When Dusty Baker became the manager of the Reds, one of the primary concerns was how he was going to handle their young pitching staff. Given his history in Chicago and even San Francisco, it was certainly a valid concern. Still, he and his staff have handled Edinson Volquez and especially Johnny Cueto very carefully this year. Look at the team response to removing Cueto after just three innings in his last start:I love the specificity in describing the injury. It's like the Reds are screaming, "IT'S ONLY NEAR HIS ELBOW!" Still, with Cueto's inning count creeping pretty high (his 155 innings this year is close to his 161 and 1/3 from last year), I'd expect the Reds to really limit his pitch counts over the next month. They don't have anything left to play for and having a talent like him blow his arm out in meaningless September games would be nearly criminal.Cueto complained of stiffness and soreness in the back of his right arm - near where the triceps tendon connects to the elbow.
"It was purely precaution," trainer Mark Mann said. "With Johnny being young, we wanted to err on the side of caution."
