How many times is Melvin going to let Dolittle sh*t the bed before he buys him bus ticket to the River Cats' facility? Nolan Ryan threw over 250 pitches in a 12 inning game in the early 70's and it didn't shorten his career. I am sick and tired of bullpen's dictating the outcome of games. Dolittle peed all over great starts by Griffin and Milone. Why don't they let the starters grow a pair a close out games like that ?

bearister;842129390 said:

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How many times is Melvin going to let Dolittle sh*t the bed before he buys him bus ticket to the River Cats' facility?

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It's not that far. Maybe you can drive him over and drop him off?

Yeah, you could see him fall apart before your eyes this afternoon.

Too many fastballs low and inside.

NYCGOBEARS;842129391 said:

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It's not that far. Maybe you can drive him over and drop him off?

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I'd open the door and kick his ass out when we got there.

bearister;842129394 said:

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I'd open the door and kick his ass out when we got there.

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Would you even bother to stop?

Of course it is hard to argue with winning 18 of the past 22 games. Go A's.

SchadenBear;842129393 said:

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Yeah, you could see him fall apart before your eyes this afternoon.

Too many fastballs low and inside.

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thats the problem
all he has is fastballs. its a good fastball but he needs a good secondary pitch.
his slider is getting better but he is still new at it.

Not defending his recent struggles, but it should be noted that Sean was absolutely dominating before his last few outings. If he doesn't get it figured out, they will make a move. It is quite obvious that this season is something special and there is no way the A's brass is going to let it get away with crazy loyalty to the bitter end

Sean ha only been pitching for a few years now professionally (he was drafted as a first baseman) and hopefully he gets it straightened out soon

For the record, he didn't cost Tom Milone (a U$C brat btw) a win (tied when he left), but giving up three runs in today's game was impossible to overcome

bearister;842129390 said:

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How many times is Melvin going to let Dolittle sh*t the bed before he buys him bus ticket to the River Cats' facility? Nolan Ryan threw over 250 pitches in a 12 inning game in the early 70's and it didn't shorten his career. I am sick and tired of bullpen's dictating the outcome of games. Dolittle peed all over great starts by Griffin and Milone. Why don't they let the starters grow a pair a close out games like that ?

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Nolan Ryan was a genetic freak. The great majority of pitchers who have to throw deep into a lot of games (more than 120 pitches per game) are being put at great risk of injury -- the stats back this up. Milone was up to 118 pitches after the 7th inning in this game; it was absolutely prudent to take him out.

As for Doolittle, well he certainly is struggling, but on the other hand the A's offense could have scored more than 1 run.

bearister;842129390 said:

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How many times is Melvin going to let Dolittle sh*t the bed before he buys him bus ticket to the River Cats' facility? Nolan Ryan threw over 250 pitches in a 12 inning game in the early 70's and it didn't shorten his career. I am sick and tired of bullpen's dictating the outcome of games. Dolittle peed all over great starts by Griffin and Milone. Why don't they let the starters grow a pair a close out games like that ?

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Jeez Bearister. They are all young pitchers. Doolittle has only been a fulltime reliever or about 18 months. We are damn lucky to have Melvin and Co. Working with these kids. They'll work it out.

Just venting. I feel better now. I suppose what really frustrated me was that after the go ahead run scored it felt like everyone, including Dolittle, knew exactly what was going to happen next. I would have pulled him. I realize there is a balancing act involving not wanting to hurt a young player's confidence but you have to draw the line somewhere. The A's simply can't afford to not beat up on the bottom dwelling wankers. I do like Melvin though.

bearister;842129439 said:

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Just venting. I feel better now. I suppose what really frustrated me was that after the go ahead run scored it felt like everyone, including Dolittle, knew exactly what was going to happen next. I would have pulled him. I realize there is a balancing act involving not wanting to hurt a young player's confidence but you have to draw the line somewhere. The A's simply can't afford to not beat up on the bottom dwelling wankers. I do like Melvin though.

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At the risk of using overused cliches .... That's baseball...

For the record, the A's are 5-1 against the "bottom dwelling" (currently) white sox so they have done their part to beat up on them. It is hard to win every game every day in any sport, especially baseball.

How about them Astros?? The A's are 9-0 against Houston whereas the Angels have a losing record against them, despite all those huge, lengthy overpriced contracts

GO A'S !!!!

and then has a bad week Ironically, I was in Miller Park on a baseball vacation (oh how those sausages can run). He was still throwing in the 95 range. More of a problem with location. Remember, the other half had the same problem a year ago but snapped out of it.

Last year Sean was in single A. Still has to learn a thing or two about pitching.

joshbalt;842129454 said:

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Doolittle wasn't good but he did suffer a lost out due to a bad call at firstbase. If that call is made correctly he stands a much better chance of getting out unscathed. I'd guess Blevins will get more of the high leverage opportunities.

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1st base ump had a bad day on close calls. Wrong on the one you mention and wrong on out call on A's runner in 9th (Coco?).

march2397;842129456 said:

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1st base ump had a bad day on close calls. Wrong on the one you mention and wrong on out call on A's runner in 9th (Coco?).

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Donaldson

sycasey;842129414 said:

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Nolan Ryan was a genetic freak. The great majority of pitchers who have to throw deep into a lot of games (more than 120 pitches per game) are being put at great risk of injury -- the stats back this up. Milone was up to 118 pitches after the 7th inning in this game; it was absolutely prudent to take him out.

As for Doolittle, well he certainly is struggling, but on the other hand the A's offense could have scored more than 1 run.

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http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/what-pitch-counts-hath-wrought/

bearister;842129493 said:

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http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/what-pitch-counts-hath-wrought/

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Well, what this article primarily focuses on is pitch counts per year or over the course of a career. I don't think that was ever a problem, really. It's when pitchers are routinely forced to throw a lot of pitches in ONE game that is more likely to cause arm trouble. Throwing with a tired arm causes injuries, not just throwing a lot of pitches over the entire season.

I do agree that there is too obsessive a focus on general pitch counts these days (for example, I thought it was stupid for the Nationals to shut down Stephen Strasburg for the postseason last year), but at the same time taking Milone out of the game yesterday when he'd thrown a fairly high number of pitches over 7 innings was a prudent use of the model. Chances were high that he was going to tire quickly if he'd been sent back out.

I believe yesterday was the highest amount of pitches Milone had ever thrown in a MLB game

No sense risking anything at the point. Winning the war/season is more important than the battle/game

sycasey;842129414 said:

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........As for Doolittle, well he certainly is struggling, but on the other hand the A's offense could have scored more than 1 run.

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Today's game probably proves your point that offensive anemia was an equal culprit. Robin Ventura would agree with you that Nolan Ryan is a genetic freak. Even if that is not the case, it makes Robin feel better about the mound charging beat down he took from his daddy.

Who are these no name players you speak of? The only person that rings a bell is Nolan Ryan.

The thing with Doolittle is that he is relying on the fastball way too much. He has a good slider and he needs to use it more. A lefty that pitches in the mid to upper 90s is hard to hit but hitters are keying up on his fastball and shortening their swings because they know he is not throwing his slider much at all.

Rangers fan here. Love Nolan but the concerted effort to get starters to go deep into games the past few years appears to be taking its toll. Lewis, Harrison, Ogando, Feliz all who started last year currently on DL - three with serious injuries. Not complaining, part of the game is dealing with injuries.

But to me the frequency of starts is as pivotal as pitch count. When a day off shows up on the schedule, Wash likes to skip the fifth starter, thus starters are cheated out of extra rest. This was especially obvious when Ogando went on DL first time last month. Net result, starters looking fatigued, bullpen been used a ton the past two weeks and now many of them look tired in early June.

A non Ranger example is in late 2011, Scioscia repeatedly started Weaver and Haren on short rest . Have either been the same since ?

I like A's and do not get to see them play nearly enough. From what I see you do have a hole or two on staff but who doesn't ? In my opinion, you have one of the best managers in baseball and great pitching. If I were a betting man, I like your chances to win the division.

slotright20;842129575 said:

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Rangers fan here. Love Nolan but the concerted effort to get starters to go deep into games the past few years appears to be taking its toll. Lewis, Harrison, Ogando, Feliz all who started last year currently on DL - three with serious injuries. Not complaining, part of the game is dealing with injuries.

But to me the frequency of starts is as pivotal as pitch count. When a day off shows up on the schedule, Wash likes to skip the fifth starter, thus starters are cheated out of extra rest. This was especially obvious when Ogando went on DL first time last month. Net result, starters looking fatigued, bullpen been used a ton the past two weeks and now many of them look tired in early June.

A non Ranger example is in late 2011, Scioscia repeatedly started Weaver and Haren on short rest . Have either been the same since ?

I like A's and do not get to see them play nearly enough. From what I see you do have a hole or two on staff but who doesn't ? In my opinion, you have one of the best managers in baseball and great pitching. If I were a betting man, I like your chances to win the division.

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Well, here's the thing: I believe that more teams could go to 4-man rotations and get more starts for their best guys without damaging them . . . BUT they need to be careful with their pitchers in those games and have a quick hook when their pitch counts go up. I'm not sure how careful Ron Washington was with his starters when he skipped rest days . . . I'm guessing not very.

**** the Yankees!

A's win 6-4.

Hear hear !!!!!

Let's Go Oakland !!!!! ....

calgldnbear;842130240 said:

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Hear hear !!!!!

Let's Go Oakland !!!!! ....

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I am not one to criticize Melvin. IMO he is MLB's version of Mike Riley:
He does the most with the least. Always manages to put a good team together with the meager resources made available by the Owners who (like slumlords) want to spend just enough to keep the doors open but not enough to make the tenants (fans) happy.