except for part of the reasoning behind the innings limit is to allow him a full rest and recovery period in the offseason instead of an abbreviated one. and a pitcher is throwing in between starts, even if his starts are skipped, and while that's not as intense as actually throwing in a game, it's still stress on the arm.
i live in dc and go to nats games all the time, and i can't fault them at all for making this decision. and i am actively rooting for them to win it all. it amazes me that a lot of internet badasses and tv talking heads think they see a solution that rizzo and the front office haven't thought about a thousand times over.
and a pitcher's elbow isn't like playing on a rolled ankle or a mild muscle strain. you can get a cortisone shot and play through those injuries and they won't end your career if you aggrevate them again. wrecklessly pushing a pitcher with less than 100 innings in the bigs entering 2012 and coming off TJ surgery is career threatening. no, saving him doesn't guarantee future health, and pitching him doesn't guarantee future injury, but you have to take the advice given by the multiple surgeons that do these surgeries year after year including james andrews and make the best decision based on their advice and recommendations.