Don't lose your starting position becasue of injury?

I'm sure you've heard this saying. A player should not be punished for being injured. Are you serious?

Imagine player A pulls a hamstring and needs a week to rest his injured leg. He's a good solid player. He's hitting .315 and is willing to play small ball if need be.

His replacement, player B, enters the starting lineup and proceeds to hit .500 with 3 home runs in the course of a three game stretch. Obviously, people are wondering where this guy came from and why he wasn't in the starting lineup before.

The obvious concern for player A is what happens when he returns? Should he regain his starting job? Obviously not. Yet, the euphemism exists. Player A should not lose his starting job due to an injury.

Next time you hear this comment simply think to yourself how ludicrous that proposition is. Tune in ESPN and I bet you'll hear it mentioned by one of their talking heads.