ESPN – Padres vs. Braves – Box Score – May 08, 2008
Yes, it’s a one run win! I know!
It was one they had to scratch for. They fell behind 2-0 in the first, with sloppy defense and sloppy pitching pretty much equal contributors — Teixeira made an error allowing the leadoff man to reach, and Kotsay pulled a two-base Prado bringing in two runs, but Joseph Reyes certainly wasn’t sharp. The Braves got a run on a Teixeira single in the bottom of the inning, but were shut out for the next three by Fredo Ledezma, a pitcher whom Braves fans were so happy to get rid of last year that we offered to buy him a ticket to San Diego if it would get him out of town faster. The Braves did load the bases on walks in the third, but Francoeur struck out to end the inning.
Meanwhile, Reyes had to leave in the third when a blister on his pitching hand popped. Buddy Carlyle relieved him and did a pretty good job, but Teixeira pulled a two-base Prado of his own in the fifth (seriously, he dove the wrong way on a hard grounder, and the announcers never pointed this out) and then got hurt in a collision with a hitter on the first base-line. Campillo had to relieve him, and he screwed up, allowing a runner to score on an infield single, then allowing a double to score his own man to make it 4-1. By the way, both Carlyle and Campillo had to lead off the inning after their emergency relief appearances, but Carlyle drew a walk.
The Braves did rally in the sixth, getting two runs on a bases-loaded pinch single from new folk hero Greg Norton. In the seventh, it looked like Escobar would be stranded after getting to second on a leadoff error (I thought it should have been scored hit/error, but I think I’ve said enough about the official scoring in this series already), but a two-out wild pitch (which Smitty called for) scored him and tied the game.
Finally, in the ninth, Bud Black went with Joe Thatcher, the lefty reliever who had looked awful for the Padres last night, and did again today. Escobar led off with a bunt single. Chipper, hitless to that point, followed with a single. Teixeira hit a chopper to advance the runners. And Black, who just wants to get fired at this point, walked Francoeur, who over the last few days has looked completely lost at the plate, to face another righthanded batter, Matt Diaz, who is hitting over .400 against lefties. Diaz worked the count, lined a single to left, and the Braves finally had a one run victory.
Phil Collins has a request:
I’m going to say no to that.
One more night? Ummmm….sure?
Two redeeming things about Phil Collins:
1) Tom Glavine once said Phil Collins (or maybe it was Genesis) was his favorite musician
2) This great segment on This American Life from last year about breakup songs which centers on Phil Collins and “Against All Odds”, and includes a great interview with Phil Collins about break-up songs. It’s worth the free download to listen to it:
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1203
I hope no one throws anything at me, but I would point out that the Braves have been remarkably successful in the recent days of the Collins regime.
2 small items:
Braves undefeated in May.
Braves ahead of the Mets.
(throwing shoe at AAR)
I wouldnt change anything during a 6 game winning streak and the Pirates coming to town. Hey Phil, stay with us
For the record, saying that Genesis is your favorite performer is in a different league of defensibility than saying Phil Collins is your favorite performer.
Braves go to Pitt, I think.
Ububba’s correct, its at Pitt for four games.
True enough, Nathan. I wish I remember which it was.
For anyone who only wants to hear the Phil Collins interview, just stream it online and jump straight to the 14:20 mark.
Great win, especially considering that this was a game we probably deserved to lose. Count me among the people who thinks that we should sit Franceour for a game or two, though. The streak is incredibly silly, and he looks absolutely terrible. He’s pretty much a guaranteed out whenever runners are on base. In fact, one can argue that where the Padres lost the game was the HBP on him when he almost certainly would’ve struck out to end the inning with no harm done.
good job of keeping this leaky ship afloat. its been awhile since i’ve seen a patchwork pitching staff like this one do so well. its like the good ol’ days when we didnt need 9 runs to win. hang on tight, boys………..i might be the only one, but in the genesis/ collins debate, i think Peter Gabriels overblown theactrics are even worse than anything PC has done.
In fact, one can argue that where the Padres lost the game was the HBP on him when he almost certainly would’ve struck out to end the inning with no harm done.
