Starting pitchers lately

[parabrave]

It doesn't concern you that our starters can't get thru 4 or 5 innings at the most? It darn sure bothers me. Yes, the bp has been good but once we start getting into regionals we need those starters to step up and give us 6 innings.

Good point. We need our starters to give us 6-7 innings and at this point in the season we should have ar least one who can. One big thing that is causing these guys to lose it is the stupid errors that are happening when we have 2 outs. Nothing kills a pitcher more than an error which prolongs an inning when he knows he should be out of it.

[Gutter Cobreh]

It doesn't concern you that our starters can't get thru 4 or 5 innings at the most? It darn sure bothers me. Yes, the bp has been good but once we start getting into regionals we need those starters to step up and give us 6 innings.

No. To get 6 innings from a starter (assuming they're on a pitch count) - that averages out around 17 pitches per inning. We may stretch some guys out when the postseason comes around, but our coaching staff has shown us that they are not going to push a kid past this limit very often. To expect any of our pitchers to go 6 innings consistently is only setting yourself up to be disappointed. On top of that, I don't think they need to go 6 innings. In the past, we've had to rely on position players to pitch relief and we have the staff this year where that isn't needed. We have the depth in the bullpen where we don't need any starter to carry us. We simply need for them to not leave anything hanging and not walk a bunch of batters.

This is also why I'm more worried about us working counts against opposing pitchers. The called 3rd strikes without swinging the bat when it's close drives me nuts, but at the least - we are working counts and not up there swinging at every breaking ball. If we can work the counts on the opposing team's ace - we then get to their bullpen quicker and have a better shot. I have yet to see a team we've faced whose bullpen is anywhere close to what we put out there.

I can agree with this. I think our hitting is not quite good enough to leave some of our starters out there as long as we do sometimes. I'm hoping lemon is just letting our guys endure hardships to get them ready for a run.

Our hitting is not where it needs to be consistently. Outside of TA, who else do we have? We have major holes in the lineup that hinders us far worse than our pitching staff.

Good point. We need our starters to give us 6-7 innings and at this point in the season we should have ar least one who can. One big thing that is causing these guys to lose it is the stupid errors that are happening when we have 2 outs. Nothing kills a pitcher more than an error which prolongs an inning when he knows he should be out of it.

Great point! Errors extend innings, which causes pitch counts to go up.

[Saltydog]

It's not just the errors it's also the walks and hits they are giving up as well. Every time one of them goes out you can bet your ass that around the 4th or 5th they'll implode. Sure, errors haven't helped but it's like the second time thru the lineup they get their ass hammered and that is a cause for concern. It's bothersome that such an "elite" staff (which is b.s.) can't get thru 4 innings, 5 max.

[Tbonewannabe]

It's not just the errors it's also the walks and hits they are giving up as well. Every time one of them goes out you can bet your ass that around the 4th or 5th they'll implode. Sure, errors haven't helped but it's like the second time thru the lineup they get their ass hammered and that is a cause for concern. It's bothersome that such an "elite" staff (which is b.s.) can't get thru 4 innings, 5 max.

MacLeod seems to have a rough 1st inning every week also. Most of the time he gets out of it without doing too much damage but it seems like every week the 1st ends with the bases loaded.