quote:

ORIGINAL: twinsfan

In a new column from ESPN's Buster Olney, Verlander says that teams are spending too much time coddling pitchers before they reach the big leagues. In doing so, Verlander adds, teams are only managing to delay the inevitable breakdown until they start counting on those arms as major league contributors, which ends up costing them even more.

“I think baseball coddles guys so much now that you delay the inevitable. I think the reason you see so many big leaguers blowing out at a young age is because they would have done it before. But now teams limit pitch counts so much, even at the major league level, that now a guy in his second or third year will pop, when it would have happened in the minors.

“Before,” he continued, “when there wasn’t such an emphasis on pitch counts, I think you kind of weeded that out. Then guys would have surgery [in the minor leagues]. Then they’d come back. And then they’d get to the big leagues.”

In essence, Verlander is suggesting that teams turn their young pitchers loose and hope the blowout comes sooner than later. Based on recent statistics, particularly the numbers of pitchers requiring Tommy John surgery on a yearly basis, it almost sounds like a logical approach. However, as Dr. Glenn Fleisig counters, a lot more goes into the breakdown of each individual pitcher.

As the research director at Dr. James Andrews’ American Sports Medicine Institute, Fleisig has studied countless numbers of elbow injuries. He's looked at when they occurred, how a pitcher felt leading up to the injury and the extent of the damage. His findings suggest that poor mechanics and pitching while fatigued are often the biggest factors, which honestly sounds like a victory for coddling.

“I have tremendous respect for Justin Verlander. You and I are not Justin Verlander. We’ve never thrown 200 innings in the major leagues, or even one inning. So he has a different perspective than we have. But I also have a different perspective. I have science.”

"With biomechanics, we can now identify who has poor mechanics, and there are a lot of progressive organizations that are now modifying kids' mechanics in the minor leagues after they're drafted and as they develop."

Science is a powerful tool, no question about it. And the beautiful thing about this is method is the acknowledgement that no two pitchers are created the same. There are pitchers like Verlander, who are simply structurally and mechanically superior. There are pitchers who need to be coddled or molded. And there are pitchers in between, who can be turned loose but should be monitored.

All such pitchers exist, and the key to helping each of them succeed is to correctly identify where they fall. So no, Verlander isn't necessarily wrong. He just knows what works for him, and at 32 years old, there's no reason to change that thinking.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Stacey King

Always fascinated when a player gets the yips, ever since I was a kid when Dave Engle had trouble throwing the ball back to the pitcher as a Twin.
Sax, Knoblauch, Rick Ankiel...


Diamondbacks catching prospect Peter O'Brien played the outfield in a minor league game for the second straight day Thursday. O'Brien has had major issues this month in throwing the ball back to the pitcher, so the Diamondbacks are going to keep him away from the catcher position for the time being. "I think he's going to play some outfield (once the minor league season starts) and catching isn't out of the question, but we're still talking internally to figure out what's best for him," farm director Mike Bell said. The D'Backs were reluctant over the winter to pursue an upgrade at catcher mainly because they believed O'Brien would be ready to take over at the position in short order. Obviously, they didn't envision the 24-year-old developing a case of the yips. O'Brien was re-assigned to minor league camp earlier this week.

quote:

ORIGINAL: SoMnFan

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/watch-russell-wilson-crush-a-home-run-at-rangers-camp-162737710.html

quote:

ORIGINAL: SoMnFan

Experts saying the Giants look like the worst team in baseball.
Betting the Giants and their fans aren't panicking.

What an incredible run they've been on.
Best-kept secret in sports. Been great to their fan base.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mr. Ed

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that Athletics outfielder Coco Crisp‘s problematic right elbow is expected to require surgery to remove a bone spur — an operation that would sideline him for six to eight weeks.

The 35-year-old Crisp had been slated to move from center field to left field this season, as the A’s were set to deploy a platoon of Sam Fuld and Craig Gentry in center. With Crisp out for an extended period of time and right fielder Josh Reddick likely to open on the DL as well (though Reddick isn’t expected to need much time there), the Athletics’ outfield depth will be tested quickly.

quote:

ORIGINAL: twinsfan

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mr. Ed

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that Athletics outfielder Coco Crisp‘s problematic right elbow is expected to require surgery to remove a bone spur — an operation that would sideline him for six to eight weeks.

The 35-year-old Crisp had been slated to move from center field to left field this season, as the A’s were set to deploy a platoon of Sam Fuld and Craig Gentry in center. With Crisp out for an extended period of time and right fielder Josh Reddick likely to open on the DL as well (though Reddick isn’t expected to need much time there), the Athletics’ outfield depth will be tested quickly.

Oops. Drafted him again.

quote:

ORIGINAL: twinsfan

The Bottom 7:

24. Houston Astros (70-92; Previous: 25) – Well, now that a young man’s undergone surgery and has his arm in a cast, everybody can feel a little better.

25. Atlanta Braves (79-83; Previous: 18) – Buck retires. So, turns out, it stops in Orlando.

26. Texas Rangers (67-95; Previous: 29) – On way up from cellar, important to hold onto Banister.

27. Minnesota Twins (70-92; Previous: 27) – Molitor starting to understand why Gardenhire seemed so happy.

28. Colorado Rockies (66-96; Previous: 28) – New AP Stylebook bans “dingers,” Rockies forced to retire mascot.

29. Arizona Diamondbacks (64-98; Previous: 30) – Realistic D’backs feel they are a year or two from contending in NL West, could however make immediate waves in True Baseball Team division.

30. Philadelphia Phillies (73-89; Previous: 23) – Wait’ll the weepy Villanova piccolo player gets a load of the local baseball team.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mr. Ed

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Josh Hamilton will not be suspended by Major League Baseball for suffering a relapse in his sobriety, the league announced on Friday.

An outside arbitrator ruled that Hamilton's conduct did not violate his treatment program, and thus MLB cannot suspended or discipline the player. The league's office of the commissioner said it disagrees with the decision, and "will seek to address deficiencies in the manner in which drugs of abuse are addressed under [MLB's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program] in the collective bargaining process."

quote:

ORIGINAL: lylej

quote:

ORIGINAL: Mr. Ed

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Josh Hamilton will not be suspended by Major League Baseball for suffering a relapse in his sobriety, the league announced on Friday.

An outside arbitrator ruled that Hamilton's conduct did not violate his treatment program, and thus MLB cannot suspended or discipline the player. The league's office of the commissioner said it disagrees with the decision, and "will seek to address deficiencies in the manner in which drugs of abuse are addressed under [MLB's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program] in the collective bargaining process."

As the Commissioner should!