Dodgers: Max Scherzer Was Concerned About His Elbow in Potential NLCS Game 6 Start
In this story:
Max Scherzer was recently asked to respond to his comments at his New York Mets signing press conference, in which he placed a lot of the blame for his inability to win in October on the Dodgers.
As we all know, Max Scherzer said in December that his "overcooked arm" problem was caused by a reduced pitch count while the LA coaching staff tried to "keep him fresh" for the postseason. Mad Max's Baseball-Reference page makes it abundantly clear that something wasn't right with his narrative.
In a series of tweets, Dodgers insider Dave Vassegh hit on it.
Regardless, after more time to consider his response, Scherzer took the opportunity to talk with Jorge Castillo of the LA Times about it. With that, he attempted to clear up any misconceptions regarding his purpose in the postseason following his request not to pitch game 6 of the NLCS.
“It wasn’t about a contract situation. It’s literally my arm’s health. When you can’t throw, you can’t throw.”
Last October, Scherzer appeared in just 4 games over a span of 12 days, starting the Wild Card game, game 3 of the NLDS, and relieving in game 5, then starting game 2 of the NLCS. Since then, there have been several instances when the right-hander has compared his workload with the Nationals in 2019 to his 2021 postseason performance. He appeared on short rest twice during the postseason with the Nationals, and he was hoping to get similar results with the Dodgers this time around.
Instead, he hit a point where he was concerned that if he pitched in the NLCS Game 6, it might jeopardize his career.
“If I pitch in that game, I blow out and I could be out for a year and jeopardize my career … Throwing in Game 6, I would’ve been rolling the dice on sustaining a substantial injury. There’s no ifs, ands or buts about that.”
So there you have it. If you were still wondering why Scherzer didn't pitch in that game, it wasn't due to anything other than his concern for his future health.
