Baseball Prospectus has a new daily feature looking at games of interest. I haven't been checking it out, partly because workload has been such that time has been at a premium and partly because while I don't mind content with an expiration date, "ten hours from now" is a little quick for me.

Today's story, though, has a fascinating and depressing look at how the Phillies ruined lefty Randy Wolf. Without further ado, here it is:

Wolf offers a prime case of what might have been. One of the most promising arms ever developed by the Phillies organization lately, Wolf was overworked early in his career, as one can see from the progression of his player comments from the Baseball Prospectus annuals:

1999: Uberprospect who faced a dangerously high workload at SWB this year...should be a very good pitcher if the Phils haven't ruined him; if they have, the entire organization should be canned, because they just wasted their best pitching prospect this decade...

2000: Here’s the perfect example of how not to handle a young pitcher. Wolf was still working on polishing his curve at Triple-A when injuries forced the Phillies to call him up to the majors. They then rode him hard, frequently letting him throw well over 100 pitches. If he doesn’t burn out...he’s going to be an outstanding pitcher. Unless the team changes its approach to handling pitchers, that’s not going to happen.

Wolf threw 107 pitches in his major league debut at the age of 22, on June 11, then 119 and 116 in his next two starts. He continued to be worked like a dog throughout the sweltering Philadelphia summer, throwing over 100 pitches in 17 of his 20 starts, over 110 in 10, and over 120 three times, including a 133 pitch effort on August 6.

2001: Terry Francona’s legacy may be the destruction of Randy Wolf’s star potential. If he has survived the abuse, Wolf could be a fun pitcher to watch for years to come because he has four good pitches thrown at four different speeds...Unfortunately, Bowa will likely finish the job Francona started.

2000 offered more of the same for Wolf: 27 of 32 starts over 100 pitches, 19 of 110 or more, and 11 of 120 or more, including outings in which he threw 131 and 134 pitches. He finished fifth in the majors in Pitcher Abuse Points (PAP) at the age of 23, behind Randy Johnson, Livan Hernandez, Rick Helling, and Al Leiter.

2002: As badly as Wolf was abused in 2000 and in the early going of 2001, he seemed to recover his arm strength during his demotion to the bullpen, returning to post a 2.19 ERA and allow just 62 base runners in 70 innings over ten post-break starts. On talent alone, Wolf is among the NL’s best young pitchers; by the end of 2002, he’ll either be a Cy Young contender or he’ll have a torn labrum.

On back-to-back starts in early May of '01, Wolf threw 138 and then 119 pitches, then a start later, followed that up with 124- and 128-pitch efforts.

2003: After a case of elbow tendonitis in the spring, Wolf was among the best pitchers in the majors in the second half. If he stays healthy, and with a good chance at a whole lot of runs being scored for him, a Cy Young isn’t out of the question.

In 2002, Wolf was a worthy Cy Young contender, thanks to a fantastic August-September in which he lowered his ERA from 3.95 to 3.20. From August 16-31, Wolf made three starts in which he pitched 26 innings without allowing a run; that success came at a price, however, producing pitch counts of 126, 124, and 117.

2004: On July 23 last year, Wolf was staring at the possibility of a Cy Young award, sitting at 11-5 with a 3.07 ERA. He threw a four-hit shutout against the Cubs that day, striking out 13 while throwing 132 pitches -- well above his 99 pitch per game average. In his next six starts, he allowed 33 runs in 30 innings; for the rest of the season; his ERA was 6.61. Was it worth the shutout?

And there you have it. Randy Wolf's career displays the startling length that teams have come in the past ten years in terms of better handling of young pitchers. Following that critical turn in 2003, Wolf has never been the same; he threw 136 2/3 innings in 2004, 80 in '05, and 56 2/3 in '07, ending his Phillies tenure. Last year he bounced back somewhat with the Dodgers, but still managed only 18 starts and 102 2/3 innings with an ERA above league average. Wolf is still just 31, and San Diego's big ballpark is a great place to revive a career, but it is doubtful he can recapture the potential greatness that was squeezed out of him.

Have the Phillies as an organization learned their lesson? The evidence is unclear but mildly encouraging: Cole Hamels, an even higher-ceiling homegrown lefty, was just 42nd in Pitcher Abuse Points in 2007, and his maximum-pitch outing was 117.  In his rookie year of 2006, Hamels was 68th, with a max-pitch game of 116.  Charlie Manuel has been similarly sparing of Kyle Kendrick, the only other rookie starter of note he's had for an extended stretch.

As the mighty phuturephillies writes elsewhere today, this is an issue of ongoing importance for a Phillies organization rich in pitching prospects and looking at some rotation openings in the big leagues within the near future.