Join columnist Jeff Gordon for his live STL sports chat at 1 p.m. Friday
Bring your Cards, Blues, Mizzou, SLU and MLS questions and comments, and talk to columnist Jeff Gordon in his weekly live chat.
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Speaking of Robert Thomas, it seems to me that the thing that has taken him to a new level offensively is finally looking for his own shot more. Now, teams can't play him for the pass only, and that has opened more passing lanes for a guy that doesn't need much of window to hit a teammate. What's his next step forward? -
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My grandmother worked at the hospital where the Red Wings got treatment and she loved Gordie Howe, who was quite the kidder with staff. So we took her to a WHA game when Gordie made his comeback. These young guys kept trying to run him and he would calmly sidestep hits and go where he wanted to go.There were a lot of stories about his insane farmboy strength. Teammates would find ways to test that strength -- pick up that, carry that -- and he would do crazy things without a sweat.Check out this passage from a 1963 magazine article:“He’s always at the outer edge of the rulebook anyway,” says Eric Nesterenko of the Chicago Black Hawks, a veteran who has played frequently against Howe man-on-man. “You never know when he's going to slip over into what's dirty.” Ted Lindsay, who was Howe's linemate with Detroit for a dozen years and his opponent with Chicago for three more, says, “Gordie gets away with more than anyone else in hockey.” Andy Bathgate, the New York Ranger star who was fined by the league in 1960 for writing an article called “Atrocities on Ice,” for True magazine, has accused Howe of deliberately inflicting head cuts, of deliberately cauliflowering at least one ear, and of deliberately raising the puck at other people’s heads. About the only crimes Howe is not generally accused of are the heinous ones of “spearing” — the art of jabbing the business end of a hockey stick into an onrushing opponent's unpadded belly — and “butt-ending.” another manoeuvre with a stick that takes place in flurries around the goal mouth or in the corners. He is a recognized master of “high sticking,” an action that is almost impossible for the fans or even the referees to separate from an accident, and which has carved his signature on a good many faces around the league."
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Do all teams use the same type pitch count and year over year innings increase guidelines that the Cardinals use? We hear about a 100 pitch limit for a starter, or not increasing more than x number of the innings a pitcher through the year before. From what I can tell every team still deals with a lot of pitching injuries. It’s a known fact that a lot of major injuries stem from either continuing to throw after a pitcher is too fatigued, or adjusting to a more minor injury. Flaherty would be a great example. His shoulder injury was a result of body adjustments from the oblique injury. Is there a team that just lets their on the field staff make the decision of when to take a pitcher out regardless of the numbers? I don’t mean for one game, but rather for an entire season. From what I can tell the analytics aren’t really working.
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Teams are fairly universal in their safe handling of pitchers. Pitch counts are a thing everywhere. One mutation is the "opener" concept, which can be paired with the use of "bulk" relievers. That eliminates the traditional starter role.Today's pitchers are fined tuned athletes. They are like a Porsche and old-timers like by favorite rubber-arm starter, Mickey Lolich, were like a '72 Buick LeSabre -- a tank that would roll on forever with an occasional oil change and a period whack of the carburetor with a wrench.
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Ville Husso and Jordan Binnington should split the back-to-back games this weekend and next. Binnington should get one of the last two games, too, assuming the Blues have nothing to play for. I'm guessing Husso will get the two weekday starts next week . . . but there's a chance Berube could spit those games as well, since Husso played a lot of hockey down the stretch.
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Thanks for the chat, Gordorino.
Young shortstop Masyn Winn is off to a fine mini-start in High-A this year, and in just five games he already has two triples and three stolen bases. I know prospects aren't your specialty, but can you tell me exactly how fast this guy is? Thanks again! -
Coming out of high school, he was getting down the first base line in less than 4 seconds. As he adds bulk, he may lose a bit of that speed. But scouts still rate him as a plus-plus runner. He can throw mid-90s fastballs and produce exit velocities over 100 mph off of his bat.So what can't he do?
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No, but Girsch came from the numbers-crunching side of things, not the traditional baseball side of things. And Shildt saw himself as a protector of the traditional baseball side.This would be reminiscent of Walt Jocketty having his issues with Jeff Luhnow, who came from the numbers side. Jeff won that one and Walt hit the bricks.