Channeling Bill Simmons here…
Ladies and gentlemen, the Jeff Francoeur Era!
I’m not as negative about Franceour as many on this site (Tex and KJ aren’t much better right now!), but I would agree with giving him a few days off. As a matter of fact, when any player struggles, I think there comes a time when they need to view the game from the bench for a few days. It looks like it could be that time for Frenchy.
One more night!
Count me among those who like Phil Collins and the PC Era Genesis.
Also, “a player on a streak has to respect the streak” – Crash Davis.
Screw that. If we need to tolerate Phil Collins to win against the Pirates, we can kiss this season g’bye.
So if Bobby is not going to use Resop, why keep him on the bloody roster? Just dump him
I agree that Gabriel-era Genesis was pompous clown rock, while Collins-fronted Genesis was merely wallpaper put to music.
IMO, the only good thing that came from it all was Guided By Voices & Robert Pollard, who maintained an intense appreciation for Genesis’ art-prog era. (He did sing with a fake British accent—but that’s another story.)
That said, I respect the streak & I’ll put up with any-era Genesis, Toby Keith, Yngwie Malmsteen or Ethel Merman if the Braves keep winning.
I have my limits, and Toby Keith and Yngwie Malmsteen are two of them.
Now that it’s over, I’ll admit that I like Abacab.
The next self-inflicted torture should be Glenn Frey videos.
Do you think we should keep track of the Brewers-Marlins game, or would that be too surreal?
Given the difficulty in one-run games, I figured Diaz was more likely to hit a HR than a single.
With Carlyle and Campillo leading off the innings after they entered the game, it might have been a good time for a double switch. Perhaps Pena or McCann for Corky or Blanco for Kotsay. No biggie, though, b/c it all worked out for the best.
Any news on Carlyle or Reyes and if their injuries will lead to roster moves?
From the AJC story:
“Carlyle was diagnosed with a muscle strain in the left side of his neck and is listed day to day.”
Nothing on Reyes, who had a blister, so I’m guessing he’ll be alright.
Pena, of course, was unavailable due to going on the DL for his “back injury”. My guess is that Carlyle will go on the DL on Saturday to make room for Chuck James.
Moylan had his surgery today. Turns out that his bone spur broke off and was impinging on the ligament. The AP is saying that he had Tommy John surgery, but I don’t understand why if the ligament wasn’t torn.
Carlyle might get DL’ed to make room for Chuck on Saturday.
Re Pena being on the DL—-DUH!
I can’t recall the rules for recalls, but I wonder if, in the case that Carlyle or Reyes might go on the DL, it would give the team more flexibility to option them to Richmond instead.
6 in a row = nice streak. Now to repay the Bucs for the tough series against them earlier this year.
James is already listed under the probable starters on the official site.
is the DL thing all fake?………or does bobby whack these guys with a 2×4 when they walk in the clubhouse?
I don’t know. These dudes break their ribs by sneezing and end their careers carrying deer meat. Or maybe those stories are a ploy to get us to believe they’re all fragile?
well said, ububba………………hell, i’d watch (in fear and disbelief) a Yoko Ono video every if i thought it would help the Braves win.
Baseball is a hard job. Most players, and virtually every pitcher, play with some degree of injury at all times. Every pitcher’s shoulder hurts after he pitches, so you could put any pitcher on the DL and have a legitimate excuse.
Well, you asked for it.
WHOA !!……….i hope thats your guarantee of a win. i didnt exactly ASK for it.
Yoko Ono => I’m out of here
My wife will be glad to know there is limit to my love of Braves baseball
Mac,
Awesome.
barrycuda,
I was always a big Beatles fan, but I never saw The Beatles play (obviously), never even saw any of them play solo, but I have seen Yoko Ono perform (at an all-night dance club in Miami many years ago).
Looked pretty good for a 70-year-old gal, caterwauling aside.
Yep,
Kind of like the NFL, where everyone on the team has some injury or another after Week 8, and you just have to gut it out until the end of the season.
