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Expos Toujours!'s avatar

The league's starting pitchers seem to be going down in record numbers, but I don't know if this is documented statistically. Still, teams are vastly overpaying (Lynn, Giolito, Smyly, and on and on) for what are increasingly five-inning guys anyway. With many attributing the demand (requirement?) for speeds in the upper 90s, perhaps the three-inning opener makes sense to reduce wear. Maybe there will be a resurrection of Maddux-esque pitching masters. We are told that MLB hitters eventually catch up with any speed, so craftsmanship and injury avoidance seem to converge. On last thought: with such a dearth of acceptable pitching, is expansion even smart? We realize it's quite lucrative for current owners, so it will occur, of course.

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Glenn Geffner's avatar

You’re spot on with expansion. What it would mean to the quality of play is the last thing that would be considered. It’s all about the one-time windfall for the 30 owners.

The Marlins have had plenty of opportunities to acquire legitimate rotation depth. They didn’t. Now they’ll bemoan the injuries. As I pointed out, they typically use 13-14 starters a year. When you’re down to your 8th or 9th option before Opening Day, it has the makings of a challenging year.

And we’ll see how “protecting” Eury Perez like they did last year turns out (he said ominously).

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Expos Toujours!'s avatar

I have a feeling we will see the season's trend early.

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Bob Ramer's avatar

Sanchez and pray for rain doesn’t work in

A stadium with a retractable roof. Hopefully the injured pitchers will not be out for long. But it is going to take a miracle to bridge this gap.

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Glenn Geffner's avatar

Here’s something to remember with Luzardo. Even in his best season last year, he didn’t even average 5 2/3 innings per start. You can get away with that if you have Sandy and, ideally, at least one other pitcher eating innings in your rotation ahead of him, but if he’s the best you have…it’s going to be a long year for the bullpen.

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Bob Ramer's avatar

I agree with you. I was trying to

Lighten the situation with the Luzardo reference re pray for rain.

The Fish are in a very difficult position right now. And it will take

a miracle to overcome. But Miracles do happen! 😇

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