WasWatching.com

I read somewhere the other day that Joba could be very suspect to injury down the road.

Something about an inverted ''L'' and ''W'' in his pitching motion and not properly following through after he releases the ball.

I'll add this thought...Someone could easily have dissected a young Clemens, a young Ryan, a young Maddox, Glavine, Carlton, Cone, Gooden, Tommy John, Gibson, Drysdale, Koufax, etc... and come up with the same concerns. Some of these guys have that "once in a generation" shoulder/elbow like a Ryan or a Clemens. Some had mechanics that, while not textbook, allowed then to have longevity and success. Some had biologic limits/flaws that were repaired with surgery. Next time a Yankee Classic is on from the late 70's, watch Goose. You'd have thought that he wouldn't last 20 weeks, let alone 20+ years. My point is that there is little value in changing what is working for a guy like Joba in the hope of forestalling injury. Working to get him a "smooth delivery" might kill the thing that works for him, i.e., accelerating his trunk to the plate. Kennedy will never throw 95, but gaining consistency over time is critical to a control pitcher. Hughes, a hybrid of power and control, needs more time to develop. All that said, the odds are in favor of one or more of these guys having injuries over the next few years. Let's wait until mid-year before we diagnose what's right or wrong with these guys. I'd liken it to hitting stances. What's right? Mattingly? Yaz? Williams? Ruth? Carew? Gwynn? Boggs? There is no universal answer. I thought Kennedy looked really good last night (a shame to have it end the way it did), but last night's ump had a very different strike zone that the ump in his last start.

If I recall correctly, Kaat (then) projected Pettitte more likely to be free of issues because his delivery ended on a bent leg whereas Hitchcock pitched off a stiff front leg.
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Kaat was wrong. If only he had X-ray vision he could have seen that Pettitte's elbow was hanging on by a strand. Pettitte never pitched a day in his life without pain and eventually needed surgery. The fact that he's been so durable has a lot more to do with who Pettitte is and his pain threshold than his mechanics.