PHIL HUGHES HAS GOT IT & HERE'S WHY

The trouble with Phil Hughes on the Yankees, was that it was Phil Hughes and he was on the Yankees.

I wanted Hughes to succeed in Yankeeland, we all did... but he couldn't, and that's because of the way the Yankees had handled young pitching, especially when Hughes was on the farm. This information goes back to when Bill Masse was mysteriously fired from being manager of the Trenton Thunder after he made comments about the way the Yankees handled their pitching.  Masse said this at the time, (Read WAS BILL MASSE RIGHT ABOUT HUGHES? for more):

“We get so ridiculous with this dumb pitch count stuff… Somebody came up with a pitch count thing (like) this is going to decide if a kid’s arm is going to be healthy or not. It’s like predicting the weather sometimes. ‘If he throws 66 pitches, he will be fine, but if he throws 81, he is going to get hurt.’ No one can predict that...The only negative you run into is that he never learns how to pitch when he is tired. He never learns how to pitch when he is a little bit fatigued. I think you run into those problems because he is always fresh. Also, he is never in trouble. He needs to learn how to pitch out of his second or third jam in the seventh inning with two outs and he’s throwing 90 mph instead of 94.”

Couple that with a tremendous article CBS wrote where they interviewed Leo Mazzone who simply stated pitchers needed to throw more: 

"More often with less exertion is the key to lowering the risk of arm injury... For example, I had them go on the mound more often than other pitching staffs to practice their craft at 60’6” going downhill to a catcher, but the effort was controlled because our goal was to find out what the effort was going to be on the pitch, or the max effort that we could put on the pitch without maxing out...

...We found out that by practicing that, and trying to acquire touch on the ball, guys could make pitches with a 90 percent effort, automatically smooth out their mechanics, and their control got better.”

More often, less exertion.  Seriously, that fascinating to me.

Now I don't know what the Twins are doing with Phil Hughes... but I can tell you that I'm pretty sure they are doing this.  The Yankees don't do it, or at least they didn't when Bill Masse was with the organization... that's quite evident. And so I can only conclude that's what happened to Phil Hughes and the Yankees. That's also my opinion.

That brings me to last night.  Phil Hughes had it and dominated the Yankees.  The Twins did too, scoring 10 runs off of Pineda and the pen.  It was an embarrassment.

Pineda went 5.2 innings, gave up 8 hits and 5 runs.  The rest of the pen gave up the other 5.  Yuck.

Hughes went 7 innings, gave up 7 hits and zero runs.  The only run was given up by Casey Fien.  Jacoby Ellsbury sacrificed home Didi Gregorius on a fly ball to center off Fien.  That was all.

Yanks will have to turn it around today.  CC Sabathia is on the mound.

And look, I'm sorry to appear like I'm lecturing my audience about Phil Hughes and the Yankees handling of young pitchers.  I need to be honest with you... this type of regime is effective and could help pitchers as young as 12.  Why are young pitchers getting Tommy John surgery at such a young age.  Well... do you think there's a connection here? Organizations are just letting them throw... sometimes hard... sometimes babying them, not realizing the big picture. Throw more, less exertion.  Throwing more often, but not throwing hard can build you up.  Then over time, in game situations, stretch them out. Allow pitchers to get into trouble.  Put them in games and let them get into jams so they can work themselves through it.  That could be the difference.  I truly believe that.

(In Photo: Bill Masse)
Leo Mazzone... Bill Masse are definitely onto something.  Last night it appeared to be pretty obvious.

Final: Twins 10 - Yankees 1

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JOBA & HUGHES: OVER IN THE BRONX, BUT NEW LIFE AHEAD

Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes were gonna be huge in the Bronx and when the Yankees spoke of them... and handled them, they were "extra cautious". They were bubble boys in the Yankee farm system. The theory was, "Go slow, build them up and they will be our unstoppable duo." That, my friends was the plan at least. Looking back now, I almost feel robbed. Hey, it's no one's fault. The Yankees thought they had it figured out, and youth in the farm often follows because it's a chance to pitch in the Bronx. Now we know thought... it didn't work out.

