AJ Burnett

[scs_paradise]

Does anyone know why Burnett was pulled at the end of six?

 

He had 14 Ks through six innings and while he had given up a few runs, I would think you might let him go for that record. All I saw was a box score so perhaps there is some obvious reason he was pulled....thanks.

[Outshined_One]

He was at 124 pitches through 6 IP. Jack McKeon likes to ride his pitchers and everything, but I think even he knows that it'd be lunacy to have a pitcher coming off of Tommy John Surgery pitch some obscene amount.

[scs_paradise]

He was at 124 pitches through 6 IP. Jack McKeon likes to ride his pitchers and everything, but I think even he knows that it'd be lunacy to have a pitcher coming off of Tommy John Surgery pitch some obscene amount.

 

Cool, thanks...hell of a night anyway, he looks like he must be all the way back?

[Outshined_One]

He was at 124 pitches through 6 IP. Jack McKeon likes to ride his pitchers and everything, but I think even he knows that it'd be lunacy to have a pitcher coming off of Tommy John Surgery pitch some obscene amount.

 

Cool, thanks...hell of a night anyway, he looks like he must be all the way back?

 

We'll see what happens. As I mentioned before, McKeon comes from that old school mindset of driving your pitchers and getting the most out of them possible without babying or coddling them. Guys like Felipe Alou, Frank Robinson, and Dusty Baker are much the same.

 

While this can be effective in riding the hot hand, you also get cases like Chad Fox, Jason Schmidt, and Robb Nen where their arms either explode or the wear and tear causes them to lose their stuff. AJ Burnett's coming off of a serious surgery; this kind of workload can be problematic down the stretch.

 

Remember Chris Carpenter last year?

[KingKongvs.Godzilla]

McKeon is a bit smarter than those guys. I think the highest number of pitches any of his guys have thrown all year is the 114 by Willis in one of his early complete games. Well...until tonight.

 

But he has not ridden them hard, they throw strikes, have a good defense, and have nasty stuff. That usually adds up to alot of innings eaten without their arms falling off.

 

I wish Z and Wood did that.

 

BTW, I do know Beckett gets hurt alot and that Burnett had TJ surgery. But Burnett was with the Dusty-trainee Jeff Torborg, and Beckett has had only one case of an actual arm injury (not little pansy blisters, I mean the elbow tendinitis he had last year).

[Outshined_One]

Hm, given the number of CGs their staff had, I was under the impression that McKeon was riding them pretty hard out of the gate and might break them down come later in the season. However, the stats are kinda interesting for this season...

 

Willis

Games Started: 17

Pitches Per Game: 104.5

Most Pitches in a Game: 117 (6/8)

Least Pitches in a Game: 70 (4/30, rain shortened)

Number of Games with 100+ Pitches: 13

Number of Games with 110+ Pitches: 8

 

Beckett

Games Started: 16

Pitches Per Game: 94.7

Most Pitches in a Game: 121 (5/18)

Least Pitches in a Game: 45 (7/5, injury-shortened)

Number of Games with 100+ Pitches: 7

Number of Games with 110+ Pitches: 3

 

Burnett (Pre-7/6)

Games Started: 1

Pitches Per Game: 97.5

Most Pitches in a Game: 123 (6/26)

Least Pitches in a Game: 86 (4/7)

Number of Games with 100+ Pitches: 10

Number of Games with 110+ Pitches: 4

 

Now, I grant you, these numbers are not all-inclusive and extensive. They don't properly measure other factors that could contribute to a pitcher's abuse. Also, these numbers don't measure up well when you compare them to other pitchers. I'll post that at a later time, however.