OT Should Teams Be Responsible

[cjclong]

If it was just innings pitched and pitches thrown then the pitchers 30 years ago would not have had long careers. Pitchers like Warren Spahn, Bob Gibson, Catfish Hunter , Don Drysdale and so many others went out and started every 4th day instead of every 5th day as they do today and expected to pitch the full 9 innings instead of 6 or 7 and all had long careers. A lot of pitches thrown by a pitcher with good mechanics are much less likely to hurt his arm than many fewer pitches thrown by a pitcher with bad mechanics.

[xpress34]

Welcome to the world of the highly competitive Major Leagues.

How many times have you seen a pitcher pulled after 7 innings because of "pitch count" when he has a shut-out going? I see it often.....and quite frankly, it pissed me off. (If your team had Jonathan Broxton as your closer, you'd understand, as he proceeds to blow yet another stellar start by a pitcher not allowed to go the distance.... ).

Suicide -

Your comment is not wasted on me (being from Denver and a Rockies fan) as it has been a big topic of discussion here regarding your Dodgers and the Phillies.

At the start of the season as both those teams separated themselves from the pack in a big way, a discussion had already started here about how long they could last relying so heavily on their bullpens so early while only allowing their starters to go 4 or 5 innings... 6 if they were lucky. The Rockies on the other hand have been fortunate in the fact that most of their Starters have consistently gone 6 or more innings and has kept the bullpen fairly healthy coming down the stretch.

I also agree with your comment about being pissed off - Ubaldo Jimenez just the other night had a shutout through 8 ad the Rox were winning 8-0 and Jim Tracy didn't let him finish the game because of pitch count.

And your point is also not lost on me because as a life long Nolan Ryan fan, I get really pissed when I hear guys talk about how much better Clemens or Glavine or Maddux was than Nolan and my arguement has frequently been made that Nolan consistently through his career - even in the early days of Middle/Long Relievers and Closers went 8 innings or more all the time. Clemens, Maddux and Glavine BARELY made their 5 innings for the last 5 years or so of their careers.

Anyway, I digress - not wanting to hijack this thread in another direction.

Just my .02

- Chris