If you weren't already annoyed by Adam Wainwright's struggles -- his latest loss Wednesday makes him 3-5 with a 4.68 ERA in eight starts since the All-Star break -- his explanation for those struggles might be enough to put you over the top. He told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he's going through a "dead arm phase," adding "one of these days it's going to click in, and its going to be real nice."
"Dead arm" is a fun little catch-all pitchers use to explain their struggles to the media. That's a cynical way of putting it, but you get the idea: It means almost nothing to you as a Fantasy owner. Occasionally, it's a precursor to injury, but more often, as Wainwright suggests, the pitcher eventually gets over it and we all live happily ever after.
Since the All-Star break, Wainwright's velocity and strikeout rate are slightly down, but hey, he has dead arm. All things considered, he's not doing so bad -- four of his last five starts have been quality starts -- so I wouldn't even move to bench him unless something more specific comes up.
He gave no indication he wouldn't pitch through the dead arm, so it must not be that bad.