Pro sports puts an unnatural strain on the body.
about half the girls and a couple guys in my 9th grade class got in big trouble for skipping school and going to Miami airport just to be part of the mob when the Beatles got off the plane…….i was (am) a big fan of their music but i’ve never seen any of them perform either. you seem to have a broader taste in music than me but i dont think Yoko should be taken any more seriously than those 9th grade girls.
There’s dissonance, and then there’s Yoko Ono.
I will happily admit that I am currently watching my Genesis Live at Wembley dvd. I’ve always been a fan of PC…it reminds me of being a kid. “In the glow of the night….do you know what you have done?…”
ububba…………i should add that youseem to have a broader taste in wopmen as well………j/k
Baseball is a hard job. Most players, and virtually every pitcher, play with some degree of injury at all times. Every pitcher’s shoulder hurts after he pitches, so you could put any pitcher on the DL and have a legitimate excuse.
Very true, although when you start DLing backups who never play save the occasional pinch hit appearance and who just happen to be out of options, you are obviously straining the bounds of credibility…
Not that anyone in the commish’s office could ever bring themselves to care.
Well, like I said last night, the teams like it because it expands their rosters, and the players like it because it means more of them get major league checks and service time. There’s no constituency for enforcing the rules.
I think with TJ surgery it is accepted practice to go ahead and replace the ligament if you are already in there to do something else. Kind of like how it is a good practice to replace the timing belt on your car if you are already working in the area and have taken most of the parts out already.
About Yoko, I actually like “Two Virgins.” It’s one of those records that you can use to get rid of some unwanted visitor in your home. Or in my case, rock club. It and the *hole Surfers “LivePCPep” cleared out the masses after last call on numerous occasions.
Oh beautiful for randomly acquired veterans…
named Greg Norton…
how bout that impact, Jack?
Now, if we can find another vet starter, and move warrior Smoltz to the pen with a healthy Gonzo…
this team might be really good…
not 2004 good. but REALLY good.
barrycuda,
Great Beatles story. Was that when they played the Ed Sullivan show?
url,
C’mon, now, they’re the Butthole Surfers—I think most folks can deal with that. I mean, they did have a Top-40 hit. 😉
And believe me, before they settled on that name, they had some others that’ll make you spit your coffee.
But, I agree, that EP is outtahand. I personally like the golf commentary.
AJC’s Mark Bradley, pretty much on-point about the state of the Braves:
http://tinyurl.com/5xt78n
From the article posted by ububba:
“Roger McDowell doesn’t know, and he’s the pitching coach. As such, someone asked, does he take it personally when one of his men gets hurt? “No,” McDowell said. “Everyone’s put together differently. A guy might be throwing his last pitch, or he might have 10,000 pitches left in him.”
Maybe that’s the reason Roger…you have no clue how to keep our pitchers healthy.
Btw, great win guys! I almost cried when I saw it’s a one-run victory.
Frenchy, stop pretending to be a superman. Your ankle is hurt, get some rest.
Well, to be fair, a hip to the head can happen to any pitching coach.
The busted blister, however… That shows poor off-day management. I hate playing bass, mostly a two-fingered job, with a busted blister on my index finger. Callus management can be a tricky business FWIW.
Yeah, ububba, I guess I was channeling the old-skool era of how their name was spelled in print. How things have changed, GD it, MF.
/
Reading the Bradley piece, management needs to have their BP checked, from Wren down to Bobby. Good lawdy, they sound stressed.
Finally, a little help from Arizona tonight.
url,
Yeah, I used to wince whenever I’d see, “BH Surfers,” I’d get all-George Carlin, like…what are we protecting ourselves from?
Also, dunno if you like My Morning Jacket, but their new record is hot.
A nice and surprising win for the Braves!
Another great night for Charlie Morton:
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?gid=2008_05_08_indaaa_ricaaa_1&t=g_box&did=milb
The way the Braves have been losing pithcers,it won’t be long before he is in Atlanta.
or he might have 10,000 pitches left in him
“… not in the same game. That would be a record,” as Kenny Mayne would say.
Speaking of music, I know that I shouldn’t be getting this into a band that sounds like every other British band, but I really like the Young Knives’ new album Superabundance.
