@ fuster:
I think very highly of Richards. That's why I was concerned about him. The Angels have gone through a lot of Chatwood types-- young pitchers, who are smart, fairly talented but don't last all that long. Scioscia has been great at working with them. Look at Lackey. He was different because of his curveball, but as soon as he went away from Scioscia it was not pretty. So you're right, Scioscia is tops. Chatwood is benefitting from this coaching. And he is good. He might make it. Richards, though, is a potential star--which you also recognized.
Of course, if Scott Kazmir hadn't suddenly just lost the ability to get anyone out early in the year for incredible number of starts in a row, Scioscia might still be more patient. That really was weird. Again, it wasn't like he lost it completely or was hurt. He just couldn't get anyone out. So when the same thing started happening to Piniero, maybe S was just not so willing to ride it out.
Oh, yeah, I meant to get to that earlier when you brought it up:
Tyler Chatwood is the fourth starter and has been for some time. He's young too, but doing okay. When Piniero, the 5 starter, began going bad, they made the decision to put him in the bullpen. I was surprised Scioscia did that since his m.o. has always been patience. P did really well at the beginning of the year, so I thought S would be patient as usual. Nope. And P's troubles were the kind that could turn around. It wasn't like he got hurt. His stuff was okay too, with a lot of movement, so it wasn't like his arm went dead. Plus, he seemed fine in the head. So first of all, they had time to replace him. They could have timed it so they got someone else if they didn't want to put Hisanori Takahashi in. Takahashi pitched okay in like 13 starts for someone else last year. He has experience and it would have been interesting to see what happened. I think it's possible that Piniero's problem to some degree is that he's on a staff with 4 other righties who all throw like him. No one throws super hard. No one has a great curve. They all are just real good pitchers with sliders and deceptive movement and brains. The others are doing better and by virtue of P being relatively weak, the other teams get confidence facing him. They have to hit somebody. So a lefty would help the other 4 starters. They have a left reliever in the minors who's okay and could have filled in for T in the bullpen. Plus, they have a guy named Cassanah who's decent. Probably more info than you needed, but this is the most interesting part of baseball to me: handling the pitching staff.
@ fuster:
That's my whole point. He is a major league pitcher and could be a great one soon. So pitch him against some easier opponents and let that build. Given what happened, I'm sure the whole Angel organization would love to have a do-over and they won't be doing the same thing in the future. If they're lucky, Richards will recover from the groin injury, get to pitch some this year against weaker opponents, and be fine. Trust me, he won't be pitching next against the Rangers, or the Yanks, or Boston.
@ fuster:
Actually, my concerns were realized in the worst possible way. As a kid in that situation is prone to do, he overthrew and blew out his groin. One reason I was "shocked" at the whole thing is the point about Scioscia. He has been a great pitchers' coach. But he made a big mistake. He could have used the lefty Japanese pitcher with big-league experience they have in the bullpen. That guy might have won the game in your ballpark, given that Cano and Granderson would have had a harder time with him. You never know, but now the kid will spend the offseason looking at his over 10 ERA. That's the point about the ERA. It's psychological. A young kid cares about those things. An off season looking at that is not cool for a kid who now also has to deal with a confidence reducing injury. Scioscia made a mistake. I knew it was a big deal (as far as anything sports-oriented can be a big deal) which is why I needed to express this. So thanks for listening (so to speak).
If I were to give out a Sphincty for the spelling of that word you would get the award.
Oh, and Frog, you might note that Richards, the kid the Angels had pitch his first game against the Yanks, is now going to pitch the first game of a critical series against the Rangers. Even though I agree with you that he did okay against you guys, his ERA is over 10 from that game and who knows what will happen tonight. I just can't see the logic.
Now I know how to spell that great word. Thanks. George Jochnowitz wrote:
The counterculture of the 1970s is the spiritual ancestor of the Tea Party.
As some of you know I have been handing out silly awards that connect with my avatar. George's statement does not get an award. It gets what would come out of my avatar if it were real. I am just in awe. George has succeeded in making the single most ridiculous statement I could ever imagine someone even thinking, much less actually writing.
@ fuster:
Yep. Rangers can really hit. They'll be tough to handle in the playoffs if they're healthy.
