313 games, 1405 plate appearances, 1564 total chances, two month of games in Spring Training, 19 straight days of games in four different cities to end the '06 season, and Rafael Furcal hasn't had enough. Call me crazy? Nay, call Rafael Furcal insane. The Dodgers shortstop and projected leadoff man says too much time off has led to his recent arm problems. Evidently when he was with the Braves, he used to play winter ball for Santo Domingo's Escogido and would report to spring training in shape. But since signing with the Dodgers in '05 he says
"I think I'm taking too much rest...I'm out of the action. [Before] I was ready coming into spring training because the season finishes over there in February."Incredible. Isn't this the exact reason why several teams bitched about their stars playing in the World Baseball Classic last year? Weren't they all too afraid of injuries from too much baseball? Hmm, shoulder injury + more throwing = healthy Rafael. Classic solution.
For the record, the LA Times says Furcal might be ready to return to the lineup, probably as a DH by the weekend.
