Prior's warmup regimen

[Yeti]

Increasing his workload before the game could potentially be a disaster later on in the game. You add on early, you'll be taking away later on in the game.

 

Think the Cubs coaching staff would contemplate the thought of since we worked him harder before the game, so we should monitor his fatigue level earlier and maybe pull him earlier than we used to? I don't.

 

His location hasn't been as good as it once was, especially early in the ballgame.

 

I would tinker with what he is doing in the pregame rather than how much he is doing in the pregame.

in theory increasing his work load b4 the game will shorten his outing, but when you consider that he's throwing 30-40 pitches in the first inning, it might be better to increase his pre game load in a controlled setting rather than have him throw 35 pitches in a game situation.

i dunno, just a thought

 

For me, it's not about increasing his IP, it's about limiting his workload throughout the season. You're only talking about increasing the IP while increasing the workload.

i dunno, its pretty clear that i dont really know what i'm talking about...i'm mostly just playing devils advocate to see what others think. but really im thinking more along the lines of keeping the load in the same general neighborhood but getting more out of the same # of pitches

[UK1679666180]

The best way to do that is by changing something with the approach, not the amount.

 

Maybe he isn't spending enough time focusing on location during his pregame session.

 

He misses his spots early on and when Prior misses, his solid control bites him the rear, as his pitches aren't balls since they move to the heart of the plate.

[Yeti]

The best way to do that is by changing something with the approach, not the amount.

 

Maybe he isn't spending enough time focusing on location during his pregame session.

 

He misses his spots early on and when Prior misses, his solid control bites him the rear, as his pitches aren't balls since they move to the heart of the plate.

i dunno, it'd be nice if its a focous thing and a change of approach could rectify the problem, i'm just not so sure that this is really it...the possibility remains that he could just not be loose in the first inning and needs to strech and warm up a bit more....i cant really say, neither can you for that matter....thats something that Mark's gonna have to figure out for himself, but clearly something needs to be done

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Over the past few years, it hasn't just been Prior with this problem - I've noticed it with Clement, Maddux, Wood and recently with Rusch. It seems like Prior recently has taken the cake with the early inning problems, though.

[frostwyrm]

Not a big grabber for a topic, huh?

 

Its just something I've been wondering about. I've noticed Prior and Rusch have both gotten "larger" (thrown together with Maddux and Z and the Cubs may have the most overweight staff in the majors...I'm sure Williams will be carbo-loading this offseason.), so I've wondered about their conditioning.

 

I've also noticed that Prior has a nightmare first and then pitches well frequently....last night, in Philly, the Sunday night game against the Cards on ESPN...there must be something wrong with the way he's preparing for games, because he's not hitting his stride until around pitch 40.

 

Sorry! :oops:

 

I used to have a kid that did this. Once he got going no one could touch him but that first inning was one tough hombre. Never did fix the problem.

 

If Captain Picard were managing he would have the kid pitch the first inning, then the kid would be informed he had actually been in a simulated game on the holodeck of the Enterprise, having been beamed up while sleeping. The kid would then be beamed down to the surface to pitch the actual first inning of the actual game. Problem solved.

[LoneStarCubFan]

Over the past few years, it hasn't just been Prior with this problem - I've noticed it with Clement, Maddux, Wood and recently with Rusch.

 

Which is why they'll be working with a new pitching coach next year.