The Baseball Thread 2007

[Patrick]

Given what Peter Angelos did to block DC getting a team (after DC allowed the Orioles to move to Baltimore way back when), I'm not too upset about their lack of success. Great ballpark but I'm not sure I need to go back there for a game anytime soon.

And maybe Leo Mazzone is not quite the genius he once was--ton of Indians retreads there (Danys Baez, Paul Shuey, Jaret Wright, Jeremy Guthrie, now Fernando Cabrera). Only Guthrie has performed well. And he probably should be shut down.

Forgive me if I'm a little less enthusiastic about cheering for the Tigers just now, though all props to Granderson for hitting 20 doubles, 20 triples, and 20 homers in one season. But I am sympathetic to the anyone-but-NYY-vibe.

I know you have to remain more than slightly paranoid about things, but man the Red Sox are really deep and really playing well. [Of course, I'm watching local broadcasts against the O's.] Pedroia will be ROY, why does Jacoby need to be so good? Papelbon is awesome, why is Delcarmen solid (does he get more innings while Okajima rests some?)? Lester, Buchholz, ...Getting contributions from just about everywhere (except maybe not so much from Captain Curt). Not really missing Manny that much (of course they need him back, but...). Life is good.

[Matthew]

Given what Peter Angelos did to block DC getting a team (after DC allowed the Orioles to move to Baltimore way back when), I'm not too upset about their lack of success. Great ballpark but I'm not sure I need to go back there for a game anytime soon.

And maybe Leo Mazzone is not quite the genius he once was--ton of Indians retreads there (Danys Baez, Paul Shuey, Jaret Wright, Jeremy Guthrie, now Fernando Cabrera). Only Guthrie has performed well. And he probably should be shut down.

Forgive me if I'm a little less enthusiastic about cheering for the Tigers just now, though all props to Granderson for hitting 20 doubles, 20 triples, and 20 homers in one season. But I am sympathetic to the anyone-but-NYY-vibe.

I know you have to remain more than slightly paranoid about things, but man the Red Sox are really deep and really playing well. [Of course, I'm watching local broadcasts against the O's.] Pedroia will be ROY, why does Jacoby need to be so good? Papelbon is awesome, why is Delcarmen solid (does he get more innings while Okajima rests some?)? Lester, Buchholz, ...Getting contributions from just about everywhere (except maybe not so much from Captain Curt). Not really missing Manny that much (of course they need him back, but...). Life is good.

I hate to admit it but it looks like it's Boston's to lose this year. The one team from the NL who could give them trouble would be the Padres with their pitching, but they might not even get into the playoffs.

PS: The less said about the Mariners at this point, the better...

Edited September 8, 2007 by Matthew

[Dan Gould]

Forgive me if I'm a little less enthusiastic about cheering for the Tigers just now, though all props to Granderson for hitting 20 doubles, 20 triples, and 20 homers in one season. But I am sympathetic to the anyone-but-NYY-vibe.

I know you have to remain more than slightly paranoid about things, but man the Red Sox are really deep and really playing well. [Of course, I'm watching local broadcasts against the O's.] Pedroia will be ROY, why does Jacoby need to be so good? Papelbon is awesome, why is Delcarmen solid (does he get more innings while Okajima rests some?)? Lester, Buchholz, ...Getting contributions from just about everywhere (except maybe not so much from Captain Curt). Not really missing Manny that much (of course they need him back, but...). Life is good.

Well, you're entitled to a little paranoia, too, until that magic number is comfortably resting at zero.

The team is looking good right now, and actually averaging more runs scored per game than they did with Manny in the lineup. I really didn't think that would be the case, but I'll take it. On the Red Sox blogs there are debates about whether Jacoby should get starts at the expense of Drew once Manny returns (there's number one in the "not contributing much" list) and at the same time, some people want to see them keep both Coco and Jacoby next year, which I can't see. Coco has regained some value this season and is relatively inexpensive for another 3 or 4 years. I'm pretty sure Jacoby can do the job full time next year, just like Pedroia proved.

Speaking of, did you know that Sox fans have been comparing Pedroia to "Tanner" from the Bad News Bears? He's got that same under-sized body, chip on the shoulder attitude. And you could just see him yell "Hey Yankees! You can take that trophy and shove it up your ass!"

