Hopefully it helps educate parents to not think their kid at 10 years old should quit playing other sports and become a baseball star.

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2018
#ExtendLafleur
10 More Wins

The hysteria is a little silly. Every time I played catch over the age of 8--probably hundreds and hundreds of hours--I tried to figure out how to throw a curve ball. We all did. In fact we used to repeatedly check the Tom Seaver pitching guide out of the school library to learn all these fucked up pitches.

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Soccer 1,2,3
Spanish Honor Society 1,2,3,4
Forensics 1,2,3,4

"Smiles with Nostrils"

"...no Hmong, go find some blacks"

Throwing curveballs in the backyard is nothing like pitching competitively 3-4 times a week or twice in the same day. That's exactly what Smoltz is saying. Every pitch a kid throws today is a competitive pitch. No one is messing around in the backyard because they're too busy playing in an endless string of tournaments because travel teams are charging too much money not to.

I don't remotely disagree with what Smoltz is saying. However, whether kids are throwing 40 or 50 or 80 pitches (or whatever) a few times a week at 100% or throwing 1000 times a week with their friends or in practice, they are going to hurt their arms. It's fucked up and repetitive. Some people say to coddle the arm, some people say not to. It's all just a guess. Yet if I was in baseball in some official capacity I think I would feel lucky that there any kids left who even want to commit to the sport.

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Soccer 1,2,3
Spanish Honor Society 1,2,3,4
Forensics 1,2,3,4

"Smiles with Nostrils"

"...no Hmong, go find some blacks"

But when we played as kids it was typically lob baseball. We didn't even use catchers to play pickup.

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Sometimes. I probably played off the wall more than lob league, but I played wiffle ball exponentially more than any of them. I can't imagine there is anything worse than throwing a wiffle ball at 100% given the light weight. In fact I played with my son this weekend (kicked his ass) and my arm is killing me. PM me if you're interested in joining a class action suit against Wiffle, Inc. Figures that evil Pete Rose would have something to do with it.

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Soccer 1,2,3
Spanish Honor Society 1,2,3,4
Forensics 1,2,3,4

"Smiles with Nostrils"

"...no Hmong, go find some blacks"

Josh Johnson will undergo a third Tommy John surgery.

Another one who needs to let it go. Johnson's made over $50M in his career including $9M over the last two seasons despite not throwing a pitch. Go home and do some charity work to make up for all the money you've been stealing.

I don't think he is stealing money, he signed a contract that unfortunately injuries have stopped him from pitching. He is only taking what the clubs have given him thru contracts they have given him.

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2018
#ExtendLafleur
10 More Wins

Better question is why would you want to come back given that amount of money you've made. Is a major league lifestyle that much better than staying home and having the freedom to do whatever you want whenever you want with no regard for time or money? Then again, he could be married.

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

On this day, in 1974, Dr. Frank Jobe takes tendon from Tommy John's wrist & transfers it to his elbow. History is made.

Should be called the Frank Jobe Surgery.

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Tough day for the Angels. Andrew Heaney and Garrett Richards are both headed for TJ.

Might be time to trade Trout for a massive haul.

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Sonny Gray is put ON NOTICE

Time to SHUT HIM DOWN

SERIOUSLY THKUGH, My dad met Tommy John in an airport once and got me an autograph ball from him.

It read "SomeGuy, reach for your dreams, Tommy John"

I think there was a Styx song named that.

Your dad just carried a baseball around with him?

Styx was okay until DeYoung totally fucked them up.

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We all have private ails. The troublemakers are they who need public cures for their private ails.- Eric Hoffer

It was a baseball that unscrewed to reveal a hiding place for cocaine.

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That would've been signed by Keith Hernandez and or Dave Parker.

Matt Harvey is out for the season with thoracic outlet syndrome.

Noah Syndergaard got pulled in the 5th after his fastball was clocked at 91 mph after being 96+ all game.

I guess that's why you don't build with pitching.

What a shame this happened to the Mets - not.

My fantasy team took a huge hit

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Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Orioles RHP Huner Harvey is the latest victim. Here's a quote form the GM. “He’s had a strain in his elbow, and we’ve been trying to see if he could pitch with it,” Duquette explained, “but he had another setback last week, and it looks like he’s going to need to have a ligament reconstruction procedure here.”

He's 21 yrs old and they tried to pitch with it. Unbelievable.

I thought the problem was the cut fastball the Orioles don't allow their pitchers to use.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

I like your style. You go to that even as Kyle Schwarber is sitting there on ice for the year.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Nathan Eovaldi has a torn flexor tendon and UCL. See ya in 2018.

He's apparently a free agent after 2017? Cubs should pick him up.

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