A couple days ago, Davey Johnson finally switched the roles of pitchers Chien-Ming Wang and Ross Detwiler. Detwiler was taken out of the bullpen and back into the rotation while Wang was sent back to the bullpen.
Let's be honest, if it ain't broke don't fix it. And that is exactly what Davey Johnson tried to do. He tried to tweak the best starting rotation in all of baseball and it blew up in his face. Having Detwiler as the number five starter to start with was just fine. At one point, statistically he was the Nationals best pitcher (yeah...you heard me).
The best reason that anyone ever gave me as to why the switch to insert Wang (oh...that sounds bad) in the starting rotation was that he has more experience in a late season playoff push drama type of situation. Let me ask you this, if you don't want Ross in there because he doesn't have the experience, then how is he supposed to get it?
I'll answer that for you...he won't. If you don't water the seed, the plant won't grow.
Then, Chien-Ming Wang stunk it up out there. Rarely did he get out of the third inning alive and even then he would get torn apart in the fourth inning. His first pitch back in the majors came on a relief appearance in which he gave up a two run double.
Detwiler, while he may feel right at home coming out of the bullpen, should be a starting pitcher for the Nationals. If it makes him feel more comfortable, just have him run out of the bullpen at the beginning of the game.
I fear that we haven't seen the last of Chien-Ming Wang. The Nationals are standing firm on their 160 innings limit that they have placed on Stephen Strasburg. With the way the Nationals organization has handled injuries in the past (and they've done quite well, really), I wouldn't expect to see Strasburg past September 15th.
So, since the Nationals ace will be out for the season, that leaves just one guy available: Chien-Ming Wang.
To better prepare Wang, and the organization, for a late season playoff push, it would serve them well to have sent to Triple or Double A until then. He needs to work on his mechanics and gain some confidence. He isn't necessary to have in the bullpen.
While it may seem that the Nationals have it all figured out with their pitching staff, there are still some foreseeable tough decisions coming in the near future and down the road. The Nationals will need to sort out their dilemma with Chien-Ming Wang and prepare for when Stephen Strasburg is shut-down for the rest of the season.
Showing posts with label Stephen Strasburg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stephen Strasburg. Show all posts
Friday, June 22, 2012
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Risky Business
Last night the Nationals drafted right handed pitcher Lucas Giolito from Harvard-Westlake High School in California. After his junior year of high school, Giolito was predicted to go first overall following his senior season. The Nationals got him at 16th overall. You may be asking....why so late?
Giolito sat out his senior season due to a sprained ligament in his throwing elbow. Since he had not seen legitimate game action in over a year, teams were nervous about drafting him. Teams also stayed away from him due to the injury that he sustained to his throwing elbow.
The Nationals and their fans know all too well what can happen when you injure your throwing elbow. Already, the Nationals have seen two of their own starting pitchers go under the knife for Tommy Johns surgery. Jordan Zimmermann had his procedure done three years ago and most recently Stephen Strasburg underwent to the procedure to repair a ligament in his throwing elbow.
While the injury was a sprain and not a tear, the point still remains that Giolito's throwing elbow was injured. With that in mind, the Nationals need to be extra careful when bringing him through the system.
Many experts think that Giolito will move through any teams farm system quickly. However, the Nationals will want to take some time to make sure that everything is A-OK with his elbow. Trying to hustle the kid through the minors and into the majors would be a terrible mistake.
The last thing that Mike Rizzo and Co. want to have happen is stake their claim on this guy only to have him never make it past Class AA due to a reoccurring throwing elbow injury.
One thing that the Nationals do quite well is handle injuries. Strasburg and Zimmermann have both returned from their injuries just as good as, if not better than, before. They made a plan, patiently stuck to that plan, and the results have been fantastic.
Expect much of the same for Lucas Giolito. Don't expect the Nationals to try to quickly move him through the farm system. He is still a teenager and also an investment. He's got great stuff and can really be a big contributor to the Nationals for years to come.
The Nationals took a bit of a risk last night when they drafted Lucas Giolito. If they handle him just as carefully as they do the rest of their injured players, he's going to be a difference maker for this ball club.
Giolito sat out his senior season due to a sprained ligament in his throwing elbow. Since he had not seen legitimate game action in over a year, teams were nervous about drafting him. Teams also stayed away from him due to the injury that he sustained to his throwing elbow.