Now, just to keep you in the loop, I am one of the few on the Internet that believed that the Yankees had a "babying" issue down on the farm. Many years ago, when Hughes was a kid being compared to Roger Clemens, he had a manager named Bill Masse. Masse questioned the training of the young pitchers saying:

"We get so ridiculous with this dumb pitch count stuff… Somebody came up with a pitch count thing (like) this is going to decide if a kid’s arm is going to be healthy or not. It’s like predicting the weather sometimes. ‘If he throws 66 pitches, he will be fine, but if he throws 81, he is going to get hurt.’ No one can predict that...he never learns how to pitch when he is tired. He never learns how to pitch when he is a little bit fatigued. I think you run into those problems because he is always fresh. Also, he is never in trouble. He needs to learn how to pitch out of his second or third jam in the seventh inning with two outs and he’s throwing 90 mph instead of 94.”

(In Photo: Bill Masse)

With that, Masse was fired, although no one truly knew if that was the reason. But you can draw your own conclusions. Still, the "babying" seemed to continue. When Joba came up around the same time, it was gonna be a nice compliment to that Roger Clemens youngster Phil Hughes. The chatter was Joba could be a starter, but he should be a reliever, maybe even a closer. Maybe even Mariano's replacement. After all, the timing was perfect and Joba was an animal. Thick body, electric and damn good.

But it's my theory that the toying of Joba, the "Joba Rules", the babying really ruined this guy. And not only that, in the process, it was continually ruining Phil Hughes as well. With Masse's theory of "not pitching out of trouble" and "not pitching passed a certain pitch counts", well, it started to ring true. And it was never more evident than in 2009 when he was outstanding as a reliever and NOT a starter.

Now, while it's true that the following season Hughes won 18 games, since that season, it went down hill.  I'll call fatigue all day long.  When your body and arm go through a dramatic transition, and innings are much more, you could almost suggest "the Verducci effect", meaning, it's a change in routine, many more innings and afterward, well, it's like going through the blues.  Sure, you feel fine, but your arm is tired and if you've been training at a pitching limit for years, you can't just jump out to 200 plus innings and stay there.  It's like a shock to the system.  It's muscle memory gone bad. That's my feeling at least.

Joba on the other hand was a Yankee and probably felt invincible even though he was jerked around.  He was still wearing the pinstripes and doing his thing.  One thing he wasn't doing though was being put in a consistent role.  After Tommy John surgery,  I was sure the Yankees learned their lesson too. I was sure then, they would keep him in in 1 consistent role, as to not damage Joba any further.  He was no longer unstoppable, he was mediocre, but he hungry and he was trying his best.  Not his fault, I believe it was the Yankees at that point.  Then... the trampoline killed everything. At the time, I killed the guy... read WHY JOBA CHAMBERLAIN NEEDS TOUGH LOVE.

Now look, you can't look back and wonder why he was jumping on a toy that causing a ton of injuries every year, but he did with his kid and I get that.  No one expected him to get hurt though. He did that too, and it was severe.

I was convinced then that the guy was finished. He surprised me though, he grew up and pushed himself to  get better.  He worked hard to become healthy and I admired that.  But Joba was never the same. He came back, but not as early Joba, but instead as broken-down Joba.  Both he and Hughes both were.  They were pitching almost like they were looking over their shoulder, like someone was after them. That "someone" was father time and an expired contract... and that's were we were when 2013 ended for them.

I was very excited for Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain to change the landscape of the Yankees pitching years ago.  On a team where veteran pitching was the "thing", something was changing, so I thought.  I thought wrong I guess because these 2 guys, in my opinion, were treated "too carefully" and matured in a bubble, too fragile to "stretch out" or further themselves.  It's my opinion that babying pitchers can ruin pitchers.  I believe in strengthening and not just in the back of the pitcher's shoulder, but in the front as well, to balance the muscles and keep the arm sound. I believe in a gradual innings increase. I believe in rest and most of all, I believe that the Yankees mishandled the roles of Joba and Phil in their desperation of uncertainty in their team's rotation. In other words, if a pitcher got hurt, "We'll just throw Joba in there." it doesn't always work out.  I feel bad for Phil and Joba and their time in pinstripes, I really do.

But now, a new hope for both of them. Phil has gone to Minnesota.  Joba has gone to Detroit.  Both have clean slates and I hope and pray that individually, they dig out of the hole, they can get some confidence and get the proper care and attention they need.  If that happens, they could be quite successful. That same success we've been looking for from them for years in the Bronx.

Hey... that's my take, but what the hell do I know... 

