Strider Making Strides?
Through last year, Spencer Strider had a record of 32-10. There is a very small list of pitchers (only 9) who began their careers 32-10, and it is quite a list:
| Pitcher | Date They Became 32-10 |
|---|---|
| Ferdie Schupp | 19171011 |
| Johnny Allen | 19330918 |
| Hilton Smith | 19380911 |
| Larry Jansen | 19480719 |
| Ford Smith | 19480812 |
| Vic Raschi | 19490429 |
| Sal Maglie | 19510605 |
| Tim Hudson | 20010412 |
| Walker Buehler | 20210608 |
There aren’t that many short lists that include Sal Maglie, Tim Hudson, and Walker Buehler.
How many lost their next 5 games? Not a one:
| Name | 32-10 | 5 More | Wins | Losses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Larry Jansen | 19480719 | 19480808 | 36 | 11 |
| Johnny Allen | 19330918 | 19340722 | 36 | 11 |
| Walker Buehler | 20210608 | 20210710 | 36 | 11 |
| Vic Raschi | 19490429 | 19490601 | 36 | 11 |
| Larry Cheney | 19130429 | 19130528 | 35 | 12 |
| Sal Maglie | 19510605 | 19510630 | 35 | 12 |
| Hilton Smith | 19380911 | 19390611 | 35 | 12 |
| Tim Hudson | 20010412 | 20010520 | 35 | 12 |
| Ferdie Schupp | 19171011 | 19190702 | 33 | 14 |
All but one of these pitchers was 4-1 or 3-2 in their next 5 games. The exception was that household name, Ferdie Schupp. Note that Ferdie’s next 5 wins took almost two years to achieve. Why? Here’s an excerpt from his SABR bio:
After his two stellar seasons, McGraw had high expectations for the 27 year-old heading into the 1918 season. “But that winter I went to a camp,” Schupp recalled. “There was snow on the ground, I think maybe I caught cold in the arm, though it didn’t bother me then, but the next spring I was up against it. The very first ball I tried to pitch in spring training, a sharp pain struck through my shoulder and my arm went dead. I couldn’t do anything with it.” Conversely, there were later rumors that the easy-going left-hander had injured his arm in a fight that offseason. Still another report had him hurting his arm while pitching during spring training at the Giants training camp in Marlin, Texas.
In any event, Schupp was not ready for the start of the season, and as his arm showed few signs of coming around, the club sent him to Bonesetter Reese, an injury specialist in Youngstown, Ohio, who famously worked with athletes.
The injury was slow to heal, though, even with Bonesetter’s advice, and then a mandatory stint in the shipbuilding industry during WWI slowed him up a little more.
Before the injury, Ferdie was a stud. In 1916, he had a Gibsonesque-but-even-better-than-Gibson ERA of 0.90, easily leading the league. Eventually, though, Ferdie recovered well enough to put together an aggregate record of 61-39 for his career. But he was never ever reallty the same as he was before Bonesetter got to him.
Here are the 9, ordered by total wins (through 2024 for Buehler).
| Name | 32-10 | 5 More | Wins | Losses | Last Decision | Total Wins | Total Losses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Hudson | 20010412 | 20010520 | 35 | 12 | 20151001 | 223 | 137 |
| Johnny Allen | 19330918 | 19340722 | 36 | 11 | 19440926 | 142 | 75 |
| Vic Raschi | 19490429 | 19490601 | 36 | 11 | 19550904 | 138 | 69 |
| Larry Jansen | 19480719 | 19480808 | 36 | 11 | 19560925 | 122 | 91 |
| Sal Maglie | 19510605 | 19510630 | 35 | 12 | 19580823 | 121 | 64 |
| Hilton Smith | 19380911 | 19390611 | 35 | 12 | 19480903 | 120 | 58 |
| Ferdie Schupp | 19171011 | 19190702 | 33 | 14 | 19220715 | 62 | 39 |
| Walker Buehler | 20210608 | 20210710 | 36 | 11 | 20241028 | 51 | 26 |
Medical treatment is orders of magnitude better now, but…. food for thought.
The Game
Concerned about Spencer Strider’s return, the Braves braintrust decided to give him one more AAA start. Oddly, it was in a game that counted. He struck out 13 in six innings of work. Let’s see if he can do it against a real team in his next start. He was opposed by Zoolander, who didn’t pitch very well but looked great out there.
