truebluefan

As the process of throwing a baseball at different speeds, different arm angles, different grips -- and doing it 100 or more times every five days -- takes its toll late in the season, big league pitchers often receive extra rest or are scratched from starts. Then there is David (Boomer) Wells.

Wells, the oldest pitcher (nobody is as old as New York Mets first baseman Julio Franco) appearing in postseason play this season, had to miss a start in St. Louis last week not because of any arm trouble or the dreaded strained side. Wells, notorious for living hard, missed that start because he had gout in his right foot. Then again, the San Diego Padres' lefthander is 43 years old.

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