@ fuster:
I think very highly of Richards. That's why I was concerned about him. The Angels have gone through a lot of Chatwood types-- young pitchers, who are smart, fairly talented but don't last all that long. Scioscia has been great at working with them. Look at Lackey. He was different because of his curveball, but as soon as he went away from Scioscia it was not pretty. So you're right, Scioscia is tops. Chatwood is benefitting from this coaching. And he is good. He might make it. Richards, though, is a potential star--which you also recognized.
Of course, if Scott Kazmir hadn't suddenly just lost the ability to get anyone out early in the year for incredible number of starts in a row, Scioscia might still be more patient. That really was weird. Again, it wasn't like he lost it completely or was hurt. He just couldn't get anyone out. So when the same thing started happening to Piniero, maybe S was just not so willing to ride it out.
Oh, yeah, I meant to get to that earlier when you brought it up:
Tyler Chatwood is the fourth starter and has been for some time. He's young too, but doing okay. When Piniero, the 5 starter, began going bad, they made the decision to put him in the bullpen. I was surprised Scioscia did that since his m.o. has always been patience. P did really well at the beginning of the year, so I thought S would be patient as usual. Nope. And P's troubles were the kind that could turn around. It wasn't like he got hurt. His stuff was okay too, with a lot of movement, so it wasn't like his arm went dead. Plus, he seemed fine in the head. So first of all, they had time to replace him. They could have timed it so they got someone else if they didn't want to put Hisanori Takahashi in. Takahashi pitched okay in like 13 starts for someone else last year. He has experience and it would have been interesting to see what happened. I think it's possible that Piniero's problem to some degree is that he's on a staff with 4 other righties who all throw like him. No one throws super hard. No one has a great curve. They all are just real good pitchers with sliders and deceptive movement and brains. The others are doing better and by virtue of P being relatively weak, the other teams get confidence facing him. They have to hit somebody. So a lefty would help the other 4 starters. They have a left reliever in the minors who's okay and could have filled in for T in the bullpen. Plus, they have a guy named Cassanah who's decent. Probably more info than you needed, but this is the most interesting part of baseball to me: handling the pitching staff.
@ fuster:
That's my whole point. He is a major league pitcher and could be a great one soon. So pitch him against some easier opponents and let that build. Given what happened, I'm sure the whole Angel organization would love to have a do-over and they won't be doing the same thing in the future. If they're lucky, Richards will recover from the groin injury, get to pitch some this year against weaker opponents, and be fine. Trust me, he won't be pitching next against the Rangers, or the Yanks, or Boston.
@ CK MacLeod:
And he really is "our" kid since he was born here in Riverside.
@ fuster:
Actually, my concerns were realized in the worst possible way. As a kid in that situation is prone to do, he overthrew and blew out his groin. One reason I was "shocked" at the whole thing is the point about Scioscia. He has been a great pitchers' coach. But he made a big mistake. He could have used the lefty Japanese pitcher with big-league experience they have in the bullpen. That guy might have won the game in your ballpark, given that Cano and Granderson would have had a harder time with him. You never know, but now the kid will spend the offseason looking at his over 10 ERA. That's the point about the ERA. It's psychological. A young kid cares about those things. An off season looking at that is not cool for a kid who now also has to deal with a confidence reducing injury. Scioscia made a mistake. I knew it was a big deal (as far as anything sports-oriented can be a big deal) which is why I needed to express this. So thanks for listening (so to speak).
fuster wrote:
If I were to give out a Sphincty for the spelling of that word you would get the award.
Oh, and Frog, you might note that Richards, the kid the Angels had pitch his first game against the Yanks, is now going to pitch the first game of a critical series against the Rangers. Even though I agree with you that he did okay against you guys, his ERA is over 10 from that game and who knows what will happen tonight. I just can't see the logic.
CK MacLeod wrote:
Now I know how to spell that great word. Thanks.
George Jochnowitz wrote:
As some of you know I have been handing out silly awards that connect with my avatar. George's statement does not get an award. It gets what would come out of my avatar if it were real. I am just in awe. George has succeeded in making the single most ridiculous statement I could ever imagine someone even thinking, much less actually writing.