[Diabetes-talk] Fw: Move to bullpen a health issue for Morrow, Mariners

Tue Apr 7 04:52:03 UTC 2009

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com>
To: "NFB of Washington Talk" <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, April 06, 2009 9:51 PM
Subject: Move to bullpen a health issue for Morrow, Mariners

http://www.seattlepi.com/baseball/404575_thiel03.html

Last updated April 2, 2009 11:48 p.m. PT

By ART THIEL
SPECIAL TO SEATTLEPI.COM

As the Mariners wind down spring training, surprises have been few --
unfortunately, for fans still wiping off after a 101-loss season.

And the biggest surprise went the wrong way.

Instead of being a starting pitcher, Brandon Morrow announced Saturday
in Arizona he was voluntarily returning to the bullpen. That wasn't what
the Mariners had in mind when Morrow was selected with the fifth pick in
the first round of the 2006 draft.

"We were surprised when he came to that conclusion," said team president
Chuck Armstrong this week. "We think this is a permanent decision."

Morrow's switch, after expressing eagerness last season to get into the
rotation, was driven at least in part by easier management of diabetes.

The chronic condition, diagnosed in high school, was known by the
Mariners prior to the draft, in which they passed on University of
Washington pitcher Tim Lincecum in favor of Morrow. Lincecum was taken
by the San Francisco Giants and last season won the Cy Young Award as
the National League's best pitcher.

Armstrong figured the draft decision, already second-guessed by many,
was in for another round. Bob Fontaine, fired at midseason along with
his boss, general manager Bill Bavasi, was the Mariners director of
scouting and the primary advocate for taking Morrow. Fontaine did not
return phone calls.

"Bob had done his due diligence and said he thought Brandon could
control (the blood-sugar swings typical with diabetes)," Armstrong said.
"We saw Lincecum as a smaller righthanded pitcher with violent
mechanics. He seemed more like a closer type without the endurance and
strength to be a starter, and that Morrow was more suited to starting."

An All-Pac-10 pitcher at Cal, Morrow was a starter until he reached the
majors in 2007, when he pitched 60 games out of the pen and dominated at
times. Last season, he had 45 more games as a reliever, posting a 1.47
ERA that was the second lowest in club history.

Switched to starting in September, he dazzled the Yankees in his debut
with a no-hitter through 7 2/3 innings. But as the starts continued, he
felt energy waning.

"I had troubles with low blood sugars a lot last year," Morrow told
reporters at spring training. "Especially warming up. And this year as
well -- the only game I started I was a little low to begin with.

"It's just easier to have five or six innings (in the bullpen) to level
out before you get in there."

Unpredictable outcomes are no surprise to Dr. Chad Palmer, who is
completing a one-year fellowship at the University of Washington Sports
Medicine Clinic and has treated a number of diabetic athletes. He was
diagnosed himself at age 10.

"This brings to light that diabetes is its own animal," he said. "There
are days where you do things exactly the same as the day before -- diet,
sleep, exercise -- and you assume your blood sugar should be exactly the
same, but it isn't. It can be high or low.

"Diabetes care is as much art as science."

Palmer pointed out that a number of diabetic athletes have had
successful pro careers, including starting pitchers David Wells and
Catfish Hunter, as well as golfers Scott Verplank and Michelle McGann,
hockey star Bobby Clarke, tennis star Arthur Ashe and boxer Sugar Ray
Robinson.

"One beneficial aspect in treating diabetic athletes is that they are
inherently disciplined and regimented," Palmer said. "They adapt to the
routine of blood-testing and insulin more easily than the general
population.

"But the interesting thing about any high performance diabetic athlete
is that each is completely different than the other, with his or her own
set of sugars, routines and challenges. Each has to be worked through
differently."

The Mariners may soon become baseball experts in the disease that
affects about one in 12 Americans. Fellow reliever Mark Lowe was
diagnosed as well.

After attempting last season to manage his blood sugar with diet and
oral meds, Lowe was re-diagnosed as a Type I (juvenile onset) diabetic
instead of a Type II (adult onset) and recently began insulin shots.

"I know it did affect me last year," Lowe, who began his major league
career with a franchise-record 17 2/3 scoreless innings over 13 games,
told the News Tribune. "I would come in some days and be dragging. Some
days in the middle of the day I would hit a wall. Some days it was so
high that my vision was blurry."

With proper training and medical monitoring, there is little reason to
think that Lowe and Morrow won't continue to be productive relief
pitchers, although Armstrong mentioned that diabetics "can be a little
slower to come back from some injuries and inflammation, which is why
(Morrow) is suited to pitch in shorter stints than longer ones where the
chance of injury is a little greater."

Morrow's switch is another setback in getting recent top draftees into
positions of prominence. The top pick in 2005, catcher Jeff Clement, has
been sent down to Triple-A Tacoma, as has top 2004 pick, third baseman
Matt Tuiasosopo, although an '04 classmate, catcher Rob Johnson, has a
shot to back up Kenji Johjima. The top pick in '07, pitcher Phillippe
Aumont, remains promising but is just 20.

The good news is that Morrow and Lowe are managing well their
conditions. It's just that Mariners fans were hoping to talk
strikeout/walk ratios instead of blood-sugar levels.

© 1998-2009 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
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