On the field, Doug Davis has had a rough year. While he’s always seemed to outplay his peripherals, this year the luck has swung drastically in the other direction. Opponents have a .398 BABIP against him this year, and his xFIP of 4.72 is nearly three full runs lower than his ERA of 7.51. He’s been a victim of bad defense, although I’m sure some would argue that he’s partially at fault for lulling the defense to sleep with his high walk totals.
Off the field, it’s been an even worse year for Davis.
It stinks whenever a player has to miss time due to injury, but it’s even worse when it’s due to a health condition that’s out of everyone’s control. Right when it seemed like he was ready to come back from his first bout with pericarditis, it flared up again, delaying his return. He was finally able to return to the rotation just before the All-Star break, making what’s best described as a typical Doug Davis Start against the Pirates.
It appears Davis has suffered another setback, though, as he was placed on the disabled list today with elbow tendinitis. Considering his heart problems this year, elbow tendinitis seems relatively benign, but it’s still disappointing to see Davis struggling so much this year. I was one of the few that was excited to see him back with the Brewers, especially with the contract he signed. Needless to say, it’s hasn’t worked out as well as we’ve hoped.
This bit of bad news does come with the silver lining of Lorenzo Cain being called up (for real this time, after a false alarm a week or two ago). I’m excited to see what Lo can do, but you hate to see the roster spot open up this way.
No matter how you feel about Doug Davis the player, you have to start feeling bad for Doug Davis the person. Hopefully Davis can come back soon and return to being a solid pitcher down the stretch, even if he likely isn’t in the Brewers’ plans for next season.
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