We tip our cap to them for their stamina, stuff and, especially, their competitive nature. They take us back to another era, when Hall of Famers like Catfish Hunter, Bob Gibson and Tom Seaver could answer the bell over and over, often on three days' rest. But more and more, it seems, there's a downside for the pitchers who handle the workload.
You'll never hear these pitching warriors complain, especially not when they've been rewarded with rich contracts, but all you've got to do is watch them to appreciate the price they've paid for being extended so much when they were at their best.
On Tuesday night, 34-year-old CC Sabathia made his Grapefruit League debut for the Yankees. He gave up two runs on four hits in two innings, but both he and Joe Girardi felt it was an impressive step forward, based on his velocity and comfort level.
Earlier in the day, in nearby Lakeland, 32-year-old Justin Verlander got knocked around by the Nationals, a down day in what has been an encouraging Spring Training as he tries to put a disappointing 2014 behind him.
Meanwhile 36-year-olds Cliff Lee and Barry Zito push to prolong careers that are on the rocks. Zito, who took 2014 off after finishing '13 with a 5.74 ERA, is making a nice comeback for the A's; the Phillies' Lee is hoping that rest and rehab work can allow him to pitch with a torn ligament in his left elbow, as Tommy John surgery could end his career.
MLB Tonight on injuries to Wheeler and Lee
Harold Reynolds and Bill Ripken discuss the impact on the Mets and Phillies after Zack Wheeler and Cliff Lee each suffer injuries in spring
There's a common bond between those four American League Cy Young Award winners. They've all thrown 120-plus pitches in a start 20 times in their career.
Oh, and we probably shouldn't forget Tim Lincecum, a two-time National League Cy Young winner. He's only 30 but has been dealing with diminishing levels of success since 2012. He's also in the Ridden Hard Club, having also had more than 20 career starts of 120-plus pitches.
That's what usually happens when you pitch really well. You pitch a lot.
Just ask Fernando Valenzuela. At the height of Fernandomania, Tommy Lasorda rode his horse to 96 complete games in 234 starts from 1981-87.
Valenzuela's performance began to regress in his age-27 season, and he never regained the greatness that had him on a Hall of Fame arc. His run was a long one, however, compared to Mark "The Bird" Fidrych. He completed 24 of 29 starts in his age-21 season for Tigers manager Ralph Houk, and would never make more than 11 starts in subsequent seasons.
That's the sort of extreme handling you don't see anymore, thankfully.
But the Cubs pushed Kerry Wood and Mark Prior to their breaking points not that long ago, and neither of them made it to their age-27 season as effective starters.
Wood threw 120-plus pitches eight times in his NL Rookie of the Year season in 1998 (including a mere 122 in his 20-strikeout game) and then threw 120-plus pitches 14 times in 2003, including 141 in one seven-inning start against the Cardinals in May. He led the NL in total pitches that season, going beyond 4,000, but Prior actually had more pitches per start. He threw 120-plus pitches 10 times that year, including 133 in a postseason start.
Those are totals that Verlander handled when pitching for Jim Leyland. He's had 59 career starts of 120-plus pitches, including 11 or 12 for four consecutive years (2009-12). Five of those extended starts came in the postseason, when Verlander dug deep like aces are supposed to do, giving everything he had to try to give the Tigers their elusive championship.
Every one of those games was high drama, exactly what makes baseball so captivating. But that's an enormous workload, and rather than see that as a reason for caution, the Tigers doubled down on his durability. Verlander signed a seven-year, $180 million contract in Spring Training 2013, when his previous contract still extended for two years.
By contrast, the Blue Jays' Mark Buehrle, the active leader in innings pitched, has thrown 120-plus pitches only eight times during his run of 14 consecutive seasons with 30-plus starts and 200-plus innings pitched. He's pitched for only three managers, and Jerry Manuel, Ozzie Guillen and John Gibbons have all handled him smartly.
Buehrle on Martin's impact, preparing this spring
Blue Jays pitcher Mark Buehrle discusses the addition of Russell Martin, his offseason routine and preparing for 2015 at Spring Training
Unlike Sabathia and Verlander, Buehrle was never a power pitcher. But he has lost some velocity over the years, forcing him to make adjustments, including reducing the velocity on his trademark changeup.
Velocity is a huge question for Sabathia. He's a huge key for the Yankees this season, but his hefty contract and extension arguably has already paid off. He was a huge key to the Yankees winning the World Series in 2009, their last title in the five they won during the Derek Jeter era.
Sabathia's fastball averaged 95 mph in '09, according to Brooks Baseball, but dipped into the low-90s in 2013, with no real explanation, and was down to 90.5 before his 2014 season was ended by surgery on his right knee. He was making his first Major League start since last May on Tuesday night, and it's a good sign that he hit as high as 96 on the YES television radar gun (low-90s on other guns), and he said afterward his goal is a 200-inning season.
If the big fellow can pitch effectively for 175 innings, let alone 200, the Yankees could spring a huge surprise this year in the AL East, especially if Masahiro Tanaka and Michael Pineda also stay healthy.
You never know with pitchers though, especially when they've been ridden hard for years. Extended starts often come with high costs -- something to think about the next time you want the manager of your favorite team to leave in his starter.
Jim Riggleman, who managed the Cubs in 1998, told me once that he wonders if his handling of Wood led to Kid K's shortened career. But the only times Riggleman ever got booed, he said, was when he went to the mound to take him out of the game.
Phil Rogers is a columnist for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Riding a workhorse pitcher often comes at high cost
Dengan url
https://sehatbuahku.blogspot.com/2015/03/riding-workhorse-pitcher-often-comes-at.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Riding a workhorse pitcher often comes at high cost
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Riding a workhorse pitcher often comes at high cost
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar