Our two time All-Star pitcher, Justin Duchscherer has been a question mark all season. It seemed like he was on the road to making his A’s debut about a month ago, but he kept delaying his starts. I along with many A’s fans found it weird as we wanted to see our “ace” back in action for at least the last month or so of the season. He did make a few rehab starts in Sacramento that MCeezy watched in person, and it appeared he pitched good. He has been on and off the DL for a good portion of his career, so everyone just figured he wasn’t ready after having season ending surgery towards the end of last season.
It was made public today in the SF Chronicle that he will shut it down for the season due to “a very treatable clinical depression.” I’ve been outspoken about letting these guys just pack it in due to “depression“. Duke’s case is no different. I can’t understand why he’d jump ship at this point, especially since his contract expires after this season is up. Maybe he didn’t feel right when he was pitching in Sacramento. Maybe he thinks he can get a contract based on what teams remember of his good days. Either way, I think he’s made his last pitch in Oakland, so thanks for the memories Duke!
By
cali4dre
chappy81
dyslecix
mceezy
Doin Work 
August 22nd, 2009 at 12:20 pm
He actually only made one start up here in Sac. He did look good. Like I said, the outs were hit hard and the hits were little bloop shots. His changeup was as impeccable as ever. If anything, though, he looked healthy. This news comes as a huge surprise, and while I’m sincerely sorry for him, I hope we can re-sign him at a discounted rate this offseason!
August 22nd, 2009 at 3:16 pm
Baseballbriefs.com tracking back The Duke Shutting it Down For the Season…
Baseballbriefs.com tracking back The Duke Shutting it Down For the Season…
September 20th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
[…] Trevor Cahill, Vin Mazzaro, Gio Gonzalez, and maybe Justin Duchscherer (if he snaps out of his depressed mental state) we should have a solid rotation come next season. The young guys have taken their lumps this […]
January 3rd, 2010 at 3:21 pm
[…] 2010 I had so many questions when Justin Duchscherer, the Athletics two-time all-star, decided to shut it down last August for the season. He seemed like he was on the road back to joining the A’s with a […]