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THE LINCECUM FAN STRUGGLE

Wow!  There is a lot of opinion on that Tim Lincecum story I put out yesterday.  I'm not getting heat, but I am getting really good dialog.  Look, people have mixed feelings about Tim Lincecum, but I just don't see what the others see.  You know what I see? I see the Yankees with 2 starters, CC Sabathia and Ivan Nova and then... a big hole. I also see Tim Lincecum being available.  We all know that the days of the "Phil Hughes experiment" are over and the Yankees are about to dump big money into Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka.  But then what? Do we see if Michael Pineda has the "stuff" and throw in David Phelps for good measure? Yes, it could prove to be a genius situation, this is true... but what if it's a disaster?  The Yankees won't take chances after a 4th place season.  They are terrified of losing their fan base and they will now go out and what "big names", much like they did in 2009.

I posted HEY YANKS... GO GET LINCECUM! and it all started.  "Why? What would you do that for? The guy's a loser, a pothead. He's half the man that Mike Mussina is... what's wrong with you?"  Well, I don't mind the criticism. What I do mind is if you're gonna criticize and not bring anything to the table, then you need to be quiet.  I hate that. Now, luckily, this is Bleeding Yankee Blue and we have some of the smartest, "in tune" readers out there.  I had some good dialog over the past 24 hours and I wanted to share just a few of the other options. Some is very entertaining. This comes from our readers, but I wanted you to check it out. Oh, and no matter what, we're family here... don't go ripping on these opinions. All opinions matter when it comes to our 4th place Yankees. Check it out:

"My issue with Timmy, is I think he is sort of a mutant version of Mike Mussina. But you are right about him being a good upgrade over Hughes." 

--Johnny S

Good comment. Not harsh and not only that, I see the point. But wait... didn't Yankeeland love Mike Mussina? Suddenly now we don't? I don't get it.   But there's more. This exchange comes from a guy named John. This dialog between me and him is very good.  I wanted you to read it:

John: "No! Tokin' Timmy is in decline, and would look like the return of Phil Hughes in Homer Happy Yankee Stadium. No, No, NO!"

Casey: "Decline? Negative. Change of scenery. Yankeeland should embrace him. Hughes never learned how to pitch. Tim knows how."

John: "Decline. Too big a headcase-slash- flake. It would be like AJ Burnett all over again in the NYC pressure cooker. Just fewer tattoos and smashed in windows."

Casey: "I'd happily take my chances. I guess you know for a fact that he's (Lincecum) a headcase and flake...or do you just like to openly damage a person's integrity and reputation?  Don't name call unless you know. That's a bad habit. My opinion."

John: "Would you agree AJ could not handle the pressures of being part of the Yankees? (And FYI, I live in The Bay Area, and have followed Mr. Lincecum's activities and actions quite closely.) I speak of his abilities and maturity to handle failures. He has, maybe had, raw talent. It is in decline. He's not handling it professionally. He would NOT meld with the Yanks."

Casey: "There is 1 problem with your argument. Burnett was never an ace before he came to NYC. In fact, he only had 1 real good season and was hurt when he was a Marlin in the WS. LINCECUM was an ace and will be an ace again. Oh yeah and he's young. There's no comparison. Same with Hughes. The Yankees jerked this guy around and never learned to pitch like a starter properly in the farm system. They ruined him. Google Bill Masse and Bleeding Yankee Blue. Again... if AJ, Hughes and Lincecum are in a lineup... I go with "The Freak" hands down."

Then... it stopped.  That was followed up by Johnny S. who came back and went further from his earlier comment. Check it out:

Johnny S: "The Astros would trade with the Yankees in a heartbeat."

Casey: "Make a match up. Hit me."

(In Photo: Brett Oberholtzer)

Johnny S: "Jose Altuve, Brett Oberholtzer for Joba and one of the B's."

Casey: "Don't we need some battle tested pitching? Right now we have 2 starters."

Johnny S: "No what the Yankees need is a good ol' fashion gamble for the next Strasburg."

Casey: "I like rolling the dice like anyone, but not after a fourth place season. Yankee brass won't be embarrassed two years in a row and they're not thinking like you... but I like the balls you have."

Johnny S: "I was taking a page from Moneyball heh, but thanks though."

Casey: "I hate Moneyball. But I appreciate that."