Hey, if it’s good, it’s good.
I always felt like I shouldn’t like a band as obviously derivative as Oasis, but I like ’em OK.
Even if it’s not original, sometimes you have to appreciate the craft—writing good pop songs isn’t as easy as it seems.
Ever hear Cat Power’s version of Wonderwall? It’s probably my favorite cover song of all time.
Stephen, what’s also interesting in the Richmond game is that they started Williamson, which means they are giving him more innings hoping that he will be work his way to become useful for the major league club.
Williamson?
Really, will this team try just anything to keep from using Phil Stockman?
It might be overly negative after a win like this, but may I point out that seven of our nine one run losses came on the road? The problem hasn’t been to take a one run lead, but to hold it. I’m still not convinced that they “got rid of the monkey”, as Diaz put it.
Also, I think Black’s move to walk Frenchy is somewhat defendable. There was only one out and no double play chance with first base open.
They should have had Trevor ready to pitch to Diaz though.
Parish, that’s exactly what I am thinking as well. Next thing we know the team will bring back Reitsma and Danny Grave and Rob Dibble and Randy Myers and Chris Hammond, then we can have the old Reds bullpen.
At least he’s pitching badly enough where they won’t promote him.
I suspect Morton would replace Reyes if the blister persists.
KC–Not only Williamson, but Vladimir Nunez and Damian Moss look like reclamation projects. I think that this makes good sense: if the Braves could get just one of these players to be something close to a Jaret Wright or another Burkett then it would be a steal.
Parish–I think that we will see Stockman eventually; of course with the way we are losing pitchers it may be sooner than later….
No more Reitsma… I don’ think that he can pitch again in Atlanta.
If they can sign Moss back, what stop them from bringing back HoRam?
If HoRam comes back can Cormier or Ken Ray be far behind?
Are they all out of job?
Seriously, reclamation projects are Leo’s strength. I don’t believe Roger will have one of his own until I see one. I am happy enough if our pitchers stay healthy, which Roger has claimed he has no clue how to keep them healthy.
Just been looking at stats while not being able to sleep.
In the last 18 games, the Braves are 12-6. That’s including a 4 game losing streak with two 5 game winning streaks.
Guy Hansen, unsurprisingly, seems to have been doing a nice job at Richmond.
The nice thing is the winning streaks–because last year we seemed to be incapable for winning more than 3 in a row. In fact, 3 consecutive wins did not happen much either.
Given our injuries, there is real reason to be optimistic about 2008….
Frenchy now holds the lead for consecutive games played. It’s a long way from Ripken, kid. Don’t be afraid to take a day off.
Could someone explain to me, please, how pitchers develope blisters on their throwing hands. Rob Cope usually does a good job of explaining te finer points, but I’d appreciate any discussion.
It’s interesting that Infante played center in all of his AAA starts and the Norton trade was being worked before Prado got hurt. Do the Braves not have much confidence in Blanco as a backup centerfielder or could a trade be in the works?
1-0 1.76 ERA 32K 13BB in 41.0 IP. 7 “starts”.
Screw Stockman, Free Charlie Morton!
I think the problem with the one run games (mostly on the road) has been the inability to score runs. For the most part, the losses have been low scoring games in which the Braves couldn’t push runs across.
As for Roger, how is it his fault that a pitcher gets a blister? Lots of pitchers get them. Josh Beckett has had problems with them for years. Let’s face it, a lot of it is just luck. When Leo was here, the pitching staff had an amazing run of good health. Maybe it was something Leo did, but I suspect a lot of it was just luck. And, Smoltz did miss a season on Leo’s watch and Avery basically washed out so it’s not like there were no injuries. Not everything bad that happens is someone’s fault.
The entire division is inconsistent (except, oddly enough, the Marlins). I suspect that the Braves, Phillies, and Mets are all going to drive their fans bananas.
Bobby Cox made the comment in spring training that Morton needed about 20 starts at Richmond. I think that we will see him before that, but I am comfortable if they give him the necessary time to develop. Morton had little succees in the minors before the second half of 2007, so it makes sense to let him establish his confidence before he comes to Atlanta.
