Jaime Garcia to miss one start, not rest of season

Jaime Garcia will miss his next turn in the rotation Saturday against San Diego due to arm fatigue that originally had the Cards ready to shut down the rookie for the remainder of the season.

Tony La Russa said Garcia would not pitch again this afternoon but changed his mind after a meeting with Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak and Garcia. La Russa admitted fault in making the call before talking to Garcia.

Garcia convinced his skipper to keep him in the rotation for the rest of the year with a passionate plea at the meeting. They decided to give him some rest by skipping his next start and then seeing how he feels.

The rookie left-hander has been lights out all season for the Cardinals. He has been consistently good in compiling a 13-8 record and 2.70 ERA and his performance has made him a frontrunner for the Rookie of the Year award. While Garcia entered the year as a question mark, he started strong and continued to show his worth with every start. He mixed his pitches well, showed great maturity, and battled in tough situations. By the All-Star break, he was in the Cy Young discussion — an impressive feat for a rookie in a year dominated by pitching.

While it has been fun to watch the rookie fire all year, shutting him down would be the smart move. With just 19 games left in the season, St. Louis is seven games out. This season has quickly become a wash for the Cards and Garcia is too important to the future to mess with.

He has thrown 163 1/3 innings this year — more than the 143 2/3 innings he pitched the last two seasons combined in the minor leagues. His innings total in the minors was affected by Tommy John surgery two years ago and that history is always going to be a concern.

While Tommy John surgery is highly successful, the arm remains vulnerable. Young pitchers are even more vulnerable. Stephen Strasburg is staring at a 12 to 18 month rehab to come back from Tommy John surgery. Countless others have watched their careers fall apart. And Garcia has already had the surgery once. Another major arm injury would likely end his days as a starter, a major disappointment for a kid who established himself as a winner in his rookie season.

Garcia is best defined as a winner. He has good stuff but he doesn’t have the 98 mph fastball or knee-buckling hook that guys like Strasburg have. Garcia knows how to pitch and he never faltered until recently, likely because of the arm fatigue.

While he may want to finish the year, it’s not the best thing for the future. Young players never want to sit out or admit injury and when the organization gives in, an injury happens. He is still the favorite for the Rookie of the Year award and his future is still bright. It would be best to protect that future. The Cardinals need Garcia if they’re going to rebound in 2011.