Rick Morrissey Needs To Check His Facts

In an "on-the-one-hand, on-the-other-hand, do-I-have-a-third-hand?" column that would make Mike Hunt proud, the Chicago Tribune's Rick Morrissey said the following:

Milwaukee's other star pitcher, Ben Sheets, has a history of injuries that makes Harden's look like amateur hour.

Um, really? Let's check the numbers.

Ben Sheets is in his 8th season as a regular starter. He made 25, 34, 34, 34, 22, 17, and 24 starts from 2001 to 2007. He has started 18 games this year.

Rich Harden is in his 6th season as a starter. He made 13, 31, 19, 9 and 4 starts from 2003 to 2007. He has started 13 games this year.

Even if we just look at the injury-plagued seasons from 2005 - 2007 for both Harden and Sheets, Sheets has averaged 21 starts over those three years. Harden has averaged almost 11 starts per year over that same period.

Maybe Morrissey is referring to the odd nature of some of Sheets' injuries (the weird inner ear thing, for example). But I doubt it, because that's actually another argument in Sheets' favor, in that his injuries by and large haven't been to his right arm or shoulder.

Of course, I'm not saying that Sheets is durable. Hell, he could get hurt today and nobody would really be surprised. But to say that his injuries make Harden look like an amateur is plain wrong. Compared to Harden, Sheets is Cal Ripken Jr.