118

[big boy]

That is the number of pitches thrown by Volquez today. Any concern?

[DTCromer]

No.

[Degenerate39]

Volquez is old enough to handle that.

[elfmanvt07]

No, I don't think so. They haven't really run it up that high until today, and I agree with Cowboy that a relatively young pitcher needs a long outing every once in a while. If he's throwing really well, and his confidence and attitude are still up, let him pitch.

[HeatherC1212]

CTrent posted that one of Voltron's pitches to Lee in that last at bat actually hit 95 mph on the radar. That's just incredible!

[mlbfan30]

I never really criticized Baker for pitch counts because I assumed Krivsky would control that. Baker probably knows he "ruined" Prior and Wood so he's going to adhere to Krivsky's rules on pitch counts and try not to pitch them too much.

However with Krivsky gone, I wonder if Baker will start to become less concerned about pitch counts. It'll be interesting to see if we see a gradual increase in the pitch counts.

I don't get it...
9-0 lead, Volquez right below 100 pitches...
why does he go another inning?
And why are no RP warming up until he gets in trouble?

Yes.. 118 is a cause for concern... We know what happened with Arroyo last year and he might not be the same. Yet Volquez hasn't dealt with tough workloads yet. The highest # of pitches in his career in a game thats already over? Makes no sense

[Keystone12]

He *has* thrown 100+ in his last five starts. and he *has* never thrown 40 innings in a major-league season before..

I'm not concerned today. But if Dusty has him throwing 115+ pitches on a regular basis, I won't just be concerned; I'll be pissed.

[757690]

There is no universal magic number as every pitcher has his own threshold. Change up pitchers usually have a bit higher threshold since it is not as hard on the arm as a slider. 120 is the danger number that you really want to say away from. Still, don't want to see over 110 more than a few time a year.

[BoCcc2832]

Jeff described it as Dusty telling his young pitcher than he wants Volquez to expect to be our there seven innings every game. It's old school, because managers (before Sparky changed the game with his hook) always used to mandate that his pitchers go a complete game. Jeff also mentioned that a young guy can go between 100-120 pitches and be okay. Volquez should get an extra off day with it coming up tomorrow...so let's hope that in Dusty we can trusty.

[texasdave]

I don't get it...
9-0 lead, Volquez right below 100 pitches...
why does he go another inning?
And why are no RP warming up until he gets in trouble?

Yes.. 118 is a cause for concern... We know what happened with Arroyo last year and he might not be the same. Yet Volquez hasn't dealt with tough workloads yet. The highest # of pitches in his career in a game thats already over? Makes no sense

I agree. Up 9-zip I don't think Volquez should have even come out for the 7th inning. If a manager is going to err with a young pitcher, err on the side of caution. 118. Ouch. What if next game is 1-1 after six and you feel the need to push Volquez an extra inning in that situation? I know folks like to say worry about tomorrow tomorrow. But why not prepare for tomorrow if you have a chance?

[mlbfan30]

I agree. Up 9-zip I don't think Volquez should have even come out for the 7th inning. If a manager is going to err with a young pitcher, err on the side of caution. 118. Ouch. What if next game is 1-1 after six and you feel the need to push Volquez an extra inning in that situation? I know folks like to say worry about tomorrow tomorrow. But why not prepare for tomorrow if you have a chance?

Maybe if the bullpen was tired and it was a close game, fine.
But not when you have a 9-0 lead. There is absolutely nothing to gain except an increase in probability that an injury occurs.

[DTCromer]

I see a lot of people are upset over leaving him in for 120 pitches.

Did pitching 120 in 1970 become different than pitching 120 in 2008?

[757690]

Maybe if the bullpen was tired and it was a close game, fine.
But not when you have a 9-0 lead. There is absolutely nothing to gain except an increase in probability that an injury occurs.

Bullpen is tired. They went 14 1/3 inning over the last 4 games, and 24 1/3 over the last 7. Giving an overworked bullpen a two day break is what is to gain.

Also it is hard to second guess a managers decision about taking out a pitcher when you are not in the dugout. A lot factors go into it besides pitch count and score.

Still knowing what little I know, I would have taken him out. More importantly, I would not like to see this as a trend. If Volquez starts to have a few 120 IP games, I would be very worried.

[44Magnum]

Pitch count is the single, most overblown thought process in baseball. It's all about mechanics. If they are sound...the pitcher should be ok. If not, they will get injured anyway.

Kerry Wood and Mark Prior are prime examples. Both had terrible mechanics and both paid the price.

With all the modern so-called advancements in pitcher handling...why do injury stats continue to go up? Pitchers don't throw enough! They need to strengthen the muscles they use in pitching, not avoid using them. Dice-K is a great example of this.

[gilpdawg]

I see a lot of people are upset over leaving him in for 120 pitches.

Did pitching 120 in 1970 become different than pitching 120 in 2008?

Yes. In 1970 you didn't have to go all out to every hitter. Now you've got light hitting shortstops hitting 25 home runs. You can't relax. That's why the guys back in the early 1900s could throw more innings and more games. It was the dead ball era. They didn't have to work as hard every at bat. Better get used to it, because the more offensively minded the game gets, the less pitchers will be expected to handle without their arm falling off.