Pitchers usually eliminate pitches from their arsenal that are either not good enough or not used often enough ("pitch" experience). Because Darvish dominated the NPB for so long he was able to develop his pitches. It's all about what works with the pitcher and what they're comfortable with. While most starters have less pitches than more, they're just different styles of pitching. Statistically, starters benefit from having more pitches and relievers benefit from having less pitches. Alas, the overall point is still pitching effectiveness. I can't think of any examples off the top of my head but I know that there have been pitching prospects brought up through the minors that, as a part of "polishing" them, they eliminate or add pitches. "Stuff" for pitchers in baseball can range everywhere from fireballs (Randy Johnson) to control freaks (Greg Maddux). Regardless, as pitchers "adjust to age", they do tend to open up their pitching arsenal. Arguably, Randy Johnson's rare ability to throw the motherliving hell out of the fastball allows him to fool hitters with that pitch more often even though he, later in his career, was forced to adjust the way he pitched as his velocity waned.
The jury is out on whether any player needs TJS within the next two years (who thought Carl Crawford could be a potential TJS candidate in 2012?). I was just assessing the risks and probabilities of TJS relative to Dice-K.
I don't see much of a difference between the two..both came with a wide variety of pitches and it's those pitches that I think will cause the problem with less rest between starts. Like I said, we will see.
Pineda out for year...for all you Cashman lovers here is another reason to do so. The Yankees obviously don't know how to handle their pitchers.
But, while Darvish's delivery is a more fluid 3/4 Seaver-esque delivery, a 2007 analysis of Dice-K's delivery called his arm movement "a little too elbow-y". His release made Dice-K more susceptible to shoulder injuries (as opposed to elbow)(hence his "tired shoulder" in '08 and "weakness in the shoulder" in '09), so initially his awkward arm movement wasn't a problem. The TJ injury began to occur, very likely, when Dice-K tried to take throwing tension off his shoulder beginning in late 2009 AND maintain his mid-to-upper 90s velocity. Given Dice-K's questionable mechanics coming out of Japan, and given his penchant for throwing the fastball to replace off-speed pitches beginning in 2010, I'd say that (all things equal) Darvish is much less of a TJS-risk than Dice-K in the long-run.
Meh. That sucks, but I don't see how you put this on Cashman. They traded a surplus for a need, an Pineda is young enough that he can hopefully recover and still give the yanks several cost-controlled years.
I put it on him because every year the Yankees lose another pitcher. Joba, Hughes, Pineda..next it will be who? Somebody does not know what they are doing and Cashman is responsible for hiring all of them.
Back to shit that matters. Pineda to have arthroscopic surgery on a torn labrum. http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/04/michael-pineda-to-undergo-labrum-operation.html
Only on the Yankees and it is totally unacceptable. I'm sure you will provide all the stats though, right? A team by team comparison over the last three years should work, ok?
Don't forget that the best prospect in that trade could end up being Jose Campos. Prospects are by definition a gamble... Josh Hamilton for Volquez. Montero for Pineda. Don't forget the proposed Matsui for Cain or Lincecum trade back in the day. The only GM who seems to never miss on young pitchers is Billy Beane (Mulder trade, Hudson trade, Haren trade, Gio trade) And it's not just pitching prospects. For every Bryan Bullington there's a Pedro Alvarez. It is true, however, that in the draft pitchers are valued higher than hitters and that teams tend to draft more pitchers. Young pitchers by definition have a higher burnout rate than young hitters -- after all, throwing a pitch is the most unnatural motion in sports. I will say that, at the end of the day, I'd much rather gamble on the pitcher than the hitter.
I find it hard to blame Cashman for Pineda being a bum and coming into training camp a fat fuck. The player has to earn his paycheck too...
I don't "blame" Cashman, but Pineda also showed up last year to camp out of shape. It wasn't unexpected.
There's only one stat that matters: 25%. That's the (approximate) percentage of pitchers under the age of 23 who suffer a significant injury. On any team. From 1946-2002. Young pitchers are a bit of a crap shoot. For every Verlander, there are a dozen Josh Johnsons, Lirianos, Jobas, etc. Hughes looks pretty good tonight. Shitty luck on that Kinsler hit.
Eh. Classic Hughes. He was inconsistent. Good in the first two innings. Shitty dinky hit by Kinsler, and the inning falls apart. Phelps ain't exactly making a strong case for himself here.
