Concern about Cueto?
Posted by JohnFay at 7/7/2009 5:34 PM EDT on Cincinnati.com
Johnny Cueto is at 104 1/3 innings. He's well ahead of last year's pace when he threw 174. Given his recent struggles, are the Reds concerned with his workload?
“We were concerned coming in some because he didn’t get the rest because of Winter Ball and the WBC," Dusty Baker said. "We’ve really monitored his pitch count.”
Cueto has averaged just under 100 pitches per outing with a high of 112.
Cueto's gotten hit hard in three of his last four starts, taking his ERA from 2.17 to 3.45.
"Lately, other than last night when he had a couple of walks, they can expect strikes, which is a good thing for a young pitcher," Baker said. "He’s still learning. He’s a long way from where he’s going to be.”
Cueto has also gotten away from his change-up.
“That’s part of it,” Baker said. “We’ve got to re-adjust. He’s gotten beat on some change-ups. But you don’t shelve a pitch because you got beat on it.”
Cueto was clearly frustrated in last night's outing.
“His composure is a lot better than it was," Baker said. "The main thing for us to do is try to get him to forget the last couple of starts.”
Cueto mentioned earlier this year that he was tipping pitches last year. I asked him if he thought he might be tipping his pitches.
"Yesterday?" he said. He thought about it a good minute. "No, I don't think so."
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I thought the decision to allow Cueto (and Volquez) to pitch in Winter Ball AND the World Baseball Classic was an awful idea. One of the two wouldn't have been so bad but allowing them to pitch in both wasn't very smart, IMO. I'd like to see the Reds watch him closely during the second half. We need a healthy Cueto and Volquez in 2010.