Dodger Hiroki Kuroda takes the mound tonight for the first time since a line drive caromed off his forehead, sending him to the disabled list.

Manager Joe Torre will probably be pleased if Kuroda goes five reasonably strong innings, giving up 2-3 runs. Then, he'll be benched until his next slated start, one week later.

If this is the way tonight's contest against the Padres goes, then Kuroda, the Dodgers, and fans of the blue crew will be thrilled. They'll have one of their starting pitchers back in the rotation, which is rich in choices, right now.

In Kuroda's returning game, a five-inning stint will be very respectable and ambitious enough. But why are the rest of today's starters, the ones that haven't been traumatized by a speeding projectile, generally expected to last no more than six innings?

And where did the 100-pitch limit creep into the equation, where starters ipso facto are thought to become unstable and require bullpen assistance?

In the olden days of flamethrowers Nolan Ryan and Sandy Koufax, to name a few of the game's best, starters were expected to go eight innings or all the way. If they were pulled earlier it meant they were being pummeled or they were literally worn-out.

Now, we have starters, long-relievers, middle relievers and closers. It takes three or four specialists to do the work of one capable generalist.

What is this-modern medicine or the game of baseball?

Why are today's ballplayers seemingly so injury-prone?

No one has answered the latter, a multi-billion dollar question. You would think this would be a research mystery that big insurance companies would be investing a ton of premium dollars in systematically exploring.

Kuroda's medical excuse is written on his forehead.

Where is every one else's?