Pitching Corps Thins Further: Simon Out for '09

by OEutaw on Apr 22, 2009 5:04 PM EDT

No. 3 starting pitcher Alfredo Simon told reporters today that he will undergo elbow surgery that figures to cost him the remainder of the 2009 season.

SNIP

He came up sore early in his second start and was diagnosed as having "degenerative tissue" in his pitching elbow.

Now, in the grand scheme of things, this isn't a huge loss. However, in the NOW scheme of things, this isn't exactly good news. Simon was not going to be part of the future. His success this Spring seemed to come despite less-than-impressive perhipherals & ran completely contrary to his track record. But can anyone say they'd rather have Hendrickson or Eaton on the mound than hoping to catch lightning in a bottle with Simon?

The worst news for Simon is the timing. This could have been his shot to catch on as kind of a budding yeomanlike pitcher: one of those guys who hops from team to team, never really catching on anywhere, but making a good living out of it. Instead, his audition for that job has been cut short & may be permanently ended. I can't think of too many other teams with situations like ours that would have afforded him the opportunity to be a relatively bright spot in an otherwise miserable rotation. By missing out now, his return will coincide with the arrival of better, more talented cornerstones of our youth pitching movement.

Or, hell, he could end up in the bullpen. It's not like anyone out there has guaranteed job security.

Who do I look like, Kreskin?

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Everyone surprised raise your hand

That’s what I thought. As soon as the words “degenerative tissue” popped up, I mentally scratched him off the list of option for all of 2009.

Sorry, Alfredo. Good luck on the surgery.

Matt Wieters took batting practice this morning. There were no survivors.

by duck on Apr 22, 2009 5:15 PM EDT reply actions

Couldn’t have happened at worse time for his career (like OEutaw said). Best of luck, Alfredo.

I wonder if I can bill Jeff Lurie and Peter Angelos for the years of therapy their teams are going to put me through.

by BrianS on Apr 22, 2009 7:12 PM EDT reply actions

good night, sweet prince!

"If they pitch to you, make them pay."

--Diamond Dave to the Phenom

by j.q. higgins on Apr 23, 2009 9:49 AM EDT reply actions

Good luck Simon

I’ll always remember his first start, he went two out in the 8th inning, but was pulled after a HR. Jamie Walker faces four batters, gets none of them out, and Simon loses a Win for his first start.

The stock market will never recover, our armies will never again be #1, and our children will drink filthy water for the rest of their lives - HST

by the fix is in on Apr 24, 2009 9:43 AM EDT reply actions

Not so fast

It’s hard to tell how much you look like Kreskin over the Internet!

The coaches worked with him to get consistency on his arm slot, and he wound up being the best starter in the spring. People do learn new things and improve themselves sometimes. He won a starting job on merit against the odds once; it’s not out of the question that he will do it again.

Even if not a starter, he seems like he could be effective as a multiple-innings middle relief kind of a guy.

As for this year, the hit is only temporary. Hill’s probably going to be back in a couple of weeks, and Berken or Hernandez might be up a month or so after that. It got Bergesen in the rotation, which all the fans wanted anyway.

by Ampontan on Apr 27, 2009 1:07 AM EDT reply actions