I liked this dialog a lot.  There's 1 problem. In my scenario of "getting pitching", I was offered a second baseman in Altuve and a 1 year pitcher for Joba and perhaps Dellin Betances.  Doesn't seem to fair to me. Anyway...here's another one, who agrees with me..thank God:

"HAS to be someplace for him in their rotation."

That comes from yet, ANOTHER John, my buddy.  We often agree, and I'm glad he was on my side.

So what's my point? Dialog. There's a ton of name calling out there and no solutions.  Tim Lincecum is a good pitcher.  He's 29 years old.  Sure, since 2011, he can't get past 10 wins, but clearly that's a mechanical thing and it can be corrected because he's young.  Furthermore, all I'm saying is, the Yankees don't have much right now, but could, if they threw Lincecum in the mix. I love the critics that already know Lincecum's fate in the Bronx, without actually knowing.  It makes no sense.

I learned my lesson from that when I criticized Hiroki Kuroda before the Yankees signed him. Kuroda became a big fish in the Bronx and it was one of the smartest, most underrated signings of the past 2 years for the Bombers.  Luckily for us, Johnny S. engaged me... he peaked my interest, but I respectfully disagreed with him, but at least he's thinking outside of the box. You have to respect that.

So what have you learned here?  I like solutions, not criticism, followed by you vanishing after calling someone a pothead.  That dialog doesn't rise and it surely doesn't offer a good dialog.  If BYB puts a scenario out... spar with us, but don't name call... it gets us nowhere.  We're a Yankee family... we're brainstorming... we want a good starting rotation. I believe Timmy is a great fit... that's all!

I appreciate all our readers, you're the best!  I just wanted to get that off my chest. 

Enjoy your Saturday. 

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HAL STEINBRENNER JUST GOT PRO-ACTIVE...

And I guess Hank's out taking a smoke break.

I was happy to see this report in the New York Post today (HERE) about how Hal is having a meeting to discuss the Yankees' farm system,  but I question how an owner, with Steinbrenner blood, could he be so late to the party when all of us fans have been calling out the Yankee brass for not "readying" their minor league system. The same minor league system that for years they have touted as, "one of the best."

According to the Post, "Steinbrenner summoned his baseball people to a Tampa meeting yesterday to discuss something other than the Alex Rodriguez saga.

With questions about the lack of talent in the minor league system ready to help at the big league level, Steinbrenner gathered his department heads.

General manager Brian Cashman attended and the group more than likely included Tampa based minor league head Mark Newman, Damon Oppenheimer, who is in charge of the amateur draft, and Donny Rowland, the director of international scouting."

(In Photo: Former Yankee Andrew Brackman)
Look, I have been very critical of the way the Yankees have handled the minor leaguers for a few years now, read MAYBE THE GROOMING OF YOUNG YANKEE TALENT AIN'T WORKING,
where I wrote:

"The Yankees have over-hyped talent since their historic run from 1996 to 2000. We've heard every big name youngster be mentioned as "the next best thing." Then, like clockwork, something happens, be it a trade, or they get hurt and are never the same, or, they just disappear."

I got heat for it, but it almost seems like it's coming to light.  By the way, let me be clear, there are many very talented youngsters on the Yankees farm, but there are several that the Yankees either "baby" or don't give a shot because of over working or not giving them a chance in the pros.  Others are a few years away... it's not a blanket attack, trust me.

Now, when it comes to "babying", that's been well documented with our investigative work when it came to Bill Masse, a former Yankee and former Trenton Thunder manager who blasted Yankee brass for the handling of Phil Hughes, he said, " “We get so ridiculous with this dumb pitch count stuff… Somebody came up with a pitch count thing (like) this is going to decide if a kid’s arm is going to be healthy or not. It’s like predicting the weather sometimes. ‘If he throws 66 pitches, he will be fine, but if he throws 81, he is going to get hurt.’ No one can predict that...The only negative you run into is that he never learns how to pitch when he is tired. He never learns how to pitch when he is a little bit fatigued. I think you run into those problems because he is always fresh." 

(In Photo: Tyler Austin)
And that's just pitching, who really knows about the other kids, like Slade Heathcott and Tyler Austin, guys we really want to see right now in pinstripes.  I know you guys agree because you fans have been calling for the kids for a while now. In fact, we have reported the same here on occasion, read LET THE YANKEES KIDS PLAY!

