Shout - moethedog - 3/18/16 9:19pm

<p>12 is the right number. No team (well, few) has gone very long with an 11 man staff. Used to be the rule....back when you had 4 guys throwing 200 innings each. And a couple of those guys threw 250! The '72 A's went (essentially) with 10 #Men, but two of those guys threw 560 innings. The '82 Cards went with an 11 man staff, but got 500 innings out of their top two. The '92 Jays went with 11 #Men, two of them throwing 456 innings. The 2002 Angels went with 12 #Men, the top two getting 423. The '12 Giants threw 11 principle arms and 5 others who combined for 100 innings. Essentially they went with 12, and that while all 5 starters threw between 184 and 219 innings. They missed 2 starts all year. Unless you have a really durable staff or 2-3 guys who throw a ton of innings, you just don't throw 11 guys any more. BTW, the teams I chose were all WS winners...and trend setters. Go back to '62 and the Yankees went with 11 #Men, but three of them (Terry, Ford, Stafford) combined for 109 starts and 769 innings. It was a different world.</p>
<div class="indented">Reply - Browns8625 - 3/18/16 11:13pm<br><p>It's amazing how.many balls guy coukd throw in the day... Makes you wonder</p>
</div><div class="indented">Reply - jemanji - 3/19/16 2:46am<br><p>Really was a different world. One not populated by 6 Reggie Jacksons per batting order, in which the pitcher could catch his wind from time to time.</p>
</div><div class="indented">Reply - SABR Matt - 3/19/16 9:49am<br><p>It wasn't just the lack of offensive firepower in those days...it was the lack of walks. The strategy has changed for most hitters in the MLB these days...you used to get told "don't let the bat sit on your shoulder, pokey! Swing it!" It's a lot easier to throw 300 innings when the average inning is 12 pitches than when it is 16 (which is what it was in 2015).</p>
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