Sore Schmidt unsure about status for rest of season

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SAN FRANCISCO -- Looking back a day later, Jason Schmidt realized he shouldn't have pitched Saturday after tweaking his tender right groin during warmups.

Schmidt decided to give it a go anyway, saying it would have been "embarrassing" to walk off the mound moments before game time. Somehow, he lasted five innings and looked more than respectable despite throwing his fastball 10 mph slower than usual at times.

Jason Schmidt
Starting Pitcher
San Francisco Giants    
Profile

2005 SEASON STATISTICS
GM     W     L     BB     K     ERA
28     12     6     83     162     4.29

Now his status for the rest of the season is uncertain.

He was sore Sunday and expected to map out a plan for the remaining two weeks with trainer Stan Conte and pitching coach Dave Righetti. Conte said the Giants don't want Schmidt to risk further damage by changing his mechanics just to get back on the mound.

"It's sore," Schmidt said Sunday, noting he doesn't think the injury has become worse. "I shouldn't have pitched. The rule was, if I feel anything I'd come out of the game."

He had a hard time thinking of doing that considering his arm felt as good as it has all year, so he dealt with the twinge in his groin every time he let the ball go.

"My arm felt so good I could have thrown 97-98 [mph], but I didn't get a chance to try it," he said.

Schmidt left his start Sept. 7 at Dodger Stadium in the fifth inning after getting injured while throwing a pitch to Oscar Robles. He failed to earn the decision in that outing and then again during the Giants' 2-1 win Saturday, so Schmidt is riding a five-game winning streak dating to a loss at Milwaukee on July 30.

Schmidt compared what he did Saturday to playing catch in the outfield.

"That's pitching at its most basic, and that's not a bad thing," catcher Mike Matheny said. "It's amazing he did what he did. It's been a tough year for him. He's been through a lot. Still, what's he got, 12 wins?"

If Schmidt doesn't win another game he will finish with his fewest victories since 2000 with Pittsburgh, when he had shoulder trouble all year and won only two games before undergoing season-ending arthroscopic surgery on his throwing shoulder in August.

Now, his arm isn't the problem.

"Literally, I was almost lobbing the ball to Matheny," he said. "I feel like I didn't even throw yesterday. I didn't even ice. ... Every time I would throw 85 and Jeff Kent would pop it up, I'd say, 'My gosh, this is unreal.' "

The 32-year-old Schmidt, a contender for the NL Cy Young Award the past two years, said he will be eager to start fresh next season and forget the frustrations of 2005. Nobody can blame him. The injury-prone Giants are yet to put the lineup on the field they projected coming out of spring training -- though they came close Sunday when Barry Bonds batted cleanup and Moises Alou followed in the fifth hole for the first time all year.

Last season, Schmidt went 18-7 -- establishing a career high for wins -- with a 3.20 ERA in 32 starts and a career-best 225 innings, finishing two victories behind league leader Roy Oswalt of the Houston Astros. Schmidt's 251 strikeouts were his most in a season and a San Francisco record, besting the 248 by Hall of Famer Juan Marichal in 1963.

An NL All-Star in 2003 and '04, Schmidt also became the first Giants pitcher with consecutive 200-strikeout seasons since Gaylord Perry in 1969-70.

He struggled early this season after winning his first two starts, but San Francisco also has had a hard time scoring enough runs for its starters.

"I believe Schmitty has really become a complete pitcher," Giants manager Felipe Alou said. "He can pitch with really good stuff or what he had yesterday, control."