That being said, Bleeding Yankee Blue is fair here, we report on both sides, read YOUNG GUNS III: STRUGGLE OF THE KILLER B's. Bottom line, many young players are signed and then disappear only to either find out that they are hurt, or the Yankees just give up, release or trade them off. 

Put it this way... look at Jesus Montero for example, the guy was supposed to be our "top prospect", yet we traded him.  Now, it just so happens that Montero has his own issues as of late, with the Biogenesis list, read HERE, but the point is, when we have "top" talent, the goal is to groom "top" talent to get them up to the pros.  It's frustrating and disappointing as a fan, but I'm glad Hal Steinbrenner is actually angry about this... I mean, where the hell has the guy been?

Good work to the Post's, George King III and Dan Martin to bringing this all to our attention. And to Hal... get moving man, we have issues with our minor league development. There's a log jam and it's time to keep the line moving and bring our guys up!

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THE LONELY BOY

No one wants Phil Hughes...not even Yankee fans.

It's a shame that it happened this way.  This kid was supposed to be the next big thing, but I can't help but think about Bill Masse when Phil Hughes name comes up.  Don't know who I mean?  Bill Masse was a minor leaguer who never made it pro for the Yankees, and eventually he was coach in the Yankees minor league system. A few years ago, he was critical of the way the Yankees handled the pitching in the minors.

He was the manager for the Trenton Thunder when Hughes was there.  Back then, according to Anthony Coleman of NJ.com (HERE): “...the Yankees allowed him to pitch just 5 innings each start.”

Masse said to that: "“We get so ridiculous with this dumb pitch count stuff… Somebody came up with a pitch count thing (like) this is going to decide if a kid’s arm is going to be healthy or not. It’s like predicting the weather sometimes. ‘If he throws 66 pitches, he will be fine, but if he throws 81, he is going to get hurt.’ No one can predict that...  he never learns how to pitch when he is tired. He never learns how to pitch when he is a little bit fatigued. I think you run into those problems because he is always fresh. Also, he is never in trouble. He needs to learn how to pitch out of his second or third jam in the seventh inning with two outs and he’s throwing 90 mph instead of 94.” 

Masse was fired.  It was never clear if he was let go for his critical stance or they just wanted a change, but I always found that fascinating to me.  

Now, fast forward to today, a tweet from Ken Rosenthal reads like this:

Source: As of yesterday, the #Yankees had not received a single trade offer for RHP Phil Hughes.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 29, 2013

Hughes and his stock has fallen. It's been an interesting journey for Hughes, but whenever I see Hughes struggling, I think about Bill Masse.  

(In photo: Bill Masse)
He was onto something and I believe that now more than ever.

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"JOBA RULES" AFFECTS MORE THAN JOBA

I've always believed that the Yankees ruined Joba Chamberlain. I mean, truth be told, he's handled things about as good as anyone could handle it, but the "Joba Rules", well, the rules didn't exactly rule... they sucked.

Yankee fans have had this debate for years. Should the Yankee have kept Joba Chamberlain a starter or should they have made him, and kept him a relief pitcher, maybe even to become the next Mariano Rivera? We'll never truly know what Joba could have been capable of, but truth be told, I have faith in him... many do.

But I found it interesting.  Ken Rosenthal has a nugget HERE, in reference to another guy, Aroldis Chapman of the Cincinnati Reds.  A guy who is dominant as a closer, but in the Reds world of in-decision, they have toyed with making him a starter.  But what was interesting was what a scout told Rosenthal about Chapman... "I hope they do start him, but they’re crazy if they do...It’s Joba Chamberlain all over again....His velocity dropped off in the second inning. He couldn’t get his off-speed stuff over the plate consistently. No question in my mind, he’s the closer.”

Look, when these young kids come up, they just want to please and so, they do whatever the team needs. This happens often so they get playing time and so they can perfect their craft.  But I have said many, many times before, when things don't work out, when a pitcher struggles, it gets in their head.  I've often said that they should pitch the guy at starter or closer and leave them there. You leave them there long enough to really get enough data to make a determination of whether or not the dude will succeed.  But much like we've seen with guys like Joba and Phil Hughes... this "yo-yo mentality" really sets a pitcher back. This is my opinion of course, based on my own research... and you know what? I think I'm right. 

