Tuesday, December 31, 2013

So What If Tanaka Throws 113 Pitches Per Game!?


Just a short little rant here this morning because irresponsible journalism irritates me.

Yesterday on MLB Trade Rumors, a site that I obviously respect, there was mention of Masahiro Tanaka and his workload. You can click the link to see exactly what was said but here is me paraphrasing that we should be worried about Tanaka averaging 113 pitches per start. 113 pitches per start is more than any Major League pitcher averaged in a nine inning game so yeah on paper that is concerning but one thing, one major thing, was not mentioned. Masahiro Tanaka, and all Japanese pitchers, pitch once a week over in Japan. Here in the USA pitchers pitch every 5th day or every 3rd or 4th day in a pinch, thus they throw less pitches per start.

If you are going to start a riot on Twitter with Yankees fans talking about Tanaka's pitch count and how he may or may not fall off the edge of the Earth after signing a big deal please state ALL the facts. Jeff Passan did save face a little when he mentioned that Yu Darvish had a similar workload and has pitched quite well in the states but still, I want all the facts not just the cherry picked ones. Especially when the guy is 25 years old!

Thank you for reading my rant this early in the morning and please stick to the facts today, all of them.

1 comment:

  1. What we have here is a difference of age, add in those with no understanding of how the teams in Japan work!

    Age thing is easy; we remember when pitchers all went with 4 man rotations and finished many more games. As much as I hate some of the changes in Baseball (and Football)...I do like the 5 man rotation, don't like the lower pitching mound! Too much effort needed to get the same results with a braking ball! Can anyone say...Tommy John Surgery!

    As stated above by our discerning leader Daniel, pitching once a week makes one heck of a difference in the number of pitches per a game. One thing needed is for the pitcher to understand the huge difference between the hitters he will be facing as to the type of hitters he has had to face in Japan.

    My understanding of his make-up is...hard worker, very good C&C of his pitches, and best of all (When under control) he is a Bull Dog on the mound...I like Junk Yard dogs myself! Oh, I forgot one other very reliable item he has...an under control Ego! He wouldn't come to the USA for less money and be as good as they say he is...without an Ego.

    If one has the media idea of Egos, one may miss the whole point here! EVERY major league player has an ego...what drives them and makes them work so hard to be the best they can be...E.G.O! Guys like Mo, Jeter, A-Rod, Cano...one can go down a litany of players that have big egos or better yet, are there any that don't have one? Nada, Nine, nope!

    He will come to NY...he has to show the world he is as good as he is!

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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)