There are little worries that gnaw at me, like the way Youk has slumped in the second half, with only brief flashes of improvement, and my biggest concern is the cumulative effect of the new league on both Dice and Okajima. Okajima has had his ERA jump big time since August, and Dice isn't looking like the pitcher we had in June when he dominated but didn't get any run support. I think they have to be very careful with those two to make sure they have enough in the tank for potentially the entire month of October.

But yeah, life is good.

[Patrick]

Forgot about Drew--he would be at the very top of a short list of under-contributors (though he did make a great catch in the corner last night). I would be inclined to give him a few days off as well when Manny is back. In Cleveland, they finally gave up on platooning Trot Nixon in right, and are letting the kid Franklin Gutierrez play every day. I think it finally dawned on decision makers that Trot does not cover much ground in right, does not have much of an arm, isn't exhibiting much power or average, and won't be around much longer. At this point, he supposedly contributes clubhouse leadership, and is the main instigator of the pie-in-the-face for whichever Indians hero gets interviewed by the tv announcers post-game. [i know, extremely valuable...] Gutierrez average has dipped from around .300 down to .260 with a very large home/away difference, but he's great in right field, reasonably fast, and has excellent upside.

[Dan Gould]

Forgot about Drew--he would be at the very top of a short list of under-contributors (though he did make a great catch in the corner last night). I would be inclined to give him a few days off as well when Manny is back. In Cleveland, they finally gave up on platooning Trot Nixon in right, and are letting the kid Franklin Gutierrez play every day. I think it finally dawned on decision makers that Trot does not cover much ground in right, does not have much of an arm, isn't exhibiting much power or average, and won't be around much longer. At this point, he supposedly contributes clubhouse leadership, and is the main instigator of the pie-in-the-face for whichever Indians hero gets interviewed by the tv announcers post-game. [i know, extremely valuable...] Gutierrez average has dipped from around .300 down to .260 with a very large home/away difference, but he's great in right field, reasonably fast, and has excellent upside.

Well, its good to know that Trot's decline didn't stop in Cleveland so no one can say that they should have re-signed him. The thing with Drew is, I don't have a problem with his seeming "indifference". I don't need players to wear their heart on their sleeve to know that they "care" or are truly pissed off when they fail in a clutch situation. He was taught as a kid not to get emotional. Fine. And it doesn't even bother me that he's had a few little nagging injuries that have kept him out of the lineup occasionally. What amazes me is that he has been mostly healthy all season, and yet he's hitting so terribly.

I don't know what to expect next year - a big comeback because he's now familiar with AL pitchers ... or will he instead have one of those injuries that keeps him out for three months?

But whatever happens then, I would never have predicted that Drew would be healthy in 2007 & hit under .260 and slug under .400.

[Brad]

Given what Peter Angelos did to block DC getting a team (after DC allowed the Orioles to move to Baltimore way back when), I'm not too upset about their lack of success. Great ballpark but I'm not sure I need to go back there for a game anytime soon.

And maybe Leo Mazzone is not quite the genius he once was--ton of Indians retreads there (Danys Baez, Paul Shuey, Jaret Wright, Jeremy Guthrie, now Fernando Cabrera). Only Guthrie has performed well. And he probably should be shut down.

Forgive me if I'm a little less enthusiastic about cheering for the Tigers just now, though all props to Granderson for hitting 20 doubles, 20 triples, and 20 homers in one season. But I am sympathetic to the anyone-but-NYY-vibe.

I know you have to remain more than slightly paranoid about things, but man the Red Sox are really deep and really playing well. [Of course, I'm watching local broadcasts against the O's.] Pedroia will be ROY, why does Jacoby need to be so good? Papelbon is awesome, why is Delcarmen solid (does he get more innings while Okajima rests some?)? Lester, Buchholz, ...Getting contributions from just about everywhere (except maybe not so much from Captain Curt). Not really missing Manny that much (of course they need him back, but...). Life is good.

I hate to admit it but it looks like it's Boston's to lose this year. The one team from the NL who could give them trouble would be the Padres with their pitching, but they might not even get into the playoffs.

PS: The less said about the Mariners at this point, the better...

Aren't the Pods down to one good pitcher, Peevey, with Young being hurt lately?