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In response to the "pitch count" question a few moments ago, cause & effect is impossible to prove, but I strongly suspect the frequency of contemporary pitcher breakdowns is at least in part due to the near obsession with maximizing velocity. Muscles can be trained & strengthened to an extraordinary degree -- but not so with ligaments, tendons, and other connective tissue. So these bodies break down when asked to perform at 99-100% max effort on a regular basis.
My question, Gordo. Do you know how Woodford is (emotionally, intellectually) handling the weird events so far? I mean, being told after Flaherty's injury that he was competing for the 5th starter role, then quite clearing winning that role in Spring Training, but then being told that Jordan Hicks got in instead? Thanks, Jeff, and enjoy your weekend! -
Pitching is hard on the body. And you're right, max-effort pitching for max velocity is REALLY hard on the body.And speaking of max effort, Hicks was always in the starting picture, once the team agreed that shifting him from his relief role would be in his best long-term interest. So there was no blind side hit there. The team was really hoping Drew VerHagen could run with that fill-in work, but he fell instead.As for Jake Woodford, if he keeps pitching well in "bulk" relief, he will almost certainly some starts this season. He is right on the cusp, as he was last season. But can he meet the second-time-through-the-order challenge?
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The idea is to negate the first at bat for other team's top hitters by starting the game with a favorable matchup with an effective reliever. A guy comes in throwing max effort for an inning or two. And the other team can't set a starting lineup just to face that "opener" because that would mean subbing hitters as early as the third inning. That handcuffs the team for the late innings.
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Would another team offer No. 91 deal for $9 million a year or more? Given his age and injury history, likely not. Maybe the Blues could get Vlad for $8 million a season by giving more term. That deal would age badly, but it might be the only path toward cap management.
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I've been watching the Blues since their first season, and this team is as much fun to watch as any (though admittedly, I have forgotten a lot). Still, I would be surprised if they can topple Colorado in the playoffs. The Avs are just too good and too motivated by past failures.
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Colorado has taken big injury hits and rolled on. At full strength, with Gabriel Landeskog and Nazem Kadri doing their thing, they could be a juggernaut this spring. And they know this is the best team they may have under the salary cap in a long, long time. This is their time. If they don't win it all now, when will they?
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Hey, Gordo!
Don't know why you asked if Jake Woodford could go through the order more than once. Recall, he did so repeatedly last September. Twice in that month he shut down the hated Brewers -- five shutout innings both times! Overall he made 5 or 6 September starts, with marked success, an ERA right around 3.00. (This is why I was kinda shocked he didn't have the inside track on a starter role, once Flaherty went down. Jake earned that inside track last year.)
My question: Alec Burleson is clobbering the ball in AAA so far, after flying through the minors last year. So, it looks like he can really, really hit. Trouble is, he's built almost like Greg Luzinski. Have you seen him play the outfield, Jeff? CAN he play the outfield, Jeff? -
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Considering the “opener”, I find it ironic that a starter must go at least five innings in order to get a win, but any pitcher following can inherit the “win” with just one inning or less pitched. So if the “opener” opens and the real starter only goes 4 innings, he can still get the win. Stupid rule.
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With norms for pitching usage going by the wayside, some changes in the statistical side of things may be in order. Today's managers may see the biggest relief assignment coming in the sixth or seventh inning. They may use their top guy there. If that pitcher escapes a big jam there he might get a "hold" -- and some guy could come in with nobody on base in the ninth inning and get a save for lower-leverage work.
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People think that the Opener is a new idea. My grandfather told me of a game where the Washington Senators started a right handed reliever. The other team loaded up their lineup with lefty hitters. After the first pitch, the Senators brought in a lefty reliever. The other team brought in their righty bats one by one. When the bench was empty, the Senators brought in Walter Johnson. The Big Train had an easy time mowing down the all right handed lineup.
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Happy Friday, Gordo.
Do you think Brad Underwood can maintain the (regular season) success of the past three years? Illinois lacks the cache of numerous other schools, and by extension will always lack the dough connected with N.I.L. contracts. Relatedly, do you think Brad has a March Madness problem? At Stephen F. Austin he did a great job at tourney time -- but he had underdog motivation on his side. He won't ever have that at Illinois, not really. Thanks for your time, Jeff! -
Are we putting Brad Underwood on the hot seat here? Boosters definitely want to see deeper postseason runs. The last two tourneys were a letdown. How soon fans forget all those years of missing the Big Dance altogether. Underwood will need his good young players from this season to take a big step in 2022-23. He will need to keep recruiting well (hello, Skyy Clark!) and he will need to score well in the transfer portal once again.
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