Jason Hirsh is a Baaaaaad Man

MLB.com reports the following..."a line drive that hit the right leg of Rockies pitcher Jason Hirsh during the 1st inning of Tuesday night's 11-4 victory over the Brewers did more damage than originally believed. X-rays taken on Wednesday revealed a fractured fibula. JJ Hardy's liner hit Hirsh's right calf. Hirsh picked the ball up and threw Hardy out at first base, then completed 6 innings during which he held the Brewers to 3 runs and improved his record to 5-7, with a 4.81 ERA."

Although Hirsh hasn't yet lived up to the hype with once made him a 2nd round draft choice (59th overall in 2003), Hirsh's stuff cannot be questioned. At 25, the 6'8" Hirsh should eventually become a solid major league starter. His primary problem at this stage of his career? Walks!! Although control does in most young pitchers, this wasn't expected to be a problem for Hirsh. After all...heading into the 2006 season, Baseball America tabbed Hirsh as having the "Best Control" in the entire Houston Astros organization (he was traded to Colorado in a 5-player deal this past offseason). Not only was he then the Astros top prospect, but he was rated as having the best breaking pitch in the PCL (for all non-baseball junkies, that's short for 'Pacific Coast League'). Have I mentioned yet that Hirsh can also 'bring it'...to the tune of 97 MPH cheese?

Anyways, enough with the scouting report...Tuesday's incident tells me that Hirsh has HUGE stones. The average person doesn't just continue to pitch on a broken leg, nevermind another 5 full innings on a broken leg!! That's crazy talk. PITCHING IS ALL LEGS. I wish I had seen this game -- it would have been interesting to see how much velocity he had lost as the game progressed.

Having been raised as a pitcher, the more I think about this, the more I become baffled by it. Again, Jason Hirsh is a righty. His right fibula was broken. Thus, the leg which he drives off the rubber, for all intents and purposes, was useless!! Yet, he managed to hold one of the better hitting teams in the NL to 3 hits (and 3 runs) in 6 innings!

If I'm a GM, I want Jason Hirsh's potential and intestinal fortitude on my roster. Will he ever be an ace? No. But, he'll always have a spot as a #3 in the National League. Bet on that.