No doubt pitch counts can be overrated during the middle to end of seasons, however not this early imo. There's a reason MLB has a preseason where starting pitchers toss 3 innings or so. But as the season progresses I agree that pitch counts are over emphasized. So many other factors come in to play such as throwing under tension, having to throw too many fastballs from being behind in the count, having to use too much arm because the legs are tired, etc. When everything is in a groove & they are throwing effortlessly pitch count is almost meaningless.
A lot of it has to do with a pitcher's throwing motion. Nolan Ryan was a power pitcher well into his mid 40's and was almost never injured because he had a pitching motion that didn't overstress his arm or elbow or shoulder and he kept himself in great shape. Same with Roger Clemens. Greg Maddux pitched for many years with few injuries. He wasn't a power pitcher but he was great at using location to get the batter to hit ground balls. He pitched many complete games with a pitch count under 100 and a number of them with a count of under 90. Also too many young pitchers throw too many innings at a young age before their bodies have fully matured. Ryan never pitched more than 200 innings in a season until he was 25. Randy Johnson didn't become a dominant flame thrower until he was in his late 20's.
I like the sweep. Slow start with a damn strong finish. Godfrey was competitive but not all that good. He has velocity but location is off. He struggled with his count and seemed to have to save himself deep into the count. Robertson is an injury return but still a little slow coming around. Stallings looks to be a solid closer for us. Hale bobbled a few but made up for that nicely at the plate. Bregman was a stud in the field, as usual. Laird was a freak with just about everything today. All around good play to close out a weak start. Lots of freshman errors today, had a lot of pop flies early on but they finally got on top of the ball and it was a clinic there on. Stranded bases loaded mid way through with 0 outs, but some solid small ball gave us a nice crooked number in the end. A Great way to start the season. Should get a look at a few new arms mid week before hosting some snow birds.
Georgia sweep and Kansas takes 2 from LSU was what a georgia poster put bet he's eating his words now.
Reynolds looked off a bit but that's understandable being rusty,but we have some solid arms in that dugout that will only get better.
Congrats: SEC Freshman of the Week: Alex Lange, LSU · A freshman right-hander, Lange made his collegiate baseball debut on Saturday vs. Kansas, limiting the Jayhawks to just two hits in five shutout innings with one walk and seven strikeouts. · Did not allow a Jayhawk runner to advance beyond second base and fired 71 pitches in the outing. · Earned the win to help clinch a series victory for the Tigers.
lange going to be a beast,poche will be solid,need a sunday reliable starter and we will be set.,but will have to cut down on the errors.