Hardball Talk, HERE, had great perspective about this too, writing:  "The scout is referencing the Yankees pitcher who bounced between the bullpen and the rotation since making his Major League debut in 2007. The Yankees went to great lengths to protect his arm, which led to the moniker 'Joba Rules' for their refusal to use him on consecutive days.

Though a closer more often than not pitches in some of the most important situations during a game, it is hard to overcome the value of pitching 175-200 innings. John Smoltz, a common point of comparison for starters-turned-relievers or relievers-turned-starters, posted 1.1, 3.2, and 2.2 Wins Above Replacement as a reliever between 2002-04 according to Baseball Reference. Despite the aggregate 2.47 ERA and 144 saves, his best season as a reliever (2003) ranks as his 12th-best season by WAR."

It's all very interesting, and sure, you will often wonder what could have been, and to be honest, Joba could have the season of his life in 2013, but if "Joba Rules" weren't enforced, maybe there would have been a different result. Maybe not babying him could have been a good thing.

(In Photo: Bill Masse)
I'll mention 2 words... Bill Masse. Masse was a former minor league coach for the Yankees. Read WAS BILL MASSE RIGHT ABOUT HUGHES? when I wrote this is 2011:

"Back when Hughes was with the Thunder, Masse was heavily criticized by Yankee Brass and eventually let go for making critical comments about the way the Yankees handled a very young Phil Hughes. As Coleman puts it “Back then, the Yankees allowed him to pitch just 5 innings each start.” Masse thought the idea of that was absolutely ridiculous and said so:

'We get so ridiculous with this dumb pitch count stuff… Somebody came up with a pitch count thing (like) this is going to decide if a kid’s arm is going to be healthy or not. It’s like predicting the weather sometimes. ‘If he throws 66 pitches, he will be fine, but if he throws 81, he is going to get hurt.’ No one can predict that.'"

Something to think about... that's all I'm saying.

Sorry the late post today... Little League calls... you understand.

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NOW TOMMY JOHN SOUNDS OFF ON "BABYING" PITCHERS

Not sure why this was buried by the New York Post, or maybe I've just been swamped and missed it.  Bottom line, we here at Bleeding Yankee Blue have expressed concern about the way the Yankee organization may be handling the youngsters down on the farm.  No, we have no experience, it's mere speculation based on guys that understand pitching and us just using common sense... bottom line, this is not accusatory, it's exploratory.

(In Photo: Phil Hughes)

I often quote Bill Masse and what he said in a terrific Anthony Coleman piece from last year quoting Masse from a few years back, read HERE . He said this right around the time a young Phil Hughes was breaking in with the Yankees:

“We get so ridiculous with this dumb pitch count stuff… Somebody came up with a pitch count thing (like) this is going to decide if a kid’s arm is going to be healthy or not. It’s like predicting the weather sometimes. ‘If he throws 66 pitches, he will be fine, but if he throws 81, he is going to get hurt.’ No one can predict that.”

“The only negative you run into is that he never learns how to pitch when he is tired. He never learns how to pitch when he is a little bit fatigued. I think you run into those problems because he is always fresh. Also, he is never in trouble. He needs to learn how to pitch out of his second or third jam in the seventh inning with two outs and he’s throwing 90 mph instead of 94.”

He was later let go by the organization.  Now it appears with the recent announcement by the Washington Nationals wanting to "shut down" Stephen Strasburg, even Tommy John is sounding off on "babying" him and he's going further...he's insinuating that that same type of behavior may have screwed up Joba Chamberlain too. Very interesting.  

 First, here's what John said about Strasburg and the Nationals (The full Post piece is HERE):

“You’ve got a chance to win now... Now, I don’t say you trash the kid, but you pitch him. And maybe somewhere down the road you skip his turn, you give his arm a little rest. But if I were a fan of the Nationals, I would be so upset. That I’ve got a chance to be in the playoffs, maybe be in the World Series, and you’re taking that away from me?

“I wouldn’t buy my tickets next year. I would say hey, go do it yourself. I understand where [GM Mike Rizzo’s] coming from, I understand that. But he’s not gonna get hurt. If he hasn’t been hurt this year, he’s not gonna get hurt.”

Here's what Tommy John said about Joba Chamberlain: “...here’s my take on the thing: There’s no guarantee [if] you shut him down. The Yankees screwed Joba Chamberlain over. I mean, this poor kid has had all kind of problems, and they had Joba Rules....It didn’t help him a bit. He still had to have Tommy John surgery.”

