Duren, Duren

As is the norm, another disastrous first inning by a starter. 

Frustrating game again. No clutch hitting when the game was close. Bullpen ruins a solid start. And the few solidly hit balls were mostly right at defenders. 
Ward might have eventually scored if he didn't think his double was a homer and hustled more on the bases. Instead we saw what happened. 
Neto doesn't look like a major leaguer right now. Even when he makes his best contact (which is rare) it's warning track power. And he is lost at the plate, fooled constantly by pitches. Velasquez at least had a glove. In hindsight looks like Neto was rushed or maybe just can't adjust to the majors. 
Shortstop continues to be a problem. 
Anyways, now two games below .500 and not trending in the right direction. 
 
 

Frustrating game again. No clutch hitting when the game was close. Bullpen ruins a solid start. And the few solidly hit balls were mostly right at defenders. 
Ward might have eventually scored if he didn't think his double was a homer and hustled more on the bases. Instead we saw what happened. 
Neto doesn't look like a major leaguer right now. Even when he makes his best contact (which is rare) it's warning track power. And he is lost at the plate, fooled constantly by pitches. Velasquez at least had a glove. In hindsight looks like Neto was rushed or maybe just can't adjust to the majors. 
Shortstop continues to be a problem. 
Anyways, now two games below .500 and not trending in the right direction. 
 
 

The Astros cheating scandal shows all you need to know about the current commissioner. Common sense alludes him. 

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. 

Perry needs to get pro active and make some roster moves. The season could slip away quickly if some changes aren't made. 
The farm is still not that promising at the high level with hitters but lower down some guys are starting to grow..
https://halohangout.com/posts/these-fast-rising-angels-prospects-deserve-attention-after-hot-start-01hvkq2pxh9f

Not a bad outing by Canning. After the first. Some bad luck on infield grounders. But the hitters haven't picked him up. And now the bullpen fun begins. 

Possibly the worst at bat of Hicks yet. Futile K on three straight pitches. 

Not a bad outing by Canning. After the first. Some bad luck on infield grounders. But the hitters haven't picked him up. And now the bullpen fun begins. 

Sano battled hard. Trout circled the bases just using his eyes and legs. 

If Rengifo tightens up his defense he's making a strong case to start. 

They need to use Openers for Sandoval and Canning. 

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.