Duren, Duren

Good post Duren, Duren. Excellent points and analysis. A lot of the greats, Nolan, Seaver, Gaylord Perry all pitched a long, long time -- Perry until he was 44 -- and they pitched quality ball up to the end -- without ever really having a sore arm or any significant arm injury. Some of it is genetics, most likely, but more of the fact that they pitch correctly, stretch and take care of their arms and bodies, and use the right muscles to generate power. All of them were hard throwers as well.

So one of the first contracts I looked up was Degrom's and he has a similar clause where if he misses 130 consecutive season days or 186 days in a service period the Rangers have a conditional option in 28. That option year is much more convulated though and is based on other factors like IP during the contract and medical evaluations.
It seems like teams are going to be more likely to add these clauses to pitchers that have a history as a sort of insurance policy when there's enough red flags.

A real savvy baseball mind. Led some Cardinal teams further than many expected. Also one of the first baseball cards I found in a Topps pack when I was a kid. I recall he had a crewcut and a big wad of chewing tobacco bulging from his cheek. I actually have his autograph on a piece of paper, also signed by Roger Maris, who was a close lifelong friend. I think they both played for the old Kansas City A's early in their careers. The Maris auto is part of a display I have along with the entire 1961 Yankees team. My favorite team as a small kid, but who I despised since Steinbrenner. 

The smartest relief pitcher ever was Mike Marshall. He became a professor of kinesiology at Michigan I believe when he retired. He threw the screwball, which was the most damaging on the arm. He micromanaged and perfected  his pitching  technique and won a Cy Young while pitching big innings. 
Nolan Ryan and Tom Seaver also had great technique and relied on powerful lower bodies to anchor their deliveries. And were easy HOF pitchers who were workhorses who threw tons of innings. Without serious arm injuries. 
My point is that technique is critical. The motion, drive,  delivery, finish have to be perfected and in sync. Of course no matter what there still is strain, wear and tear and injury risk. Especially with some of the more demanding pitches. Stuff pitching coaches and trainers need to work on individually with each pitcher. There are important dynamics beside velocity and shaping pitches. 

A real savvy baseball mind. Led some Cardinal teams further than many expected. Also one of the first baseball cards I found in a Topps pack when I was a kid. I recall he had a crewcut and a big wad of chewing tobacco bulging from his cheek. I actually have his autograph on a piece of paper, also signed by Roger Maris, who was a close lifelong friend. I think they both played for the old Kansas City A's early in their careers. The Maris auto is part of a display I have along with the entire 1961 Yankees team. My favorite team as a small kid, but who I despised since Steinbrenner. 

A real savvy baseball mind. Led some Cardinal teams further than many expected. Also one of the first baseball cards I found in a Topps pack when I was a kid. I recall he had a crewcut and a big wad of chewing tobacco bulging from his cheek. I actually have his autograph on a piece of paper, also signed by Roger Maris, who was a close lifelong friend. I think they both played for the old Kansas City A's early in their careers. The Maris auto is part of a display I have along with the entire 1961 Yankees team. My favorite team as a small kid, but who I despised since Steinbrenner. 

Probably the second biggest mistake this franchise has made was to let Herzog get away.  The number one mistake was trying to replace Nolan Ryan with two 8-7 pitchers. 

The mark of a .500 team. I hope those slow starters can catch some fire and the team go on a nice streak, like winning 15 of 20 games, something like that.
I want a wild card, this year!!
Playoffs now. No 5-10 year rebuild! 

.500 slowly slipping away. It'll be hard making progress when they can't win games like this that were very winnable. 

Fullmer looked good until he didn't.

If Neto and Schanuel both need more time at AAA, then this team is truly screwed this season--and potentially in the next couple.  If you're drafting guys because you think they're ready for the majors ASAP and then they're really not, your whole strategy kinda falls apart.

Pretty happy with it so far. Hasn’t translated to HRs yet but he’s hitting the bar insanely hard (maybe best in baseball?) and not chasing. Defense has been fine. Drawing walks. 

I just watched it on PVR. A few observations.
Solid work from Sandoval. He could have blown up but hung in there. 
Thais had the big hit. One of the few times multiple runs were driven in without a homer. 
Moore wasn't sharp but got away without big damage. 
Sano is a pleasant surprise. He has as good plate discipline as anyone. 
Rendon actually producing steadily. Maybe the worst is over. 
Trout and Ward add to their leaderboard stats. 
Tomorrow will be a challenge on the mound. 

I just watched it on PVR. A few observations.
Solid work from Sandoval. He could have blown up but hung in there. 
Thais had the big hit. One of the few times multiple runs were driven in without a homer. 
Moore wasn't sharp but got away without big damage. 
Sano is a pleasant surprise. He has as good plate discipline as anyone. 
Rendon actually producing steadily. Maybe the worst is over. 
Trout and Ward add to their leaderboard stats. 
Tomorrow will be a challenge on the mound. 

You could see in his first at bat that Trout wasn't sharp. He missed a mediocre straight pitch waist high down the middle for a K. Left a man on base. 
And even worse to end the game.
All his homers were solo shots.
There is a real argument to be made about his clutch production. Especially the last few years of his career. 

You could see in his first at bat that Trout wasn't sharp. He missed a mediocre straight pitch waist high down the middle for a K. Left a man on base. 
And even worse to end the game.
All his homers were solo shots.
There is a real argument to be made about his clutch production. Especially the last few years of his career. 

Should have kept Cimber in. Relief pitching has become so micromanaged and specialized that it's become automated. Regardless of the actual stuff a pitcher shows in the game. 

Hicks is clueless. 
Drury finally connects. 

Hicks is clueless. 
Drury finally connects. 

Between Eddings and Angel Hernandez, those two are calling strikes that are three to six inches off of the strike zone, the black, whatever you want to call it.  
In the days of instant replay, where an individual pitch can be replayed in seconds, there is really no excuse for this poor umpiring.  Maybe those two can be sent back to umpire college to tighten up their strike zones, and to be reminded that the fans do not come out to see umpires, but to see the talent on the field. 

He probably got a warning but it's really MLBs biggest embarrassment that some of the umpires are not removed for incompetence. Hernandez last game should have been his last game but he will be back behind the plate. 

A great start got the team going. Jumped on Houck early, who was let down by his defense. Detmers did the rest. And a mix of hitters padded the cushion. 

Good memories. That’s why going to the ballpark is cool even when the angels suck. Memories made with the ones we love 👍🏻

Nice game by Schanuel hope this is something to build on.

Any time we beat the Sux is a great day. Interesting tidbit from me…  I was just a teenager in 07 when my father and I drove up to Boston on a cold ass April day. We ended up getting destroyed as we always did during those days in Boston, but I couldn’t have known that I would love that experience all these years later due to the fact that it was at this game that the Pizza Throw happened. My dad still loves the blow sux and we always talk about that trip up there whenever we play one another. Good times.