Carpenter to undergo elbow surgery

Yahoo! Sports

This past Wednesday I wrote about Chris Carpenter:

So how is Carpenter doing? He threw Tuesday and said he felt fine, though we all know from experience that a pitcher always say that about his arm unless the darn thing is about to fall off (or maybe already has fallen off). Past history suggests that if all goes well, he’ll be back in two to three weeks, and maybe he’ll be able to slog through the season.

Or, of course, after a few more promising episodes throwing off a mound and then in a simulated game, he’ll be pulled from a rehab start and shut down to have surgery. He then might be in position to try to help the Cardinals secure a playoff spot in September.

We now know that it was the latter possibility that came to pass. I bring this up because I pursued Carpenter aggressively in Tout Wars NL and now face likely ruin this season in that league because of it. Carpenter’s demise is a reminder why the so-called experts don’t push the prices of any starting pitchers, which is why I’ve had pretty good success in recent years in Tout Wars loading up on starters.

Just not this year. Will I go after the best starter again next year? Despite the risk, if the prices for top starters stay low, I’ll be there.