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| Will Brandon Webb soon be smiling again? (Getty Images) |
Remember Brandon Webb? Of course you do. The sinker-balling right-hander won the NL Cy Young in 2006 and was in the running for "best pitcher in baseball" over a six-year span. In fact, from 2003-08 only Johan Santana, among those with a minimum of 1,000 innings pitched over the years in question, had an ERA+ better than Webb's 143.
However, major shoulder problems -- labrum surgery in 2009 followed by rotator-cuff surgery in 2011 -- devastated Webb's career. He signed a one-year contract with the Rangers before the 2011 season, but he never pitching an inning for them. Now, though, Webb is attempting a comeback. This from CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman:
Former cy young winner Brandon Webb will throw a bullpen session this month in arizona for several interested teams
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) January 1, 2013
Given the depth and breadth of Webb's shoulder problems, expecting much from him at age 33 isn't wise. But it would be nice to see this once-great hurler make it back to the bigs.
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