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March 17, 2008

Clock Starts Now For Phil, Ian & Joba

This morning, listening to Mark Patrick and Buck Martinez, on X-M Radio MLB Home Plate, I heard the two discussing what to watch and what not to watch with respect to a starting pitcher’s performance in spring training – and what the experts say on this topic. In summary, the consensus was:

Forget a pitcher’s first time out – as his arm strength is at a max and he could appear move overpowering than he really is, or, he could be overthrowing. Forget a pitcher’s second time out – as his arm will be sore from the effort put forth on his first outing, following the off-season layoff. And, forget a pitcher’s third time out – as this is when pitchers experience that “dead arm” period that happens every spring. To get a real feel on a starting pitcher in spring training, you want to see how he does on his fourth and fifth time out (during exhibition games).

Seems to make sense, no?

So, for the [insert the catchy name that you like to use for the group of Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, and Joba Chamberlain], the clock/watch starts now. Forget what we’ve seen from Hughes so far this spring. And, forget what we’ve seen from Kennedy and Chamberlain. Let’s see what they do over the next two weeks. It could just be what we should also expect to see from them this season.

Posted by WW Staff at March 17, 2008 11:39 AM

Comments

Yes the clock starts now, but I think its important to Yankees fans to realize that Phil, Ian and Joba are not Doc Goodens and that there will be games where they don't perform great. Yankees fans are very spoiled in that we demand performances that we won't see every time out. Joba is extremely consistent because of the Joba rules working in his favor. Having rules for pitchers is I think a great thing because it protects the pitchers from damage, something Torre had no clue how to do.

Posted by: Straylightrise [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 17, 2008 01:41 PM

Forget the clock. Lets just hope they all continue to remain healthy because their talent will see them through the 7 month season.

That being said, their theory does make sense.

Posted by: Bradley [TypeKey Profile Page] at March 17, 2008 03:58 PM