2007 Photo Outtakes: Albert Pujols Is More Limber Than I Am
2007-12-18 21:16
This exercise doesn’t look so hard in theory, but I’ve been fighting a hip strain for the last couple of weeks. This is to me like a picture of chocolate to a dieter. But at least my hip has only a strain, and not a torn labrum. The only good news about Chad Gaudin’s need for hip labrum surgery is that it totally explains his struggles in the second half of the season. He’s a better pitcher than his final numbers indicate.
1. Gaudin's strikeout rate actually went through the roof during the second half, oddly enough. 8.6 per nine compared to 5.6. Unfortunately, his home run rate, walk rate, and BABIP also soared.
This presumably has something to do with being a groundball-oriented guy who lost the ability to get the ball down in the second half (but still had good enough stuff to manage a pretty decent strikeout rate).
2. If he crossed his left foot behind his right foot and did the same stretch, it would really open up his hips more.
3. The other silver lining is that he tore his left hip labrum, not his right shoulder labrum.
Having a similar foot problem, all I can say is he must have been really in pain pushing on that foot -- he's fortunate the hip is all he tore.