The real miracle in Tampa Bay isn't the Rays' stunning record. It's not that they're ahead of the Red Sox and the Yankees with August in sight, or that after all those years of 90- and 100-loss seasons, they're still on pace for 96 wins.
No, the real miracle is that closer Troy Percival is able to pitch -- at all.
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| Troy Percival can't explain how he's doing it. (Getty Images) |
He'll tell you all that. What he won't tell you is how he's doing it.
Because he can't.
His forearm muscle is still torn away from his right elbow, just as it was when he was forced out of the game three years ago. He never had the surgery that was prescribed, in part because he was told that even with surgery he'd never throw more than 85-87 mph again.
His own doctor told him he was crazy to try to return to the big leagues last year.
He shouldn't be able to pitch. But he can, and the fact that he returned this week healthy is one of the bigger reasons to believe that the Rays might just be able to hold onto their lead.
That's fine. A great story, almost as great as the Josh Hamilton story.
But how in the world is it possible?
"I can't answer that," Percival said the other day. "How am I doing it? I don't know."
Maybe it shouldn't shock us, because Percival came back last year, pitching in 34 games for St. Louis and doing well enough that he had plenty of offers over the winter, well enough that the Rays felt more than comfortable signing him to a two-year, $8 million contract.
But remember, this guy's forearm muscle isn't attached to his elbow. He's not supposed to be able to pitch. His own doctor said he was nuts.
