great article on Dice-K and Pitch Counts in general

[sturg1dj]

hopefully this hasn't been posted already


so, do you guys think watching pitch counts has gone out of control?

[-Kyle-]

Wait...where's the article.

[The Dude]

Hahaha. :shrug:

[sturg1dj]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/tom_verducci/03/20/matsuzaka0326/index.html




haha

sorry about that

[Honus Wagner Rules]

I can't stand Matasuzaka's ugly red glove :rolleyes: . Yo, Dice-K, we wear caps and sleaves and use brown gloves in the big leagues.

[Dirt Dog]

Very good article. :applaud:

Dice-K is use to having a 130 or so pitch count. The more he throws, the better he gets into a groove.

It will be interesting to see how far Francona will let it go. Just how much will Matsuzaka be "Americanized" w/ his pitch count? And no ice for Dice after he pitches. Unreal.

He is going to be something special.

[BigShowBaseball]

I think Dice K is fascinating. I'm really interested to see how he does this year.

And anything that hurts the Yankees is good, innit?

I wish he was on my team though... (Giants)

[BigShowBaseball]

I dont really understand the rigidity that modern baseball places on their pitching standards... In the old days pitchers could throw complete games, why can't they now? Just doesn't make any sense to me. I hate it when a manager takes out a pitcher who is throwing a great game just because he's at some pitch count number. To me that's just ridiculous.

[plask_stirlac]

I dont really understand the rigidity that modern baseball places on their pitching standards... In the old days pitchers could throw complete games, why can't they now? Just doesn't make any sense to me. I hate it when a manager takes out a pitcher who is throwing a great game just because he's at some pitch count number. To me that's just ridiculous.

Different bat
different ball
Fewer dreg hitters
Better relievers, they warm up more and are used to it
Research showing injury after consistently going over 110 pitches or so

Managers and GMs obviously want to get the most out of their pitchers. If they didn't see merit in pitch counts because guys in 1970 pitched a ton of CGs, why would THEY follow them?

[Honus Wagner Rules]

This part caught my eye:


Still, the Red Sox and Boras are concerned that pitching in the majors, with a more grueling schedule and deeper lineups, will exact a toll. Matsuzaka was part of a six-man rotation in Japan, where every Monday is an off day, thus making him a once-a-week pitcher. (Last season he made only one start with five days' rest and the remaining 24 with at least six days' rest; he'll normally get only four days off with Boston.) And working on less recovery time, he'll most likely have to work harder to get through lineups that have more power than those in Japan. "He was so dominant in a lot of the games [in Japan]," says Farrell, "he didn't tax himself."

I didn't know Japanese teams employed six man staffs. Matsuzaka will obviously pitch on fewer days rest in the big leagues.

[Williamsburg2599]

Hopefully we get to see him in an "All-in situation" later on in the year, maybe an important game in late September or a clinching game in the playoffs (cross your fingers). First, he seems to almost do better in pressure situations than non pressure situations, and second, hopefully Francona Will let him go 8, 9, or more innings if he is doing well. How great would that be to watch? Imagine if he was around in the Deadball Era?.....

[GrandSlam]

Then you reflect on the 250 pitches he threw in a 17-inning complete game in high school -- the apex of a stretch in which he threw 54 innings in 11 days -- and the 189 pitches he threw on Opening Day in 2003, the 160 pitches in his second start of the '05 season, the 145 pitches in his penultimate start for the Lions, the 588 innings he threw for Seibu before he turned 21 (Oakland ace Rich Harden, 25, still hasn't logged that many big league innings) and the eight games last year in which he threw at least 130 pitches -- more such games than all major league pitchers combined.


Thats crazy 250 pitches in a 17 inning game