Young Trio Pitching Like Oldiesby Daniel PaullingApril 22, 2005 Dontrelle Willis pitched a complete game shutout against the Philadelphia Phillies. What made this so special was the fact that this was his second one of the season (the first was against the Nationals.) Willis has partnered with right-handers AJ Burnett and Josh Beckett to throw four complete games in the Marlins first nine games. No, this is not the latest baseball video game; this is real life, real Major League Baseball. But just you wait a minute before calling Jack McKeon the next Dusty Baker. "We count them (the pitches thrown), but we try not to be too concerned with the number," said Marlins pitching coach Mark Wiley. "I go more on my gut, from what I know from watching pitchers my whole life. You have to have the right guys, and we do.” "We're talking about one guy (Willis) who is 6-4, 245. Another (Beckett) is 6-5. Come on, let's be real here. We're not talking about Nolan Ryan here throwing 165 pitches per start. We're talking about 114 pitches; you've got to be able to do that. We're talking about every five days ... five days!" The Marlins definitely have implemented a new (actually old) way of thinking. While many teams were coddling starters in the first few games of the season, the Marlins were expecting mid season form. "Why not?" Marlins manager Jack McKeon said. "Why not let them throw 100 pitches? Why not 120? These guys have great stuff. You deflate them when you take them out. We don't challenge guys to go nine. Let them do it like the old-timers." While the trio has great stuff, the advice of pitching coach Mark Wiley rings loudly in their ears. During spring training, Wiley forced the youngsters to not place maximum effort on every pitch, which places pressure on the elbow and shoulder. Instead, the trio has only revved up the fastball during times of need, has only forced that little extra bite in dangerous situations. These youngsters have also put faith into the biggest factor behind them: their spectacular defense. Paul LoDuca is phenomenal behind the plate, while Luis Castillo and Alex Gonzalez are perhaps the best double play combination in the National League, if not Major Leagues. Juan Pierre covers a tremendous amount of space in that outfield and definitely deserves a Gold Glove award, but Andruw Jones and Jim Edmonds have already (deservedly) earned them for this season. Another important thing for these pitchers is the Marlins offense. These bats will definitely score some runs, so the aces won’t feel the pressure of having to pitch a complete game shutout every game just to get the W. But, as every baseball fan remembers, this abuse of pitchers can lead to serious consequences. Mark Prior and Kerry Wood were both pitchers pushed because of their manager Dusty Baker, but he is not at entirely at fault. Prior’s mechanics are to die for and Kerry Wood has had multiple injury problems before Dusty’s tenure. However, it remains to be seen if these three can stay healthy. Beckett has never pitched a complete season in his career due to very chronic blister problems. Burnett is two years removed from Tommy John surgery and Dontrelle Willis has one of the funkiest windups in the Major Leagues. These are definitely warning signs for McKeon and his pitchers, but Josh Beckett seems to pay it no attention: "That's what we're supposed to do." So, how will these arms hold up? The Marlins cannot survive without one of these youngsters, so they must pray for interminable health. Perhaps these guys are throwing 9 innings a game because every game they win right now against National League east opponents is one less than they need for August and September. For the Marlins’ sake, hope that Jack McKeon knows what he is doing.
Feel free to leave comments in the forums or e-mail Daniel at daniel@athomeplate.com.
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