| Dennis Hobein. 8th March, 2006 - 9:17 pm
 For the fans of the Chicago Cubs, this Yogi-ism is becoming a running punch-line when the word “disabled list” is mentioned. Once again, the injury bug has landed in Arizona, and has taken residence in the Cubs clubhouse. Spring training games have just begun, and already Kerry Wood is going under the knife, Mark Prior hasn’t thrown to a live hitter, and Aramis Ramirez has a finger injury.
General Manager Jim Hendry once again placed an ill-advised bet on the health of Prior and Wood to carry the Cubs in 2006. The Cubs G.M. could have pushed harder for A.J. Burnett. Hendry could have pursued Matt Morris. There wasn’t even a passing glance at Jarrod Washburn. Instead, the Cubs decided to skip the drama and pick up a player who is recovering from major shoulder surgery. Jim Hendry’s idea of an “insurance policy” is Wade Miller. I am not an expert on insurance issues, but I was under the impression that the point of insurance is to reimburse the policy holder in case of a major loss. Well, the Cubs are finding out that their policy won’t handle their claim until June, at the earliest.
The Cubs are calling Kerry Wood’s knee surgery “a minor setback.” That phrase has described Kerry Wood’s career thus far. If there was a pitching statistic for “minor setbacks”, Kerry Wood would be taking home the Cy Young year in, and year out. The Cubs are also being suspiciously quiet about Mark Prior’s throwing arm. Rumors are circulating about a possible shoulder injury, and the Cubs management has said nothing to rebuke that. The best case scenario has Prior pitching for the Cubs in mid-April. Aramis Ramirez continues to accumulate nagging injuries. The pulled groin injury from last season has kept Ramirez out of the World Baseball Classic. Now, an infected fingernail is keeping him out of Cactus League play. These nagging injuries tend to take their toll later, as the grind of the season begins to wear on players.
Injuries are of course, unpredictable and part of the game. However, successful teams add depth to their rosters and don’t rely on players who have a shaky track record of injuries. Franchises such as the Atlanta Braves and the New York Yankees continue to win division titles and play October baseball because they re-load their rosters with talent every year. The Braves continually have a top-rated farm system. Meanwhile, the Cubs continue to complicate the issue by going after “over-looked/bargain” free agents such as Wade Miller, instead of going after the sure thing.
One of Dusty Baker’s favorite sayings is, “When we get (insert player’s name) back from the DL, it will be like making a trade.” I guess the Cubs have traded for a “player to be named later”, since nobody seems to know exactly when Wood or Prior will be pitching for the Cubs. Frustration continues to mount for the loyal followers of the Cubs. The optimism that is typically associated with Cubs fans in Spring Training is quickly dropping of the radar. As the White Sox and their fans celebrated last year, Cubs fans waited for Jim Hendry to make a big splash in the free agent market in retaliation. The Cubs had millions to spend, as Sammy Sosa’s contract finally cleared the books. But the Cubs rolled the dice once again, and like a gambler caught in a cold-streak, all that is left to say is, “It’s Déjà vu all over again.” |
