Marmol needs to be sharper...

[C.C.]

C'mon Lou:

 

Marmol Aid

 

The reason you saw setup ace Carlos Marmol pitching in a six-run game Sunday was an ongoing effort to get the right-hander sharper by using him a little more often for briefer appearances, Piniella said.

 

''His counts are long,'' Piniella said.

 

''But he's doing a heck of a job -- don't get me wrong. I don't know where we'd be without the young man.''

 

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/1007398,CST-SPT-cubnt16.article

[Brett]

Whatever you say, Lou.

[CubbieBum]

Well Marmol's ERA is over 4 in his last eight appearances and what exactly are you guys complaining about? Everyone has been harping about Marmol being overused and now you're going to complain when Lou says he wants to get Marmol's pitch count down.

[rawaction]

Well Marmol's ERA is over 4 in his last eight appearances and what exactly are you guys complaining about? Everyone has been harping about Marmol being overused and now you're going to complain when Lou says he wants to get Marmol's pitch count down.

 

Yeah, tons of complaints in this thread.

 

FWIW, Marmol hasn't been very sharp in a while. His slider doesn't have the same break it had early in the season. He's technically hanging it and throwing it for strikes (shouldn't really stay in the zone). However, nobody can hit it because of the movement/velocity. His fastball has been tough for him to keep in the zone, without taking something off of it.

[C.C.]

Well Marmol's ERA is over 4 in his last eight appearances and what exactly are you guys complaining about?

 

I don't know...Over-usage?

 

Everyone has been harping about Marmol being overused and now you're going to complain when Lou says he wants to get Marmol's pitch count down

 

Here's a radical idea to get his pitch count and innings down. Don't pitch him every other day! Don't pitch him with a 7 run lead.

[Little Slide Rooter]

His ERA is over 4 in thos appearences because of one bad inning and 1 bad pitch. ERA for a reliever just doesnt mean much, as 1 bad inning can jack it up.

[SouthSideRyan]

C'mon Lou:

 

Marmol Aid

 

The reason you saw setup ace Carlos Marmol pitching in a six-run game Sunday was an ongoing effort to get the right-hander sharper by using him a little more often for briefer appearances, Piniella said.

 

''His counts are long,'' Piniella said.

 

''But he's doing a heck of a job -- don't get me wrong. I don't know where we'd be without the young man.''

 

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/1007398,CST-SPT-cubnt16.article

 

Lucky for Lou, he'll get to find out soon enough where we'll be without the young man.

[jersey cubs fan]

Well Marmol's ERA is over 4 in his last eight appearances and what exactly are you guys complaining about? Everyone has been harping about Marmol being overused and now you're going to complain when Lou says he wants to get Marmol's pitch count down.

 

Lou is insinuating he has to use Marmol frequently to keep him sharp, so he'll throw more strikes and keep his pitch counts down per at bat. The problem is Marmol's lack of sharpness is quite possibly due to the absurd overuse the past year. He's pretending he's got some sort of impossible task of balancing the rest Marmol needs with the frequency he needs.

[Sammy Sofa]

He is continually getting himself behind in the counts. The end result has almost always been awesome, but he's not doing himself any favors working it 3-2 as much as he has been.

[jersey cubs fan]

He is continually getting himself behind in the counts. The end result has almost always been awesome, but he's not doing himself any favors working it 3-2 as much as he has been.

 

His manager isn't doing him any favors by using him the way he's been using him.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Marmol has gone more than 1 inning in 1 of his last 12 appearances(it came on 2 days rest). He's gone less than an inning and under 10 pitches in 4 of his last 7 appearances.

[Jehrico]

His ERA is over 4 in thos appearences because of one bad inning and 1 bad pitch. ERA for a reliever just doesnt mean much, as 1 bad inning can jack it up.

I wish we could look for the worst four appearance run for all of our pitchers and complain about them having an ERA over 4 for their worst streak.

[RynoRules]

Marmol has gone more than 1 inning in 1 of his last 12 appearances(it came on 2 days rest). He's gone less than an inning and under 10 pitches in 4 of his last 7 appearances.

 

I think everyone is just a bit freaked out by his appearances over the last coupel of days. I didn't have a problem with Saturday at all, but yesterday was a bit perplexing insomuch as I thought he should have been gone after getting the 3rd out in the 7th (or was it the 8th? I don't recall).

[Tyrant]

C'mon Lou:

 

Marmol Aid

 

The reason you saw setup ace Carlos Marmol pitching in a six-run game Sunday was an ongoing effort to get the right-hander sharper by using him a little more often for briefer appearances, Piniella said.

 

''His counts are long,'' Piniella said.

 

''But he's doing a heck of a job -- don't get me wrong. I don't know where we'd be without the young man.''

 

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/1007398,CST-SPT-cubnt16.article

 

Lucky for Lou, he'll get to find out soon enough where we'll be without the young man.

 

Oooh, how ominous!

[TruffleShuffle]

something tells me that lack of work is not a reason for any problems that marmol is having or will have down the road.

[jersey cubs fan]

Marmol has gone more than 1 inning in 1 of his last 12 appearances(it came on 2 days rest). He's gone less than an inning and under 10 pitches in 4 of his last 7 appearances.

 

I think everyone is just a bit freaked out by his appearances over the last coupel of days. I didn't have a problem with Saturday at all, but yesterday was a bit perplexing insomuch as I thought he should have been gone after getting the 3rd out in the 7th (or was it the 8th? I don't recall).

 

I'm a bit freaked out by his usage for the past year. It's been reckless.

[badger1679666666]

Marmol has gone more than 1 inning in 1 of his last 12 appearances(it came on 2 days rest). He's gone less than an inning and under 10 pitches in 4 of his last 7 appearances.

