Rob Neyer: most influential baseball writer of the last 10 years

The Moneyball/Sabremetrics style of offensive baseball has been around since the days of Ruth. The difference is that no one authored a book on the brilliance of taking pitches in 1908.

 

Do not stare directly at Rob Neyer.

Do not taunt Rob Neyer.

Actually, I've seen too many 21-year-olds with dead arms to say that pitch-count is a totally asinine idea.

 

Unless, sjhottie, you subscribe to the Tommy John theory that the reason they had dead arms at 21 is they were on strict pitch counts at 18 and 19 in the minors and never developed the necessay arm strength to wthstand a couple of high-pitch games.
John's theory is putting 18-year-old No. 1 draft picks on a 70 or 75 pitch count at the start of the minor-league careers is stunting their growth as pitchers.
The success of the Braves pitching staff was built on throwing every day and NOT worrying about pitch counts...and last I looked Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz are still doing OK at 40+

 

Yes, sp, and on the other side, I'm seeing 17-year-olds being leaned on during state-championship runs year after year, going 120-130 pitches twice in a week ... and they're never the same.

Who's right? Maybe both.

 

Yup, shot. The fine line between babying them and overworking them.
I've seen HS coaches abuse kids. I've seen MLB and minor league managers go overboard babying them.
Occasionally, common sense prevails. but not often enough

 

I'm with Big Ragu. Baseball is EASILY my favorite sport and I love stats, but Neyer's columns bore me to no end. I'd rather watch Jewelry Television for three hours. I don't even think he's the best baseball writer on ESPN. That distinction goes to Buster Olney.

 

Damn Straight

 

Good point about the Braves, spirited. Mazzone's theory was/is that throwing every day was necessary to building arm strength, and that's as good a reason as any that none of his pitchers save for veteran Smoltz and youngster Ramirez have developed any substantial arm problems (Hampton was only there a year before he blew out his elbow).

They do, however, certainly keep pitch counts, throughout the organization, and 120 is essentially the magic number per game (and that's only if you've earned it.) Smoltz, I believe, is the only Braves pitcher to have gone over that number in a long, long time -- but that's only in the last 3 years, and he's seemed to earn that latitude from Bobby Cox because of his status as a potential HOFer and a loyal team veteran. (Also, a horrendous bullpen.) But Smoltz is also honest with himself and his manager in regards to injury or exhaustion, and he knows how to pace himself, both in a game and in a season. Early in his career, he wasn't allowed to throw 120 unless it was a game of imminent importance (maybe a no-hitter going, pennant clincher, or a playoff game.)

 

He's no Paul Meyer, I'll tell ya that

 

Rob Neyer is to Bill James as Harold Miner was to Michael Jordan.

Neyer got his start as a research assistant, writing little bitty articles which were stuck in the very very back of the later Baseball Abstracts, while the big man did the heavy lifting up front.

James' stuff was usually (not always) brilliant. Neyer is occasionally brilliant, usually tedious.

 

Bingo.

But Rob Neyer's dad could probably beat up your dad.