With somu luck, Jurrjens, Reyes and Morton should give the Braves the crop of promising young starters that they have so badly lacked in recent years….
I will never blame a pitching coach for arm injuries, they are to random and difficult to for-see. Blaming McDowell for such a thing is difficult to justify.
Check any organization, you will see plenty of guys who are suffering arm injuries.
Is it just me, or does anyone else believe Greg Norton is the greatest hitter in the history of baseball?
No–its not you: he is better than the greatest hitter in baseball…
Stu @ 76,
No doubt about it but if I were him, I would retire now to live on fondly in the hearts of Braves fans forever. Because as soon as he makes an out, he sucks.
interesting note.
James has pitched 13IP against Pitt. he’s only given up 3 hits and 0 ER
I think many pitching injuries are the result of chance – especially on a year to year basis. However, if you look at the entire body of work, I think a pitching coach has an impact. Preseason conditioning and teaching proper mechanics make a difference in the long run.
Did anybody see highlights of that Mariners-Rangers brawl last night? I’m convinced the Mariners wanted a brawl to try to galvanize the team or something. Felix Hernandez was just throwing at everybody, almost daring somebody to charge him and nobody did. Then a Rangers pitcher throws a pitch that’s eye-level high, but it was over the plate and Sexson charged the mound anyway. I mean, you’ve gotta be kidding me. When it comes time to dole out suspensions, I’m throwing the book at the Mariners and making the Rangers suspensions as few and small as possible.
The discussion above about bringing back pitchers and a mlb trade rumors piece I read about the Pads possibly releasing Edmonds makes me wonder if it might be possible to swing a deal to bring back Maddux for the rest of the season. Maybe Josh Anderson to fill their CF hole or maybe Pena since the Pads are thin at C. Throw in a another player–maybe a midlevel pitcher prospect at Mississippi.
Maddux apparently likes being out West but maybe the opportunity to move from a crummy team to a contender would interest him. No he’s not 1990s Maddux but he might provide more stability/consistency than the alternatives.
Just a thought …
Makes No Sense At All: Greg Norton is a hero.
I feel many injuries are created while a pitcher is in high school or in the minors. We have a JV coach who began teaching a curveball during the season to a 15 year old pitcher, kids done, had TJ surgery at 16 years old.
I wont even let my softball players work a new pitch in season due to the stress on the elbow, ain’t worth it.
Roy Halladay is avg 8.14IP per start so far
Mike Marshall always said (when he was an active player) that the best pitchers he ever saw didn’t pitch an more (because they got hurt and couldn’t go).
The Braves were unusually fortunate from 1991 to about 2004. Very few pitcher injuries.
Part of the increase in injuries is the sabermetric influence of getting strikeouts. I can remember Spahn saying he didn’t go after strikeouts. Maybe that was why he was still an effective major league starter at 41 or so (when NOBODY had 40 year old starters).
I think oldtimer is on to something. I remember reading an article that interviewed a lot of pitching coaches, and they said the biggest reason why they have devastating arm injuries at the high-minor, major league level is because they were ridden like Seattle Slew (little Liar Liar reference there) in their high school years, and eventually they have to pay the piper.
On my high school team, we had the Florida 3A player of the year on our team. The kid was sick. Great velocity, movement, control, and he finished with something like a 0.80 ERA. The bag thing is that he would throw 120-140 pitches every time out and he’s done now. He may have been lucky to blow his arm out at AA, but some guys can’t even make it that far.
Pitching coaches, though, do have an impact on injuries, though I would say a small one. Yes, they’re responsible for conditioning programs and side sessions and teaming up with the medical staff to prevent injuries, but, honestly, how much does that affect a major league pitcher? These guys should know how their bodies work by the time they get to the highest level of competition. And in the case of Hampton, Smoltz, and Glavine, these guys have been at the highest level for years. How could you possibly say these injuries have been caused by the pitching coach? Even Soriano, who has always had a history of arm problems couldn’t be blamed on McDowell. Moylan was ridden so hard last year that his injury was simply a matter of time. Remember: he was, what, an insurance salesman two years ago.
