This article is part of our Mound Musings series.
Injuries are a huge part of baseball, the actual game itself, and its fantasy counterpart. Success in the fantasy world makes assessing injuries mandatory. But, it's not just who will replace the injured player in your lineup, as there are many other factors that are part of the equation. How much time will my player miss? What should I expect when he returns? Was the poor performance immediately prior to his hitting the injured list related to the injury? Does this injury often include lingering side effects? Should I pursue an injured player on draft day, hoping for a significant discount?
That's lot to think about.
Naturally, we will focus on injuries to pitchers. I haven't compiled statistics, but it seems to me pitchers, on average, suffer more injuries of longer duration than position players. It may be a product of my bias, but I actually think it is a fact. Now I'm not a surgeon, a doctor, a trainer or even a first-year med student. My thoughts here are based on observation and experience, not an in-depth knowledge of the body. Folks, it's been a very long time since I took anatomy and kinesiology.
Let's start by stepping back and taking a deep breath. What you've seen regarding injuries, may be changing over time. Fifty years ago, it wasn't unusual for many starting pitchers to exceed 300 innings during the regular season. Today, only a handful will break 200 innings. There has to be a reason. There is, and
