The Reed thing effs up my grand plan for an Altoona rotation. Worse for him, of course. He must have been excited about this season after his big finish last year. Hope it’s not . . . you know.
Still an interesting rotation, without the star power at Indy but with a ton of depth. Assuming Sullivan is at Indy, could be:
The update on Reed isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, mid back injury. He'll start throwing in 2 to 3 weeks then a build up before heading to a rotation.
Sucks to say, but i kinda wish they’d just bite the bullet now. Seems like these situations typically go - elbow discomfort - long layoff to rest / avoid TJ - brief, ineffective return to play - TJ.
This. For all pitchers TJ seems inevitable, but you don't just slice to slice. The only illogical theory is to replace the intact (but in use for a lifetime) ligament with a new one that has been used in different ways. 'Hey that fan belt is going to wear out in 20K more miles, let's just replace it now'. Is it concerning of course and they still have to figure out what to do if this becomes chronic.
It's like any Honda Accord pre-2018. It's inevitable that the timing belt will break. Do you follow OEM preventative maintenance, or take a chance and see if you can get a few more clicks on the odometer before replacing?
So Jones will miss nearly half the season (6 weeks rest & 4 weeks build up) after missing nearly 1/3 of his rookie season. With the recent example of Gerrit Cole looming large, do the Pirates let him resume as a SP with normal SP innings/pitches restrictions? Or do they take a more cautious approach and move him to the bullpen for remainder of year in hopes of avoiding TJ surgery in near future?
What I hope doesn’t happen is Pirates take the middle path and have him start but restrict innings/pitches compared to healthy SP’s. That would kill our bullpen and not ensure a future healthy elbow.
I would love for him to stay in rotation when healthy, but the alarm bells are ringing in my head that his arm just isn’t cut out for the workload. He’d make a hellacious Closer, and Pirates have quality SP depth. Just saying.
Every pitcher and their elbow is unique, obviously. If an elbow is going to give out, it’s just a matter of time. Relief pitchers get injured, too!
Jones and Spencer Strider seem to me to be very similar. Same build; same reliance on the fastball and secondary pitch (hard slider).
Strider is just coming back from his second UCL-related surgery. If Jones wants to increase his odds of avoiding the same fate, maybe he can focus on diversifying his pitch mix (I know he’s working on using his change and curve more this spring) and also find a way to live off a less than max-effort fastball the majority of the time. (Easier said than done!).
He's too young to worry about sticking him in the BP. I think if he comes back, but with complications, then see if he can do some BP. If the ligament is going now, it's just a matter of time before He's under the knife. So, roll the dice and see which way it goes. Hopefully he'll hold up. The good news for him is, he can still pitch a lighter load and have a long MLB career.
Not a one inning closer, but a guy who pitches twice a week or so in high leverage situations in multiple inning stints. Not a fan of reducing a guy who is a 5/6 inning starter to a one inning guy. It is possible his body ain’t gonna hold up to a starter’s regimen, but I wouldn’t pull the cord yet.
The Reed thing effs up my grand plan for an Altoona rotation. Worse for him, of course. He must have been excited about this season after his big finish last year. Hope it’s not . . . you know.
Still an interesting rotation, without the star power at Indy but with a ton of depth. Assuming Sullivan is at Indy, could be:
Barco
Chen
Solo
Ercolani
Dotel
Perachi
Emmanuel Chapman
Derek Diamond
The update on Reed isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, mid back injury. He'll start throwing in 2 to 3 weeks then a build up before heading to a rotation.
Also apparently Termarr is back "playing in games" here, although I haven't seen him.
Excellent. Well, not "excellent," but always a relief when it's not an arm injury.
Sucks to say, but i kinda wish they’d just bite the bullet now. Seems like these situations typically go - elbow discomfort - long layoff to rest / avoid TJ - brief, ineffective return to play - TJ.
What are they going to repair? If the ligament is attached and there's no tears, you really can't do anything.
Maybe there's a preventative maintenance program in place that I'm unaware of.
lol, true.. should’ve rephrased as wish they *could* just get it out of the way now
amen, brother
This. For all pitchers TJ seems inevitable, but you don't just slice to slice. The only illogical theory is to replace the intact (but in use for a lifetime) ligament with a new one that has been used in different ways. 'Hey that fan belt is going to wear out in 20K more miles, let's just replace it now'. Is it concerning of course and they still have to figure out what to do if this becomes chronic.
It's like any Honda Accord pre-2018. It's inevitable that the timing belt will break. Do you follow OEM preventative maintenance, or take a chance and see if you can get a few more clicks on the odometer before replacing?
I hear ya, but ya don't do the knife before the surgery is "needed."
So Jones will miss nearly half the season (6 weeks rest & 4 weeks build up) after missing nearly 1/3 of his rookie season. With the recent example of Gerrit Cole looming large, do the Pirates let him resume as a SP with normal SP innings/pitches restrictions? Or do they take a more cautious approach and move him to the bullpen for remainder of year in hopes of avoiding TJ surgery in near future?
What I hope doesn’t happen is Pirates take the middle path and have him start but restrict innings/pitches compared to healthy SP’s. That would kill our bullpen and not ensure a future healthy elbow.
I would love for him to stay in rotation when healthy, but the alarm bells are ringing in my head that his arm just isn’t cut out for the workload. He’d make a hellacious Closer, and Pirates have quality SP depth. Just saying.
Every pitcher and their elbow is unique, obviously. If an elbow is going to give out, it’s just a matter of time. Relief pitchers get injured, too!
Jones and Spencer Strider seem to me to be very similar. Same build; same reliance on the fastball and secondary pitch (hard slider).
Strider is just coming back from his second UCL-related surgery. If Jones wants to increase his odds of avoiding the same fate, maybe he can focus on diversifying his pitch mix (I know he’s working on using his change and curve more this spring) and also find a way to live off a less than max-effort fastball the majority of the time. (Easier said than done!).
He's too young to worry about sticking him in the BP. I think if he comes back, but with complications, then see if he can do some BP. If the ligament is going now, it's just a matter of time before He's under the knife. So, roll the dice and see which way it goes. Hopefully he'll hold up. The good news for him is, he can still pitch a lighter load and have a long MLB career.
Not a one inning closer, but a guy who pitches twice a week or so in high leverage situations in multiple inning stints. Not a fan of reducing a guy who is a 5/6 inning starter to a one inning guy. It is possible his body ain’t gonna hold up to a starter’s regimen, but I wouldn’t pull the cord yet.
Not sure I understand the connection to Cole.
...both were Pirates...
Walked into that one.