[nfbwatlk] Move to bullpen a health issue for Morrow, Mariners

[Mike Freeman]

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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