2012 MLB Regular Season Running Thread

This year he's about to turn 23 and has never thrown more than about 110 IP as a pro.

Next year he'll be about to turn 24 and presumably have a 160 IP season under his belt.

Next year would be the year you turn him loose and let him know he's just another pitcher from then on. 24 is pretty comfortably out of the injury nexus.

 

I'm saying this isn't 1953 and the pennant race doesn't put you in the World Series. Risk the career of a kid like Strasburg just to improve your odds of being one of 10 playoff teams?

There will be baseball beyond 2012. I promise.

 

Heh, figures. I went to find my piles of data for pern and turns out I'm behind the times, the idea I'm arguing has been debunked:

http://baseballanalysts.com/archives/2010/02/verducci_effect.php

 

They should trade Harper, Desmond, and Morse for Trout and have Trout take Strasburg's spot in the rotation. Since baseball ends this year, at least the Nats will have this year's World Series title to remember.

 

I find it encouraging for Ian Desmond's career that you would include him in that trade. This time last year, he would never have been mentioned.

 

In the long run, the more important and impactful Rizzo will be the one who hit his fourth HR and is now hitting 375/390/750 in his first 10 games as a Chicago Cub. That's after hitting 342/405/696 in 70 game at AAA.

He was already a pretty good hitting prospect, but the Cubs did something with his swing after trading for him this year to help him quicken it up a bit, and he's been crushing the ball at a whole new level ever since.

 

OK, so all you want to do just play baseball. Fine. May I suggest rooting for the A's or Royals then? They may not win the pennant either, but at least they'll put in a whole season.

 

cried your little eyes out last night when you went to bed, didn't you?

 

You want to save this kid's arm? No splitters, curves or sliders. Don't have him throw anything that snaps his elbow.

Fastballs, change ups and cutters are his pitches, and keep his pitch count to 100 to 105 and throw him every five days.

If he cannot handle that workload he has no business collecting a paycheck of a #1 starter.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/gibsobo01.shtml
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/seaveto01.shtml
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/maddugr01.shtml
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/carltst01.shtml
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/palmeji01.shtml
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/glavito02.shtml
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/jenkife01.shtml

I'm glad all these guys were on pitch counts when they were young.

 

I also agree that they should have planned this better.

Figure he averages six innings per start. If he makes five starts a month, that's 30 innings. After five months, he's at 150 innings, and they're ready to shut him down.

If they skip him once a month, after five months, he's at 120 innings and can go for September with the availablity of one start in October. And even then, maybe they try to stretch him out for an extra few innings by then.

What it boils down to is, do you want your No. 6 starter pitching 4 times in the pressure of September, or have him go during the earlier part of the season where there isn't as much pressure?

 

Survivor bias fallacy.

 

The special ones are survivors.