Kerry Wood's career hasn't gone as anyone thought it would, since that gray May day back in 1998 when the Astros couldn't catch up to his fastball and couldn't lay off his hard-veering breaking ball and racked up 20 strikeouts. After that outing, great expectations were foisted upon the 20-year-old Wood, despite the violent delivery that carried such great potential for injury.
Wood blew out his elbow later that year and never pitched in 1999, and in the nine years in which he's been part of the major league consciousness, he's made more than 30 starts just twice. Over the last three seasons, he's worked a total of 226 innings. Those expectations for him -- his own expectations -- have never been met.
So many of the days since that 20-strikeout game against the Astros must have been miserable for Wood, arriving at Wrigley Field with some part of his arm either sore or in a sling, knowing he wouldn't pitch that day or any day in the foreseeable future. For a guy who loves to compete as much as Wood does, the idea of facing a platoon of reporters and answering questions about the latest surgery, the latest soft-tossing session, the latest bullpen session must have been absolutely galling.
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Buster Olney
