Hampton Scratched From Start
by gondeee on Apr 3, 2008 7:12 PM EDT
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PrintSeriously... seriously!
Strained left pectoral muscle... he found a new muscle to strain. I wonder if Hampton is related to Rocco Baldelli.
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Why?
Did he get hurt warming up? If Cox scratched him cause the weather is crappy and he doesnt want him making his first start in those conditions, then it makes sense and is the right move.
Gondee's Fault
It's because Gondee put up that picture Martinez grabbing his hamstring. You jinxed us . . .
strained left pectoralis.
That's what they say.
new strategy?
trick them into thinking you're throwing a lefty, then scratch him and start the righty!
is vegas taking bets on whether mike hampton ever plays again?
Odds
They were taken off the board about 8 months ago. Its a shame. Not just cause I think he could still help the team, but you want to see him get back for his own sake. Hopefully it really is day to day and he'll be back soon. At least its not his elbow.
you honestly think he has something left?
I feel like at his age, missing 2 plus years, not pitching very much in 2005, and returning from 2 elbow surgies there probably isn't much left in his left arm.
The Dusty Path to the World Series!*
*Note this is not an endorsment of Dusty Baker.
Sweet buttercream jeezus
I double checked a calendar when I heard 'cause I was positive it had to be April 1. Knowing now that it's April 3, I really gotta make some life changes.
by goesbetterwithbeer on Apr 3, 2008 8:39 PM EDT reply actions
You know...
..I'm going to have to agree with you. Baldelli and Hampton two totally different things..
Yeah
Baldelli has a rare disease where his cells don't work correctly. Hampton is old and fragile.
Oh, come on
They're baseball players who deserve our constant scorn... not human beings!
(I actually feel for both of them -- I would imagine most of what's happened to each is out of their control.)
injuries
Now obviously I don't know the severity of all of these injuries, but it would seem that at some point you have to learn to play through pain. More to that point, how in the hell do you strain your pectoral muscle? I've been around sports all my life and I have never actually been around someone who pulled their pec. JMO but something just doesn't seem right here.
obviously there are individual differences in the resistance of connective tissue to injury. I think it sucks that we treat guys who tend to get injured a lot like it's a moral issue; obviously I'm guilty of the same. Hampton is someone who gets injured a lot. So is Chipper. So is Baldelli, although in Baldelli's case he appears to have a specific, defined genetic defect that prevents him from being a professional athlete, which seems cruel because he's so phenomenally talented. My point is, I don't think we should treat the two cases all that differently; it's not like Hampton is out of shape and that's why he gets hurt.
Hampton never did anything wrong; no one had to give him that contract. And I think he's spent the last several years doing everything he can to get back on the field.
I'm not saying it has anything to do with his specific resistance to injury. If you get injured you get injured, stuff happens. However, I just think that there are certain injuries such as this one that it would seem to me could be played with. Now again, I don't know the severity of the injury but to me it doesn't sound that serious. Twenty years ago it was unheard of for a guy to sit out with a "strained pectoral".
but...playing through the pain...
Would you really want a guy pitching at 75 or 80%? I mean, if he is playing LF or RF where he might have 5 or 6 throws and 4 ABs, he could probably play with the pain and you might not notice a dip in his performance. But with your starter, I don't think you want him going out there and throwing without his normal accuracy and velocity for 6 innings or 80-90 pitches. It isn't a matter of can the individual play or not, but a matter of does he playing help or hurt the team. I'd rather have a 100% Bennett or whoever versus a 75% Hampton, who has not pitched in 2 years. And, this early in the year, do you want to risk him doing more damage and missing 7 or 8 starts, or 2?
I'm only presenting the other side of the argument here, playing devil's advocate if you will. I think it is kind of ridiculous this guy seems to always have something, so it does make you wonder what the deal is. But I assume that if he could go, he would have. And it wasn't his choice to miss the last 2 years. So I really can't fault him, however I would love to know how much Hampton has earned per win for the Braves (I think that would be easy to calculate...).
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