By Jim Henneman

Now that just about everyone concedes Stephen Strasburg's season-ending injury had nothing to do with arm abuse, here come the theorists claiming it was nothing more than a mechanical breakdown. It's amazing how many continue to debate the effect of "proper mechanics" while dealing with a body movement just about everyone agrees is completely unnatural.

What is really so amazing is the number of "experts" out there who now claim to have noticed a flaw in Strasburg's delivery -- one allegedly so obvious that a breakdown was inevitable. I'm not quite sure what that flaw is/was since such details tend to be overlooked. Nor am I certain of the whereabouts of said "experts" for the last 18 months when Strasburg was being hyped as a "generation pitcher" by his agent, Scott Boras, and just about anybody else who had seen him pitch. It's not like this guy just all of a sudden fell out of a tree and started throwing 100 mph.

How come nobody noticed these "flaws" during his three-year college career? Or even during his abbreviated stint in the minor leagues while he was polishing his act and delaying the arbitration/free agent time clock? I'm sure there are good, better and best ways to throw a baseball from the top of a 12-inch hill, 60-feet-6-inches from home plate. But the bottom line is the accepted conventional way isn't natural and is conducive to damaging the arm. The only questions remaining: Where? When?

Jim Palmer had as flawless a delivery as these eyes have ever seen, and he had breakdowns. Had he pitched in this era, he undoubtedly would have had at least one of the surgeries that hadn't yet been perfected. Perhaps his career would have been extended, and his Hall of Fame numbers enhanced. Or maybe he would have lost more than the two-plus years he lost to injury and never made it to the doorsteps of Cooperstown. We'll never know.

Here's what we do know: Investing millions of dollars in an athlete, especially over an extended period, is a gamble. Making that kind of a commitment to somebody because he does one thing -- throw a baseball -- falls into the category of "buyer beware." There are rare exceptions, but they are so few you would be hard-pressed to name more than a handful.

Strasburg is young enough to recover from his setback. But depending on how this all plays out, it's possible the Washington Nationals will never recoup their initial investment, reportedly in the $15 million range. By the time he's ready to pick up where he left off, Strasburg will already have accumulated half the time necessary to become arbitration eligible and probably more than a third of the time needed for free agency. In order to keep him under their employ, the Nationals may still be paying for potential, rather than results.

This is exactly what the Nationals did 13 months ago when they made Strasburg the richest amateur free agent ever. And they might have to do it again. At least this year, when they made Bryce Harper the richest amateur position player ever, the Nats have a couple of position options, none of which is totally dependent on his throwing the ball 100 mph.

Buyer beware.

***
A week ago in discussing the unfortunate injury to Strasburg and comparing pitchers to quarterbacks, I wondered why I’d never heard of quarterbacks undergoing "Tommy John" surgery. Well, good friend and editor extraordinaire Larry Harris pointed out that Jake Delhomme, late of the Carolina Panthers and now Eric Mangini's appointed savior in Cleveland, is one NFLer who did have the operation.

There probably have been some others along the way, perhaps even at the college level, but certainly not as many as there have been in baseball despite the similarity in the throwing motions.

Some readers were quick to point out quarterbacks throw only 30-50 passes per week in competition, which is true. But they also throw three or four times as many as that during daily workouts, generally three or four per week. They are also throwing a heavier object at a greater distance, which would seem to induce wear and tear during the course of the season.

There's probably a very good reason why quarterbacks seem to suffer fewer arm injuries than pitchers (I'm sure many will suggest better mechanics), but it isn't obvious enough to have caught my attention, for what that's worth.

***
Now that the Orioles are back in their own conference, we'll get a better read on the recent turnaround under Buck Showalter. For sure the new manager will be the first to admit starting pitching has been the key. Now comes a major test, especially in a couple of weeks when the Toronto Blue Jays try to complete a season sweep after winning the first 12 games between the teams.

No team in baseball has been decimated by injuries more than the Red Sox, so it's a testimony to their starters they've been able to hang around this long. That's the one area continuing to nag the Yankees as much as Andy Pettitte's pulled groin muscle. Phil Hughes has done a nice job behind C.C. Sabathia, but A.J. Burnett has been in a season-long meltdown. Everyone else has been a crapshoot, making Pettitte's return crucial.

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay is six-deep in quality starters, the envy of just about every team in baseball. The lineup has underachieved so far, but is healthier than it's been. Second-year outfielder Matt Joyce (acquired a year ago in exchange for Edwin Jackson) appears poised as a possible breakout player.

Jim Henneman can be reached at JimH@pressboxonline.com

Posted August 31, 2010