Comments on: Drabek Shut Down

By: Jeff of Nova

Jeff of Nova — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:56:09 +0000

Also think of this way, Next spring the Phillies are looking at their rotation like this

Lee
Hamels
Blanton
Happ
and ????
Perfect opportunity for them to give Drabek a look.

He definitely has earned it.

Should be interesting

By: Manny

Manny — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:57:25 +0000

Seems like a good call!

But I got scared for a minute when I read the headline!

By: Andrew

Andrew — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:24:46 +0000

Koufax had very bad arthritis is a miracle he pitched as much as he did.

By: NJ

NJ — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:52:23 +0000

It’s not as rosy at it seems with the Texas pitching staff which has been a patchwork this year, the only pitcher set to make standard number of starts for a starting pitcher is Kevin Millwood. The Rangers have dismantled and re-built their system in a way the Phillies haven’t needed to for almost a decade now and for all their talent they’ve proved very little in the bigger picture at the major league level.

The Rangers can afford to try everything they can think of because they have virtually no-one cemented into specific roles in their pitching staff which is a luxury the Phillies don’t have.

When it comes to developing starting pitchers in the minors every team is conservative with their young pitching until their arms are broken in and have settled in being able to handle 200+ innings every year full well knowing how many pitchers have had their careers ruined by too much work early.

The important thing is that the Phils start making use of all the pitching in the minors in whatever way it can at the major league level and that means relief pitching but in support roles not being expected to carry the load from the get-go.

By: Tom G

Tom G — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:50:40 +0000

I hate this crap…

I love what Nolan is doing to the TEXAS system…it will pay off in 4-5 years…
teaching pitchers to only be able to go 6 or 7 innings is idiotic…I hate it!

You do not become a sprinter by walking, or a Marathoner by running 5K…you do not create great pitchers by nursing them…building stamina…hell…I am tired of paying 10 Million for players who can only go 6 innings!

hate this modern focus on 100 pitches

By: therookie300

therookie300 — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:27:57 +0000

Here is an interesting article I read this weekend about the five man rotation. Its a good read.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/chris_ballard/08/27/rotations/index.html

By: NJ

NJ — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:46:55 +0000

It’s a good move, if Drabek needed more work the Phils would have sent him to turn heads in the AFL. The importance of establishing a good off-season routine as a young pitcher cannot be underestimated and I hope that’s what the Phils are doing here not having him sit on the couch for 6 months.

By: George

George — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:03:15 +0000

Shutting down Drabek makes sense, due to his recent reconstructive surgery. Having him continue after a fairly long season would be like asking a person who’s just gotten out of a leg cast to immediately win the hundred yard dash.

As far as Nolan Ryan’s philosophy goes, I both agree and disagree. Ryan certainly pitched a lot of innings and still lasted forever. Sandy Koufax, on the other hand, never racked up huge complete game totals, but still only had a short career. Pitch counts may not be all that great for the game, but in the case of some arms, I think they are needed. I believe somewhere along the line, pitching coaches figure out their player’s capabilities, and use them accordingly. Sure, maybe Steve Carlton could routinely go the distance, but not everyone is Steve Carlton. A good coach–and not the old school “you’ve got to play hurt” type–knows this.

By: therookie300

therookie300 — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 11:31:24 +0000

I think we will have to wait to see how the Rangers experiment of letting the pitchers loose pans out. The results have been very good this year, but how will it impact them a couple years down the road? I’m sure Nolan Ryan knows what he is talking about, but the game has changed since he last threw a pitch. Not to mention he was an absolute freak of nature. Back in Ryans’s time and before not every player in a lineup could take you deep. That’s not the case anymore. There is a lot more power in teams lineups top to bottom now. One pitch thrown today is counts for more than one pitch thrown in the past.

By: psujoe

psujoe — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 06:26:01 +0000

Good move. 158 innings is a lot of innings for a young guy 1+ year removed from TJ surgery.

By: Paul

Paul — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 04:58:17 +0000

Good call!

By: Amanda Orr

Amanda Orr — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 04:05:14 +0000

I think Joba is made for the bullpen, but that’s just my opinion. The Yankees like his as a starter, but I thought he was fine in the ‘pen. Obviously, if you can get innings out of a guy, go for it, but I just thought he was more effective and overpowering from the bullpen.

By: Geoff

Geoff — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 03:41:55 +0000

Im ok in this instance with shutting Drabek down. But normally I agree with the Rangers approach. These guys are totally babied and it ends up getting them injured when big league managers call upon them to log more innings. They need to be conditioned in the minors to gain that stamina and durability. If they cant hack it then they can work out of the bullpen. Thats how they did it in the old days and thats what its going back to. Thats why nobody signed Ben Sheets and why the Cubs are hurriedly trying to unload Rich Hardens contract.

By: marty

marty — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 03:39:31 +0000

he had tommy john surgery ad he is 4 years younger than Joba..

this is SMART.

don’t want him to get hurt when you made it clear this kid is your ace of the future..

smart. smart. smart.

its not like he wont touch a baseball for the rest of the season…

By: Greg V.

Greg V. — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 03:37:41 +0000

I’m fine with shutting him down a year out from Tommy John but as Andrew pointed out, we can’t be playing the Joba game with Drabek. They gave Joba the hook today after 3 IP! I mean what the hell is that! Why even start him if you are going to do that? Pitchers should be encouraged to go deep into games not yanked after the dreaded 100 pitch count or 6 innings.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 03:30:42 +0000

Seems to me like the rangers are benefiting from having pitchers not on leashes.
I understand this. It is a good move.
But you better believe all the injuries and pitchers not being able to go 6 innings is because of all the babying.
I will always believe Joba Chamberlain would have been better off jsut being put out there instead of all these rules. It will hurt him long term.