The news for Hong-Chih Kuo is concerning, as he has landed on the 15-day DL with a bad back and, get this, a case of the "yips." Yes, the yips, which is the same ailment that golfers have when they suddenly can't hit the ball correctly. Bizarre stuff indeed.
Kuo wasn't getting pounded by any means this year, but is clearly not the same pitcher as last season. He's made four appearances for a 3.37 ERA with four walks and four strikeouts. Again, not bad numbers, but we all know how dominant he can be when he's on.
The Dodgers apparently discovered that Kuo wasn't right during fielding practice on Friday. When trying pickoff throws to second, the ball was going all over the place. Then when he tried to warmup during that night's game, he was missing the strike zone with regularity. That was when it was decided to give him rest and recall Ramon Troncoso.
Hopefully some time away from pitching does the trick, because if it doesn't, the Dodgers are weakened automatically if Kuo's not the same. While it's asking way too much to duplicate last season's filthy numbers, he's capable to dominating anyway. Take him out of the equation, and the already struggling Dodgers will have an even harder time closing out games. Let's just hope for the best on this one.
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