Why are the San Diego Padres in a tailspin? There's one obvious answer, and it's not entirely the fault of the team's President of Baseball Operations.
COMPLETELY agree with the fault should be with Rothschild. I’ve been preaching this since Balsley was replaced by him. It has been documented “he devalues the fastball.” He has ruined a lot of arms and to date, the only one he improved of note is CC Sabathia. And even Yankee fans say Andy Pettitte had more to do with Sabathia turning it around than the Yankees pitching coach. LR is quoted saying “fastballs get hit, increase secondary pitches.” Now this might sound good on the surface, but what if your secondary pitches are below average Larry? Well, he insists that the only way you can improve it, is by throwing your slider, curve, change etc. Yes Lamet broke out last year, but at what cost did it take on his already surgically repaired elbow? Throwing PRIMARILY sliders, cut sliders mind you, will take serious toll on any elbow. EVERY Padre pitcher has regressed since Balsley left and maybe none more than Chris Paddack. What’s wrong with Paddack? He can’t command his fastball any longer. Everything works off locating your fastball. In the Marlins system he had Madduxlike command of his fastball. What’s different? The call to throw his secondary pitches more and more has allowed his command of his fastball to fade. It’s like a knuckles throwing 80% knuckleballs even though he has the ability to throw 90mph. Keep throwing knucklers and your velo will drop quickly. Bottom line, these pitchers aren’t doing the things that made them ACES in Tampa, ACES in Chicago or Texas, OD starter in Pitt because they have a new philosophy and that pitching coach is no Aristotle. This team is pressing because the pitching sucks and they are forced to come from behind all the time. Agree this is not Tinglers fault in the least bit. The lone “move” that I didn’t and never will support is replacing Balsley with Rothschild.
I wish there was some way to understand what LR does / doesn't do that is different than other pitching coaches that would be, at the very least, a tangible hypothesis as to what it is that he's doing / not doing that creates an environment where starting pitchers are more prone to injuries. Any thoughts / ideas? I get it. The pitchers are his responsibility and when things don't go right, it makes sense to blame the guy that is responsible for them. I support that. Just wanting to know what it is specifically about his approach that is different? I tend to think that trends get assimilated / copied, etc., very quickly in baseball (and sports generally).
COMPLETELY agree with the fault should be with Rothschild. I’ve been preaching this since Balsley was replaced by him. It has been documented “he devalues the fastball.” He has ruined a lot of arms and to date, the only one he improved of note is CC Sabathia. And even Yankee fans say Andy Pettitte had more to do with Sabathia turning it around than the Yankees pitching coach. LR is quoted saying “fastballs get hit, increase secondary pitches.” Now this might sound good on the surface, but what if your secondary pitches are below average Larry? Well, he insists that the only way you can improve it, is by throwing your slider, curve, change etc. Yes Lamet broke out last year, but at what cost did it take on his already surgically repaired elbow? Throwing PRIMARILY sliders, cut sliders mind you, will take serious toll on any elbow. EVERY Padre pitcher has regressed since Balsley left and maybe none more than Chris Paddack. What’s wrong with Paddack? He can’t command his fastball any longer. Everything works off locating your fastball. In the Marlins system he had Madduxlike command of his fastball. What’s different? The call to throw his secondary pitches more and more has allowed his command of his fastball to fade. It’s like a knuckles throwing 80% knuckleballs even though he has the ability to throw 90mph. Keep throwing knucklers and your velo will drop quickly. Bottom line, these pitchers aren’t doing the things that made them ACES in Tampa, ACES in Chicago or Texas, OD starter in Pitt because they have a new philosophy and that pitching coach is no Aristotle. This team is pressing because the pitching sucks and they are forced to come from behind all the time. Agree this is not Tinglers fault in the least bit. The lone “move” that I didn’t and never will support is replacing Balsley with Rothschild.
I wish there was some way to understand what LR does / doesn't do that is different than other pitching coaches that would be, at the very least, a tangible hypothesis as to what it is that he's doing / not doing that creates an environment where starting pitchers are more prone to injuries. Any thoughts / ideas? I get it. The pitchers are his responsibility and when things don't go right, it makes sense to blame the guy that is responsible for them. I support that. Just wanting to know what it is specifically about his approach that is different? I tend to think that trends get assimilated / copied, etc., very quickly in baseball (and sports generally).