Leading off today: In the course of doing some tidying up this week, I realized that I had fallen behind recently on one of my preferred pastimes: reading.
Buried in the stacks of bureaucracy in my den, I found a stack of four books I've been meaning to read since probably the beginning of the year but just haven't gotten to -- yet. I vow that such tardiness will not continue ... but first I have to make it through three interesting high school stories ("Sunday readers" in industry jargon) in newspapers from around the state this morning:
(1) The Journal News' examination of the wear and tear on pitchers' arms, raising the issue of whether pitch counts have a place in high school baseball. Reporter Vincent Mercogliano uses the story of Robbie Aviles, whose arm injury late in his senior season, might ultimately have cost him tens of millions of dollars over the next 15 years, as the entry point into the issue.
“As a pitcher, your moneymaker is your arm. I would love to stress to high school kids that they can’t go anywhere without their arm,” said Aviles, who is awaiting assignment at the Cleveland Indians’ extended spring training in Arizona. “If you have a sore elbow, don’t try to pitch through it. People kind of take stuff for granted, but every pitcher should know that you’re always one pitch away from ending your career.”
There's interesting information throughout the story, though it cannot answer the one question that many similar stories in recent years have also not been able to nail down: Why is it that pitchers at all levels even as recently as 30 years seemed to throw many more innings than today's counterparts without seeming to run into as many injury issues?
Is specialization causing a problem? Is the injury rate the same but we now do a better job of diagnosing? Is the total workload (high school plus summer ball) less or greater than in the past? Are young pitchers throwing too many curveballs?
Regardless, the story is an important read for pitchers and their parents.
(2) The Post-Standard's Nolan Weidner profiled Ashley Thompson, the second baseman on the Jamesville-DeWitt softball team, who is hitting .372 about 18 months after being diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis.
“My whole thing is to not let it take over my life,” she said. “I’m not going to let it ruin my life. I can’t totally beat it and make the symptoms go away. But I’m not going to let it ruin my life.”
(3) The Post-Standard's Charlie Miller told the story behind the story regarding a double rainbow that stretched over the field Thursday as the West Genesee girls lacrosse team prepared for its game against Syracuse CBA.
Trying to summarize the story here doesn't do it justice,
