St. Louis – There’s a fine line between playing hurt and helping your team, and playing hurt and damaging your team’s chances. San Diego Padres ace Jake Peavy said Wednesday he was on the wrong side of the line when he pitched in Tuesday’s 8-5 loss to the Cardinals in Game 1 of the National League division series.
“I definitely think I hurt my team,” said Peavy, a day after he was battered for eight runs in 4 1/3 innings and left the game with what was later diagnosed as a broken right rib. “There was pain out there that I didn’t expect, and it definitely hindered my ability to go out and do what I know I can do.
“Obviously, I felt like I hurt the team and I guess maybe I should have said something in the middle innings when it started to hurt me, but I wanted to be out there.”
While it’s expected Peavy will be out for the rest of the series, he said he might be able to numb the area and pitch again.
Complicating the matter is the mystery about exactly how Peavy, 24, was injured. He said he originally bruised his right side last week during an on-field celebration after the Padres’ victory over San Francisco to clinch the NL West title.
However, he was able to throw lightly on the side and swing a bat in the days leading up to Tuesday’s start. He convinced himself he could pitch effectively through the pain. But then Peavy caught a spike in the rubber and slipped as he pitched to Larry Walker in the third inning, prompting Padres head trainer Todd Hutcheson to speculate that the awkward landing led to the broken rib. Padres manager Bruce Bochy admitted Wednesday he was not aware of how much pain Peavy was in and said his ace should have been smarter and let him know.
“It’s one thing to be a competitor or a warrior, but there’s a fine line between being a warrior and hurting a ballclub and Jake has to realize that,” Bochy said.
But others, including Cardinals left fielder Reggie Sanders, who hit a decisive fifth-inning grand slam off Peavy, supported the pitcher’s decision to gut it out.
“Let’s say he had gone out and won,” said Sanders, a 14-year veteran. “He would have been a hero.”
To prove his point, Sanders dug up the classic example of Kirk Gibson, the Los Angeles Dodgers star who limped out of the dugout with a bum leg and hit a game-winning, pinch-hit homer in the Game 1 of the 1988 World Series against Oakland.
“I think teammates respect a player more when guys try to battle like that,” Sanders said.
But what about injured players who battle and fail? Everyone knew Gibson was hurt. Only Peavy knew how seriously he was hurt.
“It’s a tough dilemma,” Sanders said. “Especially for a young player, because you are at the beginning of your career and you are trying to show that you have some guts. And you have to remember, Peavy is their ace. If he doesn’t pitch, people say, ‘What is he doing?”‘
Cardinals hitting coach Hal McRae, a former player and manager, applauded Peavy’s decision to pitch.
“He thought he could help the club,” McRae said. “He’s a great competitor, so you can’t fault him for wanting to take the ball. Special people take on a little more responsibility. You have to go after the big moment.”
Said Cardinals manager Tony La Russa: “That’s a really tough call, but I think clubs look to their big pitchers and big players to go to the post. I think if he had backed out of there, I think his club would have lost an edge.”
But a moment later, La Russa added: “If a player’s really not himself, he probably should say something. If he’s got a shot at it, I think the club expects him to go out there.”
Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-820-5459 or psaunders@denverpost.com.
