Too bad Slammin' Sammy Snead is not around. Jeff, I don't know if you ever watched him face to face but I got to caddy as a kid for the Thunderbird, a pro league that was soon defunk. Some well known tour pros with northwest club pros. Snead was fun to watch. Smooooooooooooooooooooooooooooth! He said to hit shots in dress shoes or even bare foot to work on the feet that necessitated a non-rushed swing. And with the old clubs you had to be that to hit it solid. Don't you think Maurer showed his true potential a year ago in Spring training? Do you remember putting a pic of a dirty change up on here that was unhittable to a left-handed Giant. I haven't watched him this year but his good inning, good inning, mega-run inning has to be from 1) head case; 2) terrible pitch selection; 3) inconsistent mechanics or such. I hope they can get him off the big stage so he can start over again with some basics...which includes repeatable smoothness to every pitch.
Baseball and golf? Seldom easy or simple! My son had 14Ks today with 0BBs against a decent post-high school travel team. LOL! Lost 1-0.
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Mt Grizzly sez,
Maurer is bad, no doubt, but he's the organizations 7th or 8th starter. I highly doubt he's an impediment to free agent signings. The only viable alternative is Erasmo and he didn't fare any better when he was given his shot. If Walker stays on track, Maurer has one or two starts left and then it's back to Tacoma.
Right ... our dropoff after guys #1-4 is sheer. We get vertigo, watching pitchers' duels for 4 days and then getting a rookie KO'ed by the 3rd inning every 5th day.
Hey. File one more in the melancholy folder titled, "Stoploss Problems." Saberdogs haven't gotten around to thinkin' about that one yet.
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Phoenix Terry sez,
Griz - I beg to differ about E-Ram's results as an MLB pitcher. E-Ram was very good in 2012 (59 innings of 3.37 ERA ball). He was worse in 2013, probably because he wasn't healthy. E-Ram started poorly in 2014, but his last 2 starts in the bigs were both quality starts. The combined line from E-Ram's last 2 MLB starts: 12 innings / 5 ER / 9 hits allowed / 12 K's / 4 BBs. Maurer, OTH, has never even succeeded at AAA, let alone at the MLB level. If the M's Brain Trust was absolutely intent on putting out the players each day that maximizes the team's chance to win, E-Ram would be starting in place of Maurer.
With the new evidence in as of May 30, 2014, I'm inclined to go wit' Terry on this one ... but check me in a week :- )
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It was striking -- and pleasing -- to watch Roenis Elias pitch one day and then C.J. Wilson pitch the next* day. Just about the only difference between the two men is "starter's rhythm." (That, and the fact that Elias' changeup is already superior to CJ's.)
As Bill James aptly put it, nobody can run faster over a 5K race, than they can over 100 yards. That's why relief pitching is inherently easier.
But Bill didn't go into the idea of "rhythm" -- there is one thing in a starter's favor over a reliever's, and that is the fact that he is ALLOWED to throw 100 pitches. It's like a bowler warming up. (Have you ever seen Hisashi Iwakuma "rehearse" his wrist snap during innings?) A pitcher can find his perfect balance and improve his command over the course of a long start.
Roenis Elias doesn't do that, which ... most young LHP's don't. This is why Elias' starts get "ruined" by the mistake pitches he leaves out-and-over, center cut. "Ruined" in the sense that they're not yet CJ Wilson starts and he's not yet the ace of a playoff team.
Brandon Maurer is an excellent candidate for worst rhythm currently in an MLB rotation. Just as a for instance, he wayyyyyy rushes into his acceleration. Ask Mo' Dawg how hard a scratch golfer works on his rhythm and tempo, and what happens if a golfer JERKS into his downswing in a HUGE RUSH.
It's flat-out hard to watch Maurer try to pitch to Albert Pujols with that sports motion. Ask Mo' Dawg if he wants to golf in a foursome with somebody rushing his downstroke like that, and scattering the waterfowl in every pond and creek.
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My solution: Get a golfer to work with Maurer (in AAA) on tempo until IT IS RIGHT YOU FEEB.
The stuff about Taijuan needing to earn it, is cliche'd and maddening. (Taijuan has natural tempo, by the way.) But if they insist on Old School Theory X management, at least give Erasmo a try while encouraging him, rather than busting his stones and making him more scared of his friends than his enemies.
Your friend,
Dr D