Erickson's approach might have been different had he not performed so well despite elbow pain in last season's second half. Throwing through elbow stiffness and forearm discomfort, Erickson reversed a 1-8 start with an 11-4 second half that left him with a 15-12 record and 4.81 ERA. This year, his troubles deepened rather than reverse as his ERA soared to 7.87 through 16 starts.
"I pitched through some pretty good pain for the last two months of the season and this year I thought it was just a matter of throwing through it. But apparently it's not," Erickson said.
