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What is going on when a manager pulls a starter when he has a no-no going into the 6th inning? Has the game become such a slave to pitch counts that even a starter, pitching nearly perfectly, gets yanked?
Going by last night's O's and Ray's game...we do. I for one find it disgusting. Can you imagine Nolan Ryan or Sandy Koufax coming out of a game like that?
What is going on when a manager pulls a starter when he has a no-no going into the 6th inning? Has the game become such a slave to pitch counts that even a starter, pitching nearly perfectly, gets yanked?
Going by last night's O's and Ray's game...we do. I for one find it disgusting. Can you imagine Nolan Ryan or Sandy Koufax coming out of a game like that?
Meh, the kid had a bunch of stellar defensive plays behind him, he walked a few guys, and had a high pitch count, and it was a close game. I kind of agree with the decision.
The theories regarding pitch counts are mostly applicable to young pitchers who are still in the development stages of their careers. The studies have indicated that overworking young pitchers is likely to lead to arm trouble.
Chris Tillman is 22 years old and had needed 101 pitches to get through the sixth inning. At that pace, completing a no hitter would have meant that Tillman threw 150 plus pitches.
Had Baltimore left him out there to complete a 150 pitch no hitter, followed by Tillman's arm breaking down, they would have been treated to an explosion of criticism ...ruining this young man's career in exchange for a gimmick.
Meh, the kid had a bunch of stellar defensive plays behind him, he walked a few guys, and had a high pitch count, and it was a close game. I kind of agree with the decision.
Maybe...I was watching my Sox get slaughtered again by the AL champs and didn't see the game, but I can remember many starters going for complete games as a kid. I grew up in NYC and used to go to Shea to watch Seaver, Koosman, Matlack, and others and they usually had a few complete games each season.
Today, you can count on two hands the number of complete games in both leagues, and most were no hitters. I think this formulaic way to pitch, especially in the AL, has made things way too predictable and boring. Starter pitches 6 or 7, then a middle guy or a setup guy comes in for one or two innings, then the closer.
Maybe arms were stronger back in the 1970s or maybe there really is a risk of doing damage that was ignored, but just seems like we treat pitchers like china dolls now.
Clubs have a lot more money invested in pitchers now than back in the '70s.
I remember being upset two years ago with Joe Girardi for pulling Phil Hughes when he had a 6-inning no-hitter going. But in retrospect I think it was the right decision.
And who knows? If Koufax had not thrown so many pitches, maybe he would have not been through at the age of 30.
Yesterday, Matt Cain had a shutout going and had thrown only 87 pitches when he was pulled after 6 inning...
It's early in the year. Most of these guys have a long season and a lot of innings in front of them. It makes good sense to rest them early and often at every opportunity.
Why would you expect any manager to risk the long term health of one of his starters in the first week of April?
That happened years before 2011. In fact, it happened when the pitch count became a valid statistic. Some pitchers are capable of throwing more pitches and remaining effective than others. Reducing everything to a number that doesn't take the individual into account is just plain ridiculous.
Maybe arms were stronger back in the 1970s or maybe there really is a risk of doing damage that was ignored, but just seems like we treat pitchers like china dolls now.
Olympic records have proven that virtually every athletic accomplishment has exceeded by a substantial margin, the capacities of performers in every sport over the past couple of generations. How is it possible that the throwing arm has failed to keep up, or in fact, actually become considerably weaker or less durable?
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