Welcome To September, Kids

"The one thing I tell [Verlander] all the time is to listen to your body," says Bonderman, who is second in the league in strikeouts (163) and on track to see his ERA (3.86) decrease for the fourth straight year.

The Angels' Weaver, who missed one start last month with biceps tendinitis, has heard the same mixed message from his body as Verlander. "I've never been this deep [into a season]," Weaver said. "Obviously, I've got to maintain my strength and conditioning. I'm getting adjusted to doing that, and it's been a grind. But I feel like I'm getting back to healthy.... So, I don't think there's going to be anything--knock on wood--that's going to keep me from getting deep in the season."

Throughout baseball, teams are protecting young pitchers by having them throw less than those from previous generations. The Mariners say they will cap the innings of Felix Hernandez, 20, at around 190 innings to avoid a dangerous jump from the 172 1/3 he threw last year. The Pirates and the Marlins, who have used rookie starters extensively this year, are considering six-man rotations in September. The Yankees don't allow top prospect Philip Hughes to throw more than five innings in his Double A starts. The Twins, as they did with Garza this month, conduct strength tests of a pitcher's shoulder and elbow immediately upon calling him up from the minors.

"Liriano is phenomenal, Weaver is special and Verlander is special," says Detroit general manager Dave Dombrowski. "But if you had looked for the same kind of pitchers in 1997, you would have picked Jaret Wright and Carl Pavano, who both got hurt. The reality is, you may think a guy is special but you have to wait until a pitcher gets through his first couple of years healthy until you really can believe it."

Says Leyland, when asked about Verlander's pitching down the stretch, "He'll make it, easy. I believe in protecting pitchers as much as anybody, but at the same time this is a big boy's game. You know what I mean?"

On Aug. 16, two days after meeting Fidrych, Verlander walked a career-high seven batters and, without command of his curveball and changeup, lost to the Red Sox 6--4. The grind of the season, he insisted, was not a factor. But who could know for sure? Even with the careful monitoring of innings, pitch counts and conditioning, eventually a young pitcher like Verlander, having thrown more innings over more months than ever before, reaches a rite of passage called September.

History Says ...

Of the eight pitchers who, since 1995, have thrown 200 innings in their rookie seasons, seven saw a significant drop-off the following season, and only Freddy Garcia and Matt Morris regained their rookie form.

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