Inside Pitch

We will know if he passes through waivers... Wouldnt shock me to see JD claim him. He tends to like the guys he drafted/signed.

No, the potential for fatigue was and possible resulting injuries.. I used the pitch counts to try to convey the obvious but -- woosh..

That's probably my fault -- I mentioned the pitch counts to try to make a point about the increased workload and the potential for fatigue and thus injury -- apparently it didn't register.. That being said I find it hilarious he's concerned about taxing the bullpen but sees nothing wrong with having a guy who was a RP as recently as two weeks ago double his workload... Apparently it doesn't matter that Ramirez was a RP for 110 of his 114 appearances... because he's a SP now..

LOL. So basically, you disregard there being any need for caution because of cliches like "stretching a pitcher out". What's more you saw fit to focus on what could have happened instead of what actually did happen. Sorry.. you'll have to find someone else to argue stupid things with.. But I'm glad Mike Scioscia isn't Tommy Lasorda or Terry Collins.

SMH.. talk about not seeing the forest for the trees... The issue is that guys are already injured -- not how they got there -- I couldn't have made that more clear than I did.. Whats more I tried to clue you into why pulling him might have been the smart move... Big picture wise. But let me try again... Many years ago really smart people who follow baseball started tracking the impact of increased workloads and it's impact on injuries.. Bill James in particular wrote several articles about it referring to it as "innings shock" and there is a ton of data that shows that most injuries occur when a pitcher is fatigued. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out a guy making the jump from RP to SP is dealing with a heavier workload than what would be his norm -- this is when fatigue sets in -- the climate in Texas only adds to it.. Congrats on repeating the info on pitch counts I just gave you.. Pity you don't understand why 90 pitches back to back is pretty much pushing it for now.

Richards is hurt and on the shelf.. Skaggs is dinged up and on the shelf... It's April 30, the season has five more months still. In his 110 apperances as a RP his pitch high was 43. In his previous start, his 3rd, he threw 92 pitches... He was at 91 and the game is in Texas. If Ramirez, a career RP in his fourth MLB start gets hurt.. who would it be on? Sosh, right?

Just doing my part.... bump

He's had 10 few ABs and is hitting almost 50 points lower than Cron. I'm pulling for the guy but he's not doing himself any favors. Dude had a negative DRS at 1B and LF too.. Say what you will about Cron, he has a history of hitting May-August.

Shade by virtue of complimenting them? He certainly seemed to hold them both in high esteem. Unfortunately for everyone in the scouting department prior to 2012 -- they weren't smart enough to survive the purge.

Cron is a known slow starter.. Marte is less of a known quantity... When you have a guy that's managed an OPS near .800 from May-August for his 3 year career.... You gotta wait him out IMO...

Only if Sosh promises to refer to him as Jerry's Kid... that would be entertaining.

I dont know if people truly get how very fitting this comment is. "Im in charge here" very much applies...

My "take" is that despite you speaking in absolutes the reality is nobody has any real insight into whether or not he will sign a lucrative contract. Pretty simple. But since you brought it up.. Richards "settled" for 6.8 mil this year after pitching 34 innings last season -- that was a 400K raise. Which brings me back to what I said in my initial response.. "never underestimate the stupidity of MLB teams or the value of upper echelon performance pitching." You're so determined to be right you miss the obvious.

The Baby Birds as they were called all suffered a rash of injuries -- those late 60s Orioles teams are viewed by many as a study point for pitcher abuse and inning totals on pitchers before age 25... Palmer re-invented himself a couple times -- dude was a freaking magician.

One is a common malady in MLB with a high success rate. The other is an undetermined condition that is being monitored - that's a lot of dirt you are piling on the guy given the info we have. He said he was going to try to throw at 85% effort - not be 85% of what he had been. Reading is fundamental. Here's a link... http://www.ocregister.com/2017/03/26/angels-garrett-richards-hoping-85-percent-mindset-can-be-key-to-a-healthy-successful-season/ Here's the quote. "He calls it the “85 percent mindset.” After Richards tossed six innings on 69 pitches in a minor-league game on Sunday, he said he’s happy the way he’s been more efficient, and more in control, now that he isn’t airing it out quite like he used to. The velocity is still at his normal level, though. He’s been throwing his fastball from 94-98 mph this spring. “If I can throw at 85 percent, I’m able to repeat my mechanics better,” he said. “I’m able to keep everything moving downhill toward the catcher. Because I throw across my body, direction is a big thing for me. If I can eliminate a little bit of effort and keep everything moving in a straight line, it’s going to help me.”