Couple that stuff with a childhood hero of mine, Nolan Ryan recently tell USA Today back in 2009 about building pitchers strength by talking about his own experience as a pitcher and said he ""had to develop stamina because my intent was to pitch a lot of innings." He in turn did that with his staff in Texas.  

Is this groundbreaking? No, but it's fascinating to me that the old timers', guys like Ryan and John and even Bill Masse, someone who's been around the game for a long time, all think this new system is ridiculous.  Look, I don't believe in burning these kids out, but take all that information I quoted above and think about it.  Then, think about the piece I recently wrote titled IS THE CONDITIONING OF YANKEE PITCHING PROSPECTS BACKFIRING? and just soak it in...that's it.  There maybe something to it, that's all I'm saying.

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IS THE CONDITIONING OF YANKEE PITCHING PROSPECTS BACKFIRING?

 

(In Photo: Manny Banuelos)

With Manny Banuelos being shut down for the rest of the season (Read HERE), you really have to start questioning whether or not the Yankees have a true grasp on how to shape their minor league pitching crop. This is now yet another "top prospect" that has essentially shit the bed. Jose Campos was also shut down last month after having arm trouble since May, (Read HERE.)

(In Photo: Jose Campos)
I think it's time to stop giving excuses suggesting these prospects have had streaks of bad luck, and instead start to question just what type of training, strengthening and conditioning is going on down there on the farm. I'm not saying what they are doing with these guys is wrong. All I'm saying is, how is it being done and why are all these guys getting hurt so often? I don't think I'm out of line asking. After all, it only appears to happen when our pitchers are young and working their way up the ladder.

(In Photo: Bill Masse)
I bring up Bill Masse from time to time and I know, many of you think the guys a turd and should just go away. I don't. I took what he said seriously about the Yankees handling of young pitchers in the minor league system. Just to review, Masse was a Yankee minor league coach when Phil Hughes was coming up. He openly questioned the way the Yankees babied their prospect pitchers... (Warning, the following scene is vulgar and violent.)

  
 Then, much like Stacks from Goodfellas, Masse was "whacked" so to speak, and asked to leave the Yankees organization, probably for speaking out of turn, or in my mob world...Masse left his prints on the wheel and was caught.  Obviously this is all speculation, but I almost feel like there is some type of truth to what Bill Masse believes and spoke about and the "family", the Yankees didn't like it. In the end, Masse went away and the Yankees got their "coffee to go"... they moved on the way they saw fit with their pitchers.

(In Photo: Phil Hughes)
Here, yet again, is what Masse said of the Yankees and the handling of Phil Hughes and other Yankee pitchers in the minors:

“We get so ridiculous with this dumb pitch count stuff… Somebody came up with a pitch count thing (like) this is going to decide if a kid’s arm is going to be healthy or not. It’s like predicting the weather sometimes. ‘If he throws 66 pitches, he will be fine, but if he throws 81, he is going to get hurt.’ No one can predict that.”

“The only negative you run into is that he never learns how to pitch when he is tired. He never learns how to pitch when he is a little bit fatigued. I think you run into those problems because he is always fresh. Also, he is never in trouble. He needs to learn how to pitch out of his second or third jam in the seventh inning with two outs and he’s throwing 90 mph instead of 94.”
The full piece is HERE, by Anthony Coleman at NJ.com.

But even if you think Bill Masse is a fruit loop and you don't take his theory seriously, then how about you instead take on Nolan Ryan's theory. Ryan was not only a huge success in baseball, he pitched until his arm fell off and guess what?  He can still probably pitch. Why? Conditioning. Nolan Ryan doesn't believe in babying these young pitchers either.  This is what Nolan Ran said about it from his own experiences: "(I) had to develop stamina because my intent was to pitch a lot of innings." 

Mike Maddux, the Rangers pitching coach said of the training of the Rangers pitchers: "The ceiling is off...This is a mental thing we have to overcome. We have to change the attitude of the starters to want to go deep and believe they can." (The full article is HERE.)

Look, is there a connection to the proper conditioning of young arms and the flare up of recent injuries? I think there is. You can disagree and you're entitled too, but let's not sweep this under the rug and call it bad luck.  There's something more to it. I truly believe that and I can't believe more people aren't talking about this.

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