As for blisters, pitchers (and especially major league pitchers continually throwing 90+) have an incredible amount of friction on their fingers continually. Some pitchers just don’t callus the way they should. You might say, “it’s just a blister; I get them all the time,” but we don’t have raw-hide baseballs flying out of our fingers at 90MPH 80-100 times. I don’t see how you blame McDowell for that either, unless he’s telling them to piss on their hands the way Moises Alou does, and they simply won’t submit.
Stu, Greg Norton isn’t the greatest hitter in the history of baseball, but he is quite possibly the greatest defensive third baseman.
I wish Greg Norton was my father.
@87
Thank you for the explanation, Rob!
Speaking of fathers, Rob, Greg Norton lost his virginity before his own father did.
Sutton believed that pitchers didn’t play enough catch (long toss) when they were young; thus, they didn’t build sufficient arm strength to prevent arm injuries later in their careers.
Long toss is a big drill for my softball pitchers, i learned that from a college coach, underhand long toss really builds strength for the girls(athletes)
Yes, they’re responsible for conditioning programs and side sessions and teaming up with the medical staff to prevent injuries, but, honestly, how much does that affect a major league pitcher?
Mechanics are something that a pitching coach does have some degree of control over, and bad mechanics can most certainly cause an injury. Workload is also another cause of injury and – while the manager obviously makes the final call – the pitching coach needs to stay on top of that as well. This “Everyone’s different, anyone could go down at anytime” stuff is crap and a sign that he doesn’t take this part of his job seriously. Blisters seem pretty random, I’ll give him that.
So many injuries happen without anyones knowledge too. Some people will ignore a little pain then all of a sudden your shot, some complain about everything and you may catch it early. Very difficult to lay a blanket statement of why injures occur.
@86,
I don’t think sabermetrics has influenced anyone but people on the internet. I really doubt that pitchers are trying harder to get strikeouts because of sabermetrics. And, how often do you see pitchers get 250-300 strikeouts like you used to?
I really think the sabermetric point is not that the pitcher should try to strike everyone out but that the number of strikeouts he actually gets is a reflection of how effective he is or will be and that, in the long run, the guys with the highest strikeout rates will be the most effective. The pitchers with the best stuff or at least with the best command will through enough good pitches that, regardless of their intent, hitters will swing and miss or they will take pitches for strikes. Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine supposedly “pitch to contact” but they were good enough that they still got a significant number of strikeouts. Smoltz supposedly was going to pitch to contact this year but he was still striking out a lot of guys. If you are really good, you should strike out a fair number of hitters just because you make good pitches.
Marc, strikeout rates are up from where they were just a few years ago; the trend is upward every year. NL team K/G was under six every year but three through 1993; it’s been over every year since 1994. The record (6.98) was set in 2001, but we’ll get to 7 one of these years. If you aren’t seeing single pitchers with huge strikeout totals, that’s because:
Innings pitched by starters are way down, and
Nolan Ryan finally retired.
But I don’t think sabermetrics has anything to do with it; it’s a long-term trend. Increasing numbers of strikeouts is one of the most obvious things in the statistical record, along with decreases in complete games and errors. Some teams — notably the A’s and Red Sox — pay attention to sabermetrics, but few players do.
Robert,
I definitely agree that pitching mechanics is something that a pitching coach has an impact on. I didn’t consider that. With guys like Reyes who have such poor control, his pitching mechanics are probably playing a huge part. I’ll ask this though: how many pitching coaches has Reyes had? He had at least one HS pitching coach and probably someone on the side that helped develop him too, and he’s had one at every level he’s pitched in the minors. So, now, all of a sudden it’s McDowell’s fault he can’t throw strikes? I doubt it, man. Of course, he’s maybe always had problems with blisters, and inability to get a feel for the ball will destroy your control.
Rob,
I guess I don’t know what we are talking about. I thought we were talking about how pitching coaches can or cannot keep their pitchers healthy, but your post is about Jo-Jo’s control.
So, now, all of a sudden it’s McDowell’s fault he can’t throw strikes?
Pretty sure I didn’t say that.