Strider did not want to come out after six innings. Snit and Kranny attempted to convince him that the bullpen could cover three innings with a four run lead. Strider wasn’t buying it, but really had no choice. To show the ineptitude of the Rockies that CJ tried so desperately cover over, Rafael Montero struck out the side in the 8th and struck out erstwhile Brave Sam Hilliard in the 8th, and Dylan Lee had 2 in the 9th, though he gave up an “unearned” run.
Sweep tomorrow, if we let Chris Sale do his thing and the bats don’t all fall asleep.
IWOTR
This week has been encouraging, but for real IWOTR.
Hey, the Mets got to sweep them at home last weekend. Now’s our turn.
Then, of course, we’ll get a bellyful of the Mets — 7 games in 10 days.
Strider’s velo was up more than it has been, so that’s encouraging.
As bad as the Rockies’ record is, it’s more impressive that they’re on pace to be outscored by almost 500 runs this season
Snitker messed around with the lineup in Denver on getaway day and paid for it, and now he’s tinkering with the rotation and starting Grant Holmes on Sunday so he can “save” Chris Sale for the Mets. Bad idea, Snit.
Snitker does this kind of stuff a lot when he’s got a series clinched. The problem is that we aren’t really in position to punt any games at this time. Still, I don’t see where Sale against the Rockies and Holmes against the Mets is a better idea.
Yeah I don’t care for Snit’s management but we need multiple wins here, and Holmes against the Rockies is a win 80% of the time. Against the Mets, you’re well under 50%. Let’s win em both
I suppose there’s an argument that it gets them out of their routines, but if we have to use Sale to beat the Rockies, then we’ve got bigger problems than worrying about the Mets. It could just as well be that the extra rest will be helpful, but neither way is going to be provable, so I guess we’ll sit back and watch.
For what it’s worth, I don’t think Snit made the starter switch because we had already won this series and it’s ok to punt this
game. As Rob pointed out Friday, Snit managed that game like a must-win, pennant race or playoff game–early hook for the starter, going to higher leverage bullpen arms in the 4th and 5th. The strategy of switching the starters may or may not work, but I think it’s plausible to believe this gives a better chance of winning both today and Tuesday. And sets up Sale to face the Mets and Phillies more often.
I’ve been critical of Snit’s reluctance to “chase wins” when the team is trailing in a game. I do understand, though, the strategy of managing for the long season and not putting too much weight on early regular season games. In the current situation it looks like Snit knows that we don’t have the luxury of “punting” any game.
EDIT–Or to put it more succinctly, what Rusty S. and Stampton said.
“Austin Gomber.”
Y’all, Grant Holmes has 14 Ks through 6 innings on just 80 pitches.
The major league record for strikeouts in a game by a starting pitcher is 20 by Roger Clemens and I think Randy Johnson, and that number is not out of reach.
This is my fault. Sorry.
De Los Meatballs doing his thing.
Snitker Masterclass at work
Scoring one run is not enough. Ever. The Braves will not score enough with Riley hitting second, I’ve said it before and I stand by it. I don’t care if it’s Baldwin, Verdugo, White, or whoever, the Braves need someone else hitting second. Push the lineup down.
P.S. A crappy bullpen doesn’t help.
Yeah, you need to be good enough to beat the worst team in major league history when your 5th starter has a career outing.
That’s exactly right.
Geez, Holmes could’ve done that. And probably wouldn’t have.
There’s just no killer instinct in this team. The offense was checked out before they suited up. They won the series and they were happy with that, both times. The Rockies have 14 wins and 2 of them have been against the Braves.
The most Aaron Bummer base hit ever.
This team is laughable.
Your starting pitcher strikes out 15. And you lose 10-1. To quite possibly the worst team in the 20th or 21st centuries.
Your bullpen gives up seven runs in 1 2/3 innings to that piece of crap team. The bullpen that was constructed on the cheap. Fire Anthopoulos into the sun on the same rocket with Snit.
That was a must win. One of the worst teams in the history of major league baseball. And you score one run. That to me makes us slightly better than one of the worst teams in the history of major league baseball. I’m done.
Recapped.