TPWW Forums - GONNA BE A GUITAR HERO

HUMMIN' SLOWED BY STRUMMIN': Guitar video game hurt Zumaya's arm
BY JON PAUL MOROSI
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

December 14, 2006

Joel Zumaya can still do first pumps but not guitar strums. (DUANE BURLESON/Associated Press)

The Tigers are satisfied they won't see a recurrence of the right wrist and forearm inflammation that sidelined Joel Zumaya for three games of the American League Championship Series.

Why? Club president and general manager Dave Dombrowski told WXYT-AM (1270) on Wednesday the team had concluded Zumaya's injury resulted from playing a video game, not from his powerful throwing motion.

"That was probably what was taking place," Dombrowski later told the Free Press.

Zumaya, 22, was known to play "Guitar Hero," a PlayStation 2 game in which a player uses a guitar-shaped controller to simulate the performance of popular songs.

During the radio interview, Dombrowski said the Tigers' athletic training staff discovered that Zumaya's forearm pain was more consistent with the action of a guitar player than a baseball pitcher. The Tigers asked Zumaya to stop playing the video game, and he did. Zumaya then pitched pain-free during the World Series, and went 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA in three appearances.

"He felt fine in the World Series, to tell you the truth," said Steve Springer, one of Zumaya's representatives. "I didn't even think twice about it."

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...88/1050/SPORTS