My bad, Robert. I was thinking you were referring to pitching mechanics in relation to actual pitching ability. Shoulda read the first sentence more carefully. I would agree that bad pitching mechanics definitely relate to injury. How much so, and how it’s affected our pitchers in particular, I don’t think any of us can know.
I’m not willing to believe that Smoltz’s, Hampton’s, and Soriano’s pitching injuries are the pitching coach’s fault considering they have always had injury problems. However, there are two that hadn’t really been injured before: Glavine and Moylan. At this stage of Glavine’s career, and the fact that his mechanics have been pretty much the same since the beginning of his career, I think he should be responsible for maintaining solid mechanics. As for Moylan, the dude has the absolute best mechanics to prevent arm injury. I’m going to go out on a rather short limb and say that it was probably because he had so little use before last year, and then the abrupt high use last year did him in. Of course, I’ve always thought that since relief pitchers are so volatile from year-to-year, you should just use them as much as you can while they’re effective.
I saw that HBO thing on the old Expos/Dodgers/Twins reliever Mike Marshall & how he believed pitchers will always get hurt if they continue to pitch in the fashion they always have. He invented this new, funky windup that he contends minimized long-term arm damage.
On first look, you had to almost be a contortionist to throw the ball, but he had a young guy throwing heat with that wacky delivery.
IIRC, Bouton wrote that when he tried Marshall’s new windup, he heard grinding noises in his shoulder.
ububba,
What kinda windup was it?
I just saw it on YouTube. That’s pretty crazy, and the kid they showed was getting outs. It leaves him in a terrible fielding position though. He probably gets beat to first a lot, and if you bunt the ball to the right side, your first and second basemen better be pretty quickly. I can see how he’s throwing hard, though. That’s pretty cool.
#101
I wonder what the injury rates are for pitchers throwing in the Japanese leagues? Some of those wind-ups are the oddest thing since Luis Tiant. Also, do Japanese pitchers tend to throw more off-speed stuff?
Dunno.
But they have shorter seasons, so I’d guess they throw fewer innings overall—still, they train/practice a lot more.
Remy,
You live in the ATL?
ububba,
No, I’m in Chico, California, until the end of June, and then I’ll be moving back to Pensacola, Florida. I left the ATL in 2002. I’ll be passing through there in July, however.
I have no empirical evidence at all for this but I wonder if there is any relationship between the height of the mound and the number of pitcher injuries. My suspicion is that it is easier on the arm to pitch more down and that when they lowered the mound in the late sixties it put added pressure on pitchers’ arms. I assume it was probably easier to throw breaking balls. It would interesting to know if injuries increased after lowering the mound.
Everyone talks about what a smooth, easy motion Smoltz has but it hasn’t kept him from having shoulder troubles.
That’s right, the man with the better access to the Anchor Steam taps..
There’s a correlation, but the correlation is because it makes it harder to pitch, so pitchers have to try harder. Even 30 years ago, pitchers had hitters they didn’t have to worry so much about. That isn’t the case anymore.
Mac,
I vote we go with the Bone-Thugs version of “Home” featuring Phil Collins tonight.
Wasn’t there a guy using the Marshall mechanics in the A’s organization? Shoot, I thought I read about him on this website. Anyway, I don’t know if he is still pitching or not, but I believe that most people think that Marshall is a fluke. Of course, there’s ample evidence to show that MLB is resistant to new ideas, so that could be the problem…
Oh, please, no:
They literally could not make a worse choice. I’m hoping Chad Ford is as wrong about this as he was about Nikoloz Tskitishvili.
The last really good decision the Hawks made was getting rid of those potato-chip-bag uniforms—and that was a while ago.
The Hawks are the same old incompetent franchise they’ve always been. I would expect the worst possible GM choice and to keep Woodson, so I guess I would expect Billy King. Really, why they haven’t fired Woodson yet is beyond my comprehension. Keeping him shouldn’t even be an option. Fire him now and then let the new GM pick. Mike Woodson might be the most incompetent basketball coach I have ever seen, certainly at the pro level. I’m not even clear that he actually know how to coach a basketball team, and we’re seriously considering keeping him? It boggles the mind.