Rotting Wood

Yes, Kerry Wood left a game with an arm injury again yesterday. This time, he has "shoulder tightness." But, it's nothing to worry about. Listen to Kerry himself:

It doesn't bother me right now. It's more like a little ... I don't know how to describe it. I've never had any problems up there (in my shoulder).

I guess Kerry meant to say, at the end of his quote, "So I guess I was due."

Now, I have no idea if this is just a minor thing or the start of a season-long problem. What I do know about Kerry Wood is this: This guy is as reliable as U.S. intelligence on Iraqi WMDs. Look at his career numbers:

Year    G   IP     H    R  ER  HR   BB   SO   W   L  ERA
1998   26  166.2  117  69  63  14   85  233  13   6  3.40
1999   DNP
2000   23  137.0  112  77  73  17   87  132   8   7  4.80
2001   28  174.1  127  70  65  16   92  217  12   6  3.36
2002   33  213.2  169  92  87  22   97  217  12  11  3.67
2003   32  211.0  152  77  75  24  100  266  14  11  3.20
2004   22  140.1  127  62  58  16   51  144   8   9  3.72
Total 164 1043.0  804 447 421 109  512 1209  67  50  3.63

Only pitched 200 innings and 30 starts twice in his career. Injuries in 5 of his 7 years in the bigs. He's now over five years removed from Tommy John surgery, which, according to Will Carroll, is the time window in which arm problems start to reoccur.

This is a man who, while gifted, is looked on by some (including Peter Gammons) as a savior and perennial Cy Young candidate.

Well, he's not. He's a solid pitcher who can be spectacular at times. He can also be lousy. And he gets hurt a lot. That's not a guy to build around. He's nice to have on your roster. But thank god for Carlos Zambrano and Mark Prior. They are the anchors of this team, not Kerry Wood.

Kerry Wood will be lucky to hit his 600 innings pitched in 2004 to 2006. That would prevent his option for 2007 from vesting. Right now, that looks to be a very good thing. $11 million per year for an unreliable, oft-injured pitched is a luxury I wouldn't want.

I hope he's healthy, The Cubs need him for 2005 if they want to win a World Series. But you are nuts if you are counting on him. He's burned you every other time.

And Again

TM  PITCHERS                        IP  H  R ER BB SO  ERA
KC  Sisco, Andy                    1.0  0  0  0  0  2  0.00