Kerry Wood, the Cubs closer, was out for several weeks with a blister. What is with a blister?

Question

I wouldn't miss three weeks because of a blister. Jeez. What is going on?

Answer 1

he's useing his head, you are being a ****head

Answer 2

Um, it was on his pitching hand.  Do you have any idea how painful it is to throw a ball with a blister?  The ball won't even go straight anymore, because he'll have to change his release point.

Answer 3

The fingers are very important for a pitcher.  He has to exert force with his fingers, and place them in just the right position.  If he has a blister on a finger that he uses to grip and exert force on the ball, he will probably not be able to throw that pitcher correctly.

He was on the DL for 3 weeks because if he comes back to early, he can easily cause the blister to come back again.  It takes a while for a blister to heal completely.

Answer 4

I don't know if this is the case with Kerry Wood, but I've had shingles on my fingers before, and I've actually been hospitalized because of them.

Sometimes what appears to be a minor injury can really be a problem.

Answer 5

Feel for a pitch comes from a pitchers fingers.  Blisters irritate and effect how a pitcher throws a pitch.

Answer 6

He said that the skin would not grow back and it was very painful to throw the ball because it was on his Pitching index finger.

Answer 7

Check this out, this should gice you about everything that you need to know, but it is an injury.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blister

Answer 8

Actually you probably would miss three weeks with a blister, it was on his index finger so every time he pitched (bullpen sessions, warm up tosses, side throwing sessions) the ball left his hand (index finger last in most pitches) and was continously irritating his blister over and over again, until the blister finally popped.  After the blister popped you have to wait for it to heal completely so you don't get another blister in the same spot.  If you don't think you'd miss three weeks try this give yourself a paper cut go throw 50 pitches (get a nice big blister) and then constantly throw 40 to 50 pitches for the next 2 weeks to see how fast you heal.  

Answer 9

Trust me, if you had a blister on the index finger on your throwing hand you would be missing 3 weeks as well.  Josh Beckett deals with these things all the time, they're a common occurrence in baseball for pitchers and can be very painful to throw a ball with a blister.

Answer 10

Ask Greg Maddux how important the slightest change in pressure and "feel" can affect a ball's flight.

And as for you "manning up"....let's talk when you make the majors...