Weekend starting pitching.....

[thekimmer]

I know its early, but after 6 weekend games our starters have only figured in two decisions both losses. Mostly because they have only lasted 3-4 innings combined with a lack of early run support. With the unusual depth of our pen we might not see a lot of decisions out of our weekend rotation.

Also, anyone else thinking we might not see Bednar anytime soon this season? Maybe I'm just paranoid but the official info coming out about him is too similar to what we heard when Ginn was having major arm issues.

 

[wsjmsu75]

Seems as though we always have at least one hurt weekend starter right out of the gates, every year. Frustrating.

But, having said that, our overall pitching depth is strong this year, so maybe it won't be a big deal.

 

[ronpolk]

I’m sure some of that is allowing the pitchers to build up pitch count, which is pretty common early in the season. But the trend is baseball is not allowing the starter to go through the lineup a third time. Very few pitchers work past 5th or 6th inning.

 

[wsjmsu75]

I’m sure some of that is allowing the pitchers to build up pitch count, which is pretty common early in the season. But the trend is baseball is not allowing the starter to go through the lineup a third time. Very few pitchers work past 5th or 6th inning.

Yep. These days if you get 5 good innings from your starter, meaning either you have a lead or at worst a tie, that should usually be considered a success.

 

[ronpolk]

Yep. These days if you get 5 good innings from your starter, meaning either you have a lead or at worst a tie, that should usually be considered a success.

I bet we start to see Macleod working deeper in games starting this weekend. But with our bullpen depth, I wouldn’t be shocked to see cerantola and whoever 3rd starter is generally always go max 5 or 6 and come out, unless they are working on a no hitter or something.

 

[PartTimeGenius]

So far our starters have built that pitch count up earrrrly. Pitch count is one thing, but when you hit that say 80ish pitch limit in 3 innings, that's not exactly promising.

I remember watching Pilk have the same struggles.

 

[thekimmer]

Cerantola..

I bet we start to see Macleod working deeper in games starting this weekend. But with our bullpen depth, I wouldn’t be shocked to see cerantola and whoever 3rd starter is generally always go max 5 or 6 and come out, unless they are working on a no hitter or something.

I'm not optimistic about Cerantola. In his one appearance it did not look like much had changed with the wildness that has plagued him his entire career which does not bode well for him this season. With Sims, Smith and a plethora of other young arms available he might just wind up in the mid-week slot especially if we get Bednar back.

 

[PartTimeGenius]

If he hasn't gotten his stuff under control in the last 2 years, I highly doubt it will happen. You either can or you can't. So far he's proved that he can't.

 

[trob115]

I am afraid Cerantola is going to be the next Woodruff. Not having any consistency here on the mound, and will turn into a top of the rotation MLB piece.

 

[MSUDC11]

If he hasn't gotten his stuff under control in the last 2 years, I highly doubt it will happen. You either can or you can't. So far he's proved that he can't.

I would use the next two weeks to see if Cerentola can throw strikes. If it doesn’t happen, don’t see how you can expect it to magically change in conference play.

Thing is, I actually think he’d be a heck of a bullpen option. He gets people out even with his wildness, it just keeps him from going more than 2-3 innings. I think he’d give us all a heart attack if he was the closer but I think he could be very useful as a long or middle relief guy.

 

[Russ Wheeler]

If he hasn't gotten his stuff under control in the last 2 years, I highly doubt it will happen. You either can or you can't. So far he's proved that he can't.

While it wasn't all control, Stratton never really did anything until his junior year, then boom.

 

[missouridawg]

I'm going to make the assumption that Sims can pitch 90-100 pitches per outing... and if he can't, then what I'm about to say is null and void.

But at some point, Sims has to move to our Friday night guy if he continues to baffle hitters like he has. Having him set the tone with 5-7 great innings on Friday is something that can create a snowball effect for the weekend. Having their best hitters watch that for 2-3 at-bats during our first game could put some thoughts in their head that linger throughout the weekend.

Sims has been great at bailing out two sub-par starts, but at some point why not give him the ball on Friday?

 

[wsjmsu75]

I'm going to make the assumption that Sims can pitch 90-100 pitches per outing... and if the can't, then what I'm about to say is null and void.

But at some point, Sims has to move to our Friday night guy if he continues to baffle hitters like he has. Having him set the tone with 5-7 great innings on Friday is something that can create a snowball effect for the weekend. Having their best hitters watch that for 2-3 at-bats during our first game could put some thoughts in their head that linger throughout the weekend.

Sims has been great at bailing out two sub-par starts, but at some point why not give him the ball on Friday?

Lemonis said that starting Sims in the weekend rotation would be a possibility as the season goes on.

 

[Quincy A. Wagstaff]

It would be nice to have two aces that give you 7+ innings every start, but some teams rely on their bullpen more than others. Both can lead to success. Graveman was our only weekend starter we could really lean on in 2013 and we made the championship series.

Even without Bednar to this point, we have seven pitchers that have at least 3.0 IP and an ERA of 3.00 or better. These seven guys have gotten nearly 2/3 of our outs at a combined ERA of 1.71. Hopefully, we will see Bednar this weekend.

 

[bruiser.sixpack]

I think Coach and Jake need to each stand in a batters box and let Ricky Vaughn Cerentola throw enough pitches to prove he can find the plate any time he wants. To make it fair and not suicidal, Coach and Jake can wear a helmet and double cup!

 

[Xenomorph]

Sooner or later Cerantola is going to figure out that 98 mph over the plate is better than 102 at the bull. You gotta keep putting him out there until he gets it.

 

[bruiser.sixpack]

Sooner or later Cerantola is going to figure out that 98 mph over the plate is better than 102 at the bull. You gotta keep putting him out there until he gets it.

Or until he maims a batter!****

 

[PartTimeGenius]

I guess I should have specified that by "stuff" I mean control. Development over 2-3 yrs in regards to pitches, mechanics, gameplan is one thing, but guys RARELY just develop control.

 

[PartTimeGenius]

Figuring it out and doing it are two different things. I'm fairly certain that he's got it figured out, the problem is he just can't do it.

 

[Xenomorph]

Yeah.. I just meant at some point he’s going to settle down and throw to the mitt like the coaches say he does in practice.

 

[PartTimeGenius]

I certainly hope so. I fear he's like a BP hitter. They can hit a ball a mile, time after time in BP, but are masters of the K when it comes game time.