World Baseball Classic: A pitcher's nightmare?

Is the World Baseball Classic harmful to pitchers?

Don’t ask the Boston Red Sox about Daisuke Matsuzaka.

Don’t ask the San Diego Padres about Jake Peavy.

And maybe you shouldn’t even ask the Houston Astros about Roy Oswalt.

Coincidence or not, two of the three pitched in the WBC and are now out for long periods of time. And the third, Oswalt, hasn’t been the same this year since pitching in the WBC.

Red Sox Manager Terry Francona has gone so far as to suggest Matsuzaka’s ailing right shoulder – which could keep him sidelined the rest of the season, -- is likely the result of pitching in the WBC.

And to think this is a guy Boston invested more than $100 million into …

Peavy had perhaps his worst year ever in an injury-plagued 2006 (11-14, 4.09 ERA) after pitching in the WBC. This season, he pitched in the WBC, is 6-6 with a 3.97 ERA and could miss a couple months with a bum ankle.

So much for a guy the Padres are trying to trade away along with his $50-plus million contract ...

As for Oswalt, he seems to be OK physically. But what’s with his sub par 3-4 record and 4.48 ERA?

So much for a guy who’s supposed to be the ace of the Astros ...

All told, maybe the WBC should take place after the season, when pitchers are in top form.

Otherwise, you might expect some top pitchers to take a fall every three years after the WBC.

MLB pitchers not built like they used to be

Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitched a complete game shutout in deciding Game 7 on two days rest in the 1965 World Series.

Mark Fidrych of the Detroit Tigers pitched 24 complete games in 29 starts in 1976.

Randy Jones of the San Diego Padres pitched 25 complete games in the same season.

Yes, it used to be that a starting pitcher was considered to have a successful outing if he pitched a complete game every four days.

Then why is it that now, a pitcher is believed to have done his job if he works six innings every fifth day?

And on top of that, why do so many starting pitchers get injured nowadays?

Consider the staff aces that couldn’t even make it through the second week of the 2009 season without going on the disabled list:

Among them are Daisuke Matsuzaka of the Boston Red Sox, Brandon Webb of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Hiroki Kuroda of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Then there is World Series MVP Cole Hamels of the Philadelphia Phillies, whose first start was pushed back five days due to injury and hasn’t exactly been lighting things up since.

Lone gone are the days of players signing one-year contracts.

But one has to wonder: Would pitchers (and many hitters for that matter) be much more productive if they were paid year-by-year based on what they did the previous season?

Just asking …