Day 1 -- Thank you Eppy... Day 2 -- TBD...

I like how you state your opinions as absolutes even as you pepper your reasoning with IFs.. Compelling debate. You previously stated/implied he would never see a big payday -- I gave you a recent example of a guy with a lesser track record, older, and injury prone who basically got 50 mil at age 37. Richards' future earning potential is an unknown -- but he's got reason to believe he might still see a big payday. Yeah man -- the 60 day DL always seemed like the "oh shit" DL list... Has anything definitive been released yet? seems to be a situation where they know what it isn't -- but aren't quite sure of what it is. Richards himself may be in a denial phase -- he seems pretty flip about the situation. Based on the little information that's been offered I wonder if this isn't something they would have dismissed as a dead arm or some other fatigue based ailment in years passed. I don't doubt they are concerned and at the same time I wonder if they would have taken the same route were it not for what happened last year.

to Fritz's....

Rich Hill was released by the Angels in 2014... The Angels were his 5th organization -- he would sign and be cut by two more teams (Yanks and Nats), before re-emerging with the Red Sox in 2015. Hill was 34 years old, he had struggled with inconsistency and injuries his entire career (4.72 ERA over 471 innings). He then managed 24 starts between 2015 and 2016 missing time due to injuries in both seasons. Despite that he signed a 3 year 48 million dollar contract last winter. So... to recap.... Rich Hill turned 139 innings at age 36 into 48 million dollars. I know your'e in a rush to bury Richards -- but he's got a long ways to go before he's 34 years old still. As it stands, he's managed a higher IP total for his career than the Dodgers 50 million dollar man... despite being 8 years younger than him. I know you fancy yourself a smart guy, but never underestimate the stupidity of MLB teams or the value of upper echelon performance pitching.

But they could have had the guy they wanted..... for less... and not have been locked out of two signing seasons...

He spent three days scouting him... http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-angels-roberto-baldoquin-signing-20150106-story.html This will always be my favorite quote on Baldoquin - “He’s not a raw, let’s-wait-and-see-how-this-turns-out projection,” Dipoto said. “He looks like a major league player now. He needs a little time in the minor leagues to adjust to a new country, but he’s a pretty mature kid. He has a skill set that is very well-balanced.” Copyright © 2017, Los Angeles Times

Do I need to dig up the old article where it says point blank that JD personally oversaw his workouts with the Angels? The smartest guy in the room was the driving force behind that call. I forget what he said exactly but it was along the lines of "he's not a guy that is raw, he just needs at bats" or some other tripe..

Theo was the right guy for the job. He has pretty much cemented his place in the HOF having ended the curses of two of MLB's Tiffany franchises.

I agree it was troubling but it was 87 plate appearances.. Guys like Cowart have to play and play everyday. If the Angels ever give him a chance, then it has to be a legit chance -- not one start every three days if it's a left handed, fly ball pitcher, who parts his hair on the left.. etc etc... Cowart has had as much of a chance as Cam did when everyone was shitting on him. His biggest obstacle right now IMO is that the team isn't in the position to give him the job and let him get his struggles out.. They may end up missing on him because they wouldn't commit to letting him get past his failures... If this team is still tanking in July and he's still anywhere near .300/.375/450 in AAA, they better hand him a starting job and let him figure it out.

Brilliant!! Just pure effing brilliant.... So let me get this straight... They shied away from Maitan because potential costs ... but then signed Baldoquin a guy NOBODY was high on for 8 mil.. after penalties almost 16 mil... because he was number 2 on JD's radar???? Meanwhile Kevin Maitan, considered the best international prospect in his signing class eventually signed for 4.25 million... Yep... 4.25 mil. Vlad Jr. BTW signed for 3.9 Mil. Lazaro Armenteros, called the Cuban Bryce Harper.... he signed for 3 mil.... I don't know who your sources are -- I'm not questioning the veracity of your post but I have a hard time believing JD and company were that stupid. I mean, signing two guys who couldn't throw and calling it mission accomplished was a level of stupid I'd never seen before but spending 16 mil and freezing yourself out of two signing classes because you are afraid you might not be able to compete for a guy two years later is momentously stupid. Baldo was signed in December of 14, he was an afterthought in his own signing class... a leftover. Maitan wasn't eligible to sign until 2016... If things went down like you're explaining ... Jeesh....