Plenty To Go Around

There's a lot of talk going on that Kerry Wood's injury problems are a result of Dusty Baker's overuse in 2003.

Frankly, it's intellectually insulting to think that making a guy throw FEWER innings than he threw the year before (211 in 2003 versus 213 2/3 in 2002) is a main factor in Wood getting hurt.

Given that Wood got hurt the spring training after his rookie year (consisting of 166 2/3 innings), the most likely scenario is that he was damaged good before he even arrived in Wrigley Field.

Who do I blame? His high school coaches.

There is the infamous story of Wood in high school:

Two days before the draft, Kerry threw 175 pitches in a doubleheader with Grand Prairie's playoff hopes on the line. The Chicago brass was in an uproar.

You push a 17-year old arm like that and you doom it.

Yes, the Cubs rode Wood hard. It probably didn't matter if they would have babied him like his teammate, the USC alum. Like Dan "Jimmy Carter" Aykroyd, Wood's arm was effectively given a fatal dose of radiation. He never had a chance.

What's sad is that the 20-strikeout game ends as a tease for the fans. What's fortunate for Kerry Wood is that he has that game to look back on. Many players never get a moment like that.

And he has about $34 million.