The Nationals and their fans know all too well what can happen when you injure your throwing elbow. Already, the Nationals have seen two of their own starting pitchers go under the knife for Tommy Johns surgery. Jordan Zimmermann had his procedure done three years ago and most recently Stephen Strasburg underwent to the procedure to repair a ligament in his throwing elbow.
While the injury was a sprain and not a tear, the point still remains that Giolito's throwing elbow was injured. With that in mind, the Nationals need to be extra careful when bringing him through the system.
Many experts think that Giolito will move through any teams farm system quickly. However, the Nationals will want to take some time to make sure that everything is A-OK with his elbow. Trying to hustle the kid through the minors and into the majors would be a terrible mistake.
The last thing that Mike Rizzo and Co. want to have happen is stake their claim on this guy only to have him never make it past Class AA due to a reoccurring throwing elbow injury.
One thing that the Nationals do quite well is handle injuries. Strasburg and Zimmermann have both returned from their injuries just as good as, if not better than, before. They made a plan, patiently stuck to that plan, and the results have been fantastic.
Expect much of the same for Lucas Giolito. Don't expect the Nationals to try to quickly move him through the farm system. He is still a teenager and also an investment. He's got great stuff and can really be a big contributor to the Nationals for years to come.
The Nationals took a bit of a risk last night when they drafted Lucas Giolito. If they handle him just as carefully as they do the rest of their injured players, he's going to be a difference maker for this ball club.
Monday, June 4, 2012
Nationals Draft Pitcher
Last night marked day one of the three-day 40-round 2012 MLB Entry Level Draft. The first two rounds (round 1 and 1A) were completed last night. The Nationals selected once throughout the evening with the 16th overall pick.
With that pick, the Nationals selected right-handed pitcher Lucas Giolito from Harvard-Westlake High School in California. That's right, he's fresh out of prep school.
A bigger guy standing at 6'6" and weighing 230 pounds, Giolito was anticipated to go first overall following an impressive junior high school season. However, a sprained ulnar collateral ligament (in the elbow) kept him off the field for his senior season.
According to many scouts around the league, Giolito has three very good pitches that he can go to when on the mound.
His fastball has been clocked at 96 MPH on the radar gun, but usually tops out at 93 MPH. His changeup comes out looking like a fastball, breaks like a split-fingered pitch, but is slow enough to get batters to swing way out in front of it. He also throws an excellent curve that one scout said has a very sharp break when it hits the plate.
Another thing that scouts rave when talking about Giolito is his location. He keeps the ball down in the strikezone. Doing so allows him to get a many ground-ball outs which also allows for quick innings.
One thing that worries me about this pick is his injury history. He has already injured a ligament in his throwing elbow. Nationals fans know all too well the dangers when dealing with an elbow ligament injury (see Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann).
It would seriously put a damper on things if Giolito doesn't have the stuff that he used to have. However, if he's anywhere close to it, the Nationals have made a great pick.
The Nationals have certainly figured out what they want to build their team around. Starting pitching was a focus during the offseason and it was certainly one last night.
Follow me on Twitter @SkinnyOnSports and don't forget to look the blog up on Facebook: The Skinny on Sports!
With that pick, the Nationals selected right-handed pitcher Lucas Giolito from Harvard-Westlake High School in California. That's right, he's fresh out of prep school.
A bigger guy standing at 6'6" and weighing 230 pounds, Giolito was anticipated to go first overall following an impressive junior high school season. However, a sprained ulnar collateral ligament (in the elbow) kept him off the field for his senior season.
According to many scouts around the league, Giolito has three very good pitches that he can go to when on the mound.
His fastball has been clocked at 96 MPH on the radar gun, but usually tops out at 93 MPH. His changeup comes out looking like a fastball, breaks like a split-fingered pitch, but is slow enough to get batters to swing way out in front of it. He also throws an excellent curve that one scout said has a very sharp break when it hits the plate.
Another thing that scouts rave when talking about Giolito is his location. He keeps the ball down in the strikezone. Doing so allows him to get a many ground-ball outs which also allows for quick innings.
One thing that worries me about this pick is his injury history. He has already injured a ligament in his throwing elbow. Nationals fans know all too well the dangers when dealing with an elbow ligament injury (see Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann).
It would seriously put a damper on things if Giolito doesn't have the stuff that he used to have. However, if he's anywhere close to it, the Nationals have made a great pick.
The Nationals have certainly figured out what they want to build their team around. Starting pitching was a focus during the offseason and it was certainly one last night.
Follow me on Twitter @SkinnyOnSports and don't forget to look the blog up on Facebook: The Skinny on Sports!
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