In today's blog post at ESPN (Insider req'd), Buster Olney writes about how Diamondbacks' manager A.J. Hinch went against the grain by leaving Edwin Jackson in to throw 149 pitches as he no-hit the Rays last night. One unnamed manager blamed the media for the pitch count craze, but I want to add that much of it has to do with teams protecting investments. With the rise of salaries throughout the game even from just ten years ago, teams don't want to unnecessarily put a pitcher in the line of danger, so to speak.
Here are the rest of Olney's rumors…
- The Cubs may wish they could get rid of Carlos Zambrano following his latest tirade, but Olney points out that there's still $45MM left on his contract. Chicago would have to eat a huge chunk of that money to unload him.
- The trade market doesn't figure to be very robust this summer because there just isn't a lot of money available around the league. The starting pitching market probably won't budge until Cliff Lee is dealt, at which point second tier fodder like Ben Sheets and Kevin Millwood would draw more attention.
- The Indians' two most marketable players are Austin Kearns and Russell Branyan because neither is making big money. Kearns is owed approximately $417K the rest of the season, Branyan $1.11MM, and both will become free agents as season's end.
scottandwtb
Is every Cubs player signed to a horrible contract?
studio179
“Is every Cubs player signed to a horrible contract?”
No, but just about every Cub player having a horrible year is signed to a horrible contract.
chicothekid
Certainly not! Colvin’s is a good one.
studio179
The best thing that came from the Zambrano blow up is Bob Brenley’s comments saying this has been a “dead ass” team for three months. Go Bob!
CaseStreet
Oliver Perez for Carlos Zambrano and cash?
chicothekid
If I’m the Mets, I’m not sure if I pull the trigger on that deal or not. I’ve been mulling that over as well, and have actually included Castillo in the deal also, and I just don’t know. From the Mets POV, it’s like swapping out your bad investment and putting more money into one that could be just as bad. Ollie makes 24M, Castillo makes 12M and Z makes 48M. I just don’t know. I just don’t know. In this case, Ollie’s might not be as bad, just because it’s a shorter contract.
Zack23
“One unnamed manager blamed the media for the pitch count craze”
He could have just said he got a quote from Dusty Baker.
I don’t think anyone thinks if you have a pitcher throw 120 pitches it means his arm is going to fall off. But if you consistant abuse pitchers (especially young pitchers) for 120-130 pithcers in high stress outings, over and over again- then that’s going to cause problems.
Ferrariman
Zambrainless strikes again
aap212
Clever.
sportsnut969
Please someone trade for Branyan by far the worst 1st baseman in the history of the game.
aap212
You need to study history better.
slr5607
aaron rowand for zambrano and cash?