Superstition

^Kinda surprised he can lift his arm this high.

Brandon Webb felt discomfort in his surgically repaired right shoulder and was shut down in his rehab assignment. In an interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, when asked if he would be able to come back Webb said "How many times can you do it? Who knows? I have no idea." One gets the impression that Webb is done for this season and probably for the rest of his career.

You can't fault a guy for taking a chance on Webb. After all, he did spend six seasons dominating hitters with a virtually unhittable sinker. He never had breathtaking velocity, but the movement on that sinker fooled enough hitters that he was able to post 1,065 strikeouts in a little over 1,300 innings. Even when they made contact, Webb was able to minimize the damage: he induced over 64% of opposing batters into ground balls from 2003-2008, leading all major league pitchers over that span.

So it's reasonable to think that Webb could make a comeback and regain some of his previous form. Maybe he wouldn't be the dominating pitcher he once was, but if he could continue to get grounders and keep the ball in the yard (only Tim Lincecum and Clayton Kershaw have given up fewer HR/9 since 2003) he'd be a valuable asset to a winning team in Texas. And medical science has progressed to the point where a pitcher's arm can be rebuilt almost to better condition than before an injury, so why not spend $2 on Brandon Webb on draft day?

As it turns out, Webb's shoulder is not okay even after two years on the sidelines recuperating from surgery. He's been knocked around in his few rehab starts at the Single- and Double-A levels. Now, he's shut down indefinitely with soreness in his shoulder and we may have seen the last of the best sinkerball pitcher of the last 20 years.

I've been carrying Brandon Webb on my DL since opening day, hoping that he'd make a return to the bigs and help my virtual ball club. But I'm starting to think that maybe Webb's struggles - and the delusional thought process that led me to stick with him and other stiffs on my squad - are what has been keeping my team near the cellar all season. Maybe Webb's injury caused Adam Dunn's burst appendix, Shin-Soo Choo's broken hand, Erik Bedard's strained knee. Maybe I'm running an infirmary and not a fantasy baseball team. It sounds crazy and it is, but other than bad luck and coincidence, I can only believe that it's either Webb's fault or the entire universe is out to get me.

So, happy trails Brandon Webb. I really do hope that you're able to come back and be an effective major league pitcher again. But more so, I hope somebody else in this league picks you up and stashes you away so they can inherit your curse.

Who Didn't See This Coming?

NEWS FLASH: Erik Bedard is injured.

For the third straight season, Erik Bedard makes 15 starts and then heads to the disabled list. In fairness, Bedard's 2008 and 2009 campaigns had a short DL break *during* his 15 starts, only to be capped with a season-ending arm injury. The 2011 Bedard made 15 straight starts, looking downright dominant for the last 11. And the injury that's landed him back on the DL is a sprained left knee, which is a relief considering that this is a guy who missed all of last season recovering from shoulder surgery.

Still, Bedard's injury leaves me in a really tough spot. Jon Lester and Dan Haren continue to anchor my starting pitching, but the situation looks pretty bleak past those guys. Josh Collmenter has gotten tagged for 5+ earned runs in 3 of his last 4 starts as it appears the league has caught up with the tomahawk-throwing righty. Kyle McClellan has been inconsistent since his return from the DL, allowing 27 baserunners in 17.1 innings over three starts. Derek Holland continues to be ineffective at home, sporting a 5.89 ERA in Arlington, over 2 runs higher than his road mark. Jeff Francis has the opposite problem, posting a 3.41 ERA at home and a 6.75 away from Kauffman Stadium. Jesse Litsch is still on the DL and may not have a spot in the rotation open for him upon his return.

The Phil Coke era is over, by the way. Jim Leyland pulled the reliever-turned-starter from the rotation and put him back in the bullpen to be used as a lefty specialist. Coke showed some potential but ultimately couldn't string together enough consistent outings to keep his job, especially after a late May DL stint. He was replaced by Charlie Furbush, who I'm sure was never made fun of as a kid.

So I have 6 starting pitchers, 2 of whom cannot be used half the time due to their home road splits and 2 more that are showing signs of decline. Starting pitching is an incredibly rare and valuable commodity in a 20-team league, so naturally there are no legitimate options in the free agent pool. The Marlins just recalled Brad Hand to pitch today against the Rangers, which is not exactly a prime fantasy matchup for a dude with exactly 3 big league starts. Greg Reynolds will take the ball for the Rockies today against the Royals, but this will be his only start and then he'll be sent back to Colorado Springs. The Pirates are going to give Brad Lincoln a look today against the Nats; he's been pitching very well at AAA Indianapolis, but this is likely to be a spot start as well and he'll be sent back after the game.

My team has no chance of competing if I'm going to be heavily relying on spot start call-ups to give me innings. But who am I kidding? My team has no chance to compete anyway.