No Halladay heart syndrome at least.
In spring training, it is possible for a pitcher to finish with an ugly line that does not match the performance as it appeared to the naked eye. That was not the case with Roy Halladay’s outing against the Tigers, which looked every bit unpretty as the seven runs he allowed in 2 2/3 innings. Afterward, you could see the concern on Charlie Manuel’s face.
“Yeah, it concerns me,” the manager said. “But at the same time, I been in the game long enough to know that if there’s nothing wrong with him, you keep working with him. If he’s healthy and well and there’s nothing wrong with him, then he’s gotta get stretched out and everything.”
Halladay says there is nothing wrong with him. He said he has been feeling lethargic, that his new workout program and the two bullpen sessions he threw prior to today’s start were probably to blame. He is frustrated with his cutter, which he has not been able to locate to the non-glove side of the plate (outside to lefties). But he says he is happy that he does not feel physically compromised like he did last spring, when his body sent him spiraling downward into the most frustrating regular season of his career.
...Pitching coach Rich Dubee probably summed up organizational sentiment best when he was asked whether he thought Halladay could get back to the level he was at during his first two seasons in Philadelphia.
“I don’t know where he is going to get back to,” Dubee said. “I don’t. Who does? I don’t have a crystal ball, but I know that his work ethic is still there, his desire is still there, so I’ll take my chances.”
Repoz
Posted: March 12, 2013 at 08:08 PM |
11 comment(s)
Login to Bookmark
Tags:
phillies
Reader Comments and Retorts
Go to end of page
Statements posted here are those of our readers and do not represent the BaseballThinkFactory. Names are provided by the poster and are not verified. We ask that posters follow our submission policy. Please report any inappropriate comments.
1. Justin T is expanding the aperture of awareness Posted: March 12, 2013 at 08:48 PM (#4387308)wow, it took all of one post for me to have to buy someone a coke!
The way Manuel & Dubee are talking you'd think Halladay was a washed up vet or something who hasn't been competitive in a long time. This is the guy who led the NL in ERA+ in 2011 and last year was the first since 2005 that he didn't get Cy Young votes. Ah well, whatever.
Didn't he say that last year too, at least early on? I hope Roy can reestablish himself as an AS pitcher and keep putting up ERAs in the 2.50-3.00 range on the way to 260 or so wins , but if he can't, I'd sooner see him retire than scuffle along for a few more years. Selfish of me I know.
A friend of mine who just started watching baseball last year asked me the other day "so is this Roy Halladay any good? He gets talked about like he's a star, but he seemed pretty meh".
It's a sad world where even one person thinks 2012 is representative of Roy Halladay: Baseballer.
So, what's the "science" behind the dead arm concept? It seems like a real thing since every year there's some number of starters that have reduced velocity for a short period of time. Sometimes it's in Spring Training, sometimes in April. But it certainly doesn't seem to happen to everyone, or at least it's not reported.
Why does it happen?
I'm not a real doctor, but my PhD in statistics combined with my collaboration with real sports medicine researchers would lead me to believe that it has to with scar tissue. If the scar tissue accumulates around the joint/ligaments, it could restrict motion in imperceptible ways, which would lead to changes in throwing motion that would cause a reduction in velocity.
I would conjecture that the process goes:
1. Off-season rest allows for scar tissue to float around, so at the beginning of ST there is no dead arm.
2. Throwing regularly again during ST causes scar tissue to accumulate (or new scar tissue to form) around the joints/ligaments, restricting motion which causes a drop in velocity.
3. Throwing even more regularly breaks up the scar tissue that had accumulated, which unrestricts the motion causing the subsequent rise in velocity.
But I really have no idea what I'm talking about, so YMMV.
No, the MASH report over at Fangraphs has tracked his pitch velocity. I'm not sure I buy their position, but he's been listed on their MASH report for the last few starts because of lowered velocity. While the states have been fine, it's in 8 IP against mixed competition.
You must be Registered and Logged In to post comments.
<< Back to main