 

I think everyone is just a bit freaked out by his appearances over the last coupel of days. I didn't have a problem with Saturday at all, but yesterday was a bit perplexing insomuch as I thought he should have been gone after getting the 3rd out in the 7th (or was it the 8th? I don't recall).

 

I'm a bit freaked out by his usage for the past year. It's been reckless.

 

No, it really hasn't.

[islandcub]

OMG THIS IS DEFINITELY GOING TO HAPPEN

 

http://www.intriguing.com/mp/_pictures/grail/large/HolyGrail018.jpg

[jersey cubs fan]

Marmol has gone more than 1 inning in 1 of his last 12 appearances(it came on 2 days rest). He's gone less than an inning and under 10 pitches in 4 of his last 7 appearances.

 

I think everyone is just a bit freaked out by his appearances over the last coupel of days. I didn't have a problem with Saturday at all, but yesterday was a bit perplexing insomuch as I thought he should have been gone after getting the 3rd out in the 7th (or was it the 8th? I don't recall).

 

I'm a bit freaked out by his usage for the past year. It's been reckless.

 

No, it really hasn't.

 

A young kid essentially put on pace for 80+ appearances and 100+ innings, which is how he's been used ever since being called up, is reckless. Using a pitcher in half your games virtually ensures the vast majority of his pitching is done on 0-1 days rest. He's on the far edge of the extreme usage. If his usage hasn't been reckless, there's no such thing as reckless usage of relief pitchers, let alone very young ones.

[Soul]

Marmol has gone more than 1 inning in 1 of his last 12 appearances(it came on 2 days rest). He's gone less than an inning and under 10 pitches in 4 of his last 7 appearances.

 

I think everyone is just a bit freaked out by his appearances over the last coupel of days. I didn't have a problem with Saturday at all, but yesterday was a bit perplexing insomuch as I thought he should have been gone after getting the 3rd out in the 7th (or was it the 8th? I don't recall).

 

I'm a bit freaked out by his usage for the past year. It's been reckless.

 

No, it really hasn't.

 

A young kid essentially put on pace for 80+ appearances and 100+ innings, which is how he's been used ever since being called up, is reckless. Using a pitcher in half your games virtually ensures the vast majority of his pitching is done on 0-1 days rest. He's on the far edge of the extreme usage. If his usage hasn't been reckless, there's no such thing as reckless usage of relief pitchers, let alone very young ones.

 

I have to agree, although I'm struggling with how many games we would have lost if it hadn't been for Marmol's overused arm stopping the bleeding. I don't think Lou has that other option available in tight ballgames, or at least he hasn't had it for good portions of the year so far.

 

I can't come up with an excuse to pitch him in blowouts though, especially since Lou must realize it's likely Carlos will be needed very soon for another tight ballgame, or a string of them.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I think you could say that as long as the player comes straight from a workload that is greater or similar to their current usage, that there's close to no such thing as reckless usage of a reliever.

[jersey cubs fan]

I think you could say that as long as the player comes straight from a workload that is greater or similar to their current usage, that there's close to no such thing as reckless usage of a reliever.

 

I think that's rather absurd. 140 innings of starting every 5th day is not the same as 100 innings of relief work every other day.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I think you could say that as long as the player comes straight from a workload that is greater or similar to their current usage, that there's close to no such thing as reckless usage of a reliever.

 

I think that's rather absurd. 140 innings of starting every 5th day is not the same as 100 innings of relief work every other day.

 

I think you could say that the latter is significantly easier, as it pertains to injury prevention. When it comes to overuse, what's the cause of the injury? Fatigue leading to poor mechanics. When you've thrown more innings than that prior to the usage, and the usage isn't long enough to fatigue the arm and cause mechanical breakdown, then I don't think it's a particularly large risk(while noting the all pitchers are risks because pitching is unnatural, etc.).

[TheDude]

Well Marmol's ERA is over 4 in his last eight appearances and what exactly are you guys complaining about? Everyone has been harping about Marmol being overused and now you're going to complain when Lou says he wants to get Marmol's pitch count down.

 

Lou is insinuating he has to use Marmol frequently to keep him sharp, so he'll throw more strikes and keep his pitch counts down per at bat. The problem is Marmol's lack of sharpness is quite possibly due to the absurd overuse the past year. He's pretending he's got some sort of impossible task of balancing the rest Marmol needs with the frequency he needs.

 

I don't know. Marmol as a starter had major issues with pitch count. I can't recall a time in his pro career he was ever a guy that would be termed efficient. A lot of people around here advocate moving him back into the rotation, but I'd be surprised if could turn out to be more than a 5 inning starter.

 

He's just a high pitch count guy anyway. I don't think he's going to get sharper and Lou's best bet is to just use him less frequently.

[jersey cubs fan]

I think you could say that as long as the player comes straight from a workload that is greater or similar to their current usage, that there's close to no such thing as reckless usage of a reliever.

 

I think that's rather absurd. 140 innings of starting every 5th day is not the same as 100 innings of relief work every other day.

 

I think you could say that the latter is significantly easier, as it pertains to injury prevention. When it comes to overuse, what's the cause of the injury? Fatigue leading to poor mechanics. When you've thrown more innings than that prior to the usage, and the usage isn't long enough to fatigue the arm and cause mechanical breakdown, then I don't think it's a particularly large risk(while noting the all pitchers are risks because pitching is unnatural, etc.).

 

In your theory, any pitcher who has ever thrown 150+ innings as a starter could throw 140 innings as a reliever and suffer no consequences.

 

I do not know where the danger zone lies, but there has to be one. Being on the very edge of usage patterns compared to all relievers has to be risky. If there's no risk in relieving there would be no relievers that get hurt throwing.