help his shoulder, and/or he'll need surgery for the heart defect anyway, I'd sit him. He has little or no trade value now, so rehabbing him for next season might be best for him and the Cubs.

 

I wish him the best of luck.

 

CFP