<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (AJC.com)</div><div class='quotemain'><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%">Torn elbow tendon shelves Hampton for season</span><span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:100%">Torn flexor tendon sidelines lefty for 6-9 months</span>By CARROLL ROGERSThe Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionPublished on: 04/10/07Mike Hampton's season is over before it started.The injury-plagued Braves pitcher is headed for surgery this morning after learning he has a torn flexor tendon in his left elbow. He felt pain during a bullpen session Sunday and was evaluated Monday in New York.He is expected to be out of action for 6-to-9 months, effectively ending his season.Dr. Dave Altcheck, who performed elbow ligament surgery on the left-hander in September 2005, will handle today's procedure."I feel badly for Mike," Braves general manager John Schuerholz said late Monday afternoon. "He's worked as hard mentally and physically as anybody I've ever seen to get back. It's tough."Hampton, 34, hasn't pitched in a game since August 19, 2005. He was three days from making his first spring training start when he pulled his oblique muscle taking batting practice. The Braves signed free agent Mark Redman to fill in, but Hampton was told soon after he could expect to return in early May.Hampton will miss his second full season since coming to the Braves in a three-way trade from Colorado in November 2002.When he was able to pitch, Hampton was successful, going 11-3 with a 3.26 ERA from July 2003 to the end of that season, and 15-2 with a 2.65 ERA over a 21-start stretch from July 2004 to the following May.But this is Hampton's eighth trip to the disabled list in five years in Atlanta. The Braves have gotten used to going without him."It's disappointing," Schuerholz said. "It's just the way it is. We have to deal with it and go on. We've been without Mike for some time, and we have to continue to go on without him. ... As much as we wanted him back this year, he wanted it more."One week into the season, the Braves are 5-1 after series victories against NL East foes Philadelphia and New York. With Redman in the rotation, they've got six starters for their five starting spots already.They've got Lance Cormier on the disabled list with a sore triceps muscle but showing encouraging signs that he'll be ready to pitch again soon. Kyle Davies is coming off a solid start Sunday against the Mets in which he matched a career high with eight strikeouts."We said at the time we were fortunate to find someone of Mark Redman's capability. We thought he'd be a solid [addition] for our pitching staff," Schuerholz said. "We saw how Cormier pitched this spring, and how Kyle Davies pitched [Sunday]; we feel good about what we have. We'll find a way to make it work."The Braves are responsible for $48.5 million of the then-record $121-million, six-year contract Hampton signed with the Rockies. The Rockies and Marlins ? the third team in the trade ? covered most of his salary for the first three years of the contract (2003-05), but the Braves owe him the full amount for the final three years. Insurance covered part of Hampton's salary last season and will cover an undisclosed amount this season.He is due $29.5 million for this season and next."You never know what can happen," Schuerholz said. "When a guy suffers an injury like he suffered originally, it's a serious injury. Sometimes these things happen. We have to go on."</div>http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/b...410hampton.html---It's a shame. Hampton was good when he pitched for us, but he's getting to be as fragile as china. I guess we have to move on from the "Hampton Experiment". We can't afford to have an injury prone pitcher in our starting line up anymore...
I liked Hampton back when he was with the Mets in 2000, he used to be a very good pitcher, but it seems like his career went downhill the day he signed with Colorado. Couldn't pitch in Coors Field, and can't stay healthy in Atlanta. He'll have missed 2 and a half consecutive seasons by the time next year comes around.Living proof that giving pitchers more then a 4 year deal is just reckless.