I'm liking Red Sox vs. Mets in World Series, with advantage Red Sox. Outside shot to the Dbacks.

[Matthew]

Forgot about Drew--he would be at the very top of a short list of under-contributors (though he did make a great catch in the corner last night). I would be inclined to give him a few days off as well when Manny is back. In Cleveland, they finally gave up on platooning Trot Nixon in right, and are letting the kid Franklin Gutierrez play every day. I think it finally dawned on decision makers that Trot does not cover much ground in right, does not have much of an arm, isn't exhibiting much power or average, and won't be around much longer. At this point, he supposedly contributes clubhouse leadership, and is the main instigator of the pie-in-the-face for whichever Indians hero gets interviewed by the tv announcers post-game. [i know, extremely valuable...] Gutierrez average has dipped from around .300 down to .260 with a very large home/away difference, but he's great in right field, reasonably fast, and has excellent upside.

Well, its good to know that Trot's decline didn't stop in Cleveland so no one can say that they should have re-signed him. The thing with Drew is, I don't have a problem with his seeming "indifference". I don't need players to wear their heart on their sleeve to know that they "care" or are truly pissed off when they fail in a clutch situation. He was taught as a kid not to get emotional. Fine. And it doesn't even bother me that he's had a few little nagging injuries that have kept him out of the lineup occasionally. What amazes me is that he has been mostly healthy all season, and yet he's hitting so terribly.

I don't know what to expect next year - a big comeback because he's now familiar with AL pitchers ... or will he instead have one of those injuries that keeps him out for three months?

But whatever happens then, I would never have predicted that Drew would be healthy in 2007 & hit under .260 and slug under .400.

Don't worry about JD. Now that Boston's safely out in front, he'll turn it on and get some decent stats, and then the Redsox Nation will be all excited: "JD is on a roll, he's gonna kill in the play-offs!" Then you'll get to watch JD go 5 for 40 in the play-offs. Here's what you can always expect from JD: Gutless play in any situation.

The Padres staff is hurting right now, but I still like to give a shout-out to my hometown every now and then.

[Dan Gould]

What did I fucking say about Dice-K, as well as the likelihood of the O's winning sooner rather than later?

I leave to do some fucking errands and come back to find out that Dice turned a 4-1 lead into an 8-4 deficit capped by a grand fucking slam. His ERA has gone up by about 3/4 of a run in the last two fucking starts.

And of course Tavarez has given up another three spot in his next inning. Oy FUCKING vey.

The Royals better start doing some damage to the MFY but I am not optimistic.

[Dan Gould]

Oh, it gets fucking worse for Dice-K:

In his last five starts, he has allowed 28 earned runs in 26 1/3 innings, a 9.57 ERA.

And the Yankees, who have clobbered him practically every time he's faced them, are waiting, next Friday at Fenway. They better fucking expand their lead back before that happens, or we'll be fighting the fucking Tigers for the wild card.

[Chalupa]

Given what Peter Angelos did to block DC getting a team (after DC allowed the Orioles to move to Baltimore way back when), I'm not too upset about their lack of success. Great ballpark but I'm not sure I need to go back there for a game anytime soon.

And maybe Leo Mazzone is not quite the genius he once was--ton of Indians retreads there (Danys Baez, Paul Shuey, Jaret Wright, Jeremy Guthrie, now Fernando Cabrera). Only Guthrie has performed well. And he probably should be shut down.

Forgive me if I'm a little less enthusiastic about cheering for the Tigers just now, though all props to Granderson for hitting 20 doubles, 20 triples, and 20 homers in one season. But I am sympathetic to the anyone-but-NYY-vibe.

I know you have to remain more than slightly paranoid about things, but man the Red Sox are really deep and really playing well. [Of course, I'm watching local broadcasts against the O's.] Pedroia will be ROY, why does Jacoby need to be so good? Papelbon is awesome, why is Delcarmen solid (does he get more innings while Okajima rests some?)? Lester, Buchholz, ...Getting contributions from just about everywhere (except maybe not so much from Captain Curt). Not really missing Manny that much (of course they need him back, but...). Life is good.

I hate to admit it but it looks like it's Boston's to lose this year. The one team from the NL who could give them trouble would be the Padres with their pitching, but they might not even get into the playoffs.

PS: The less said about the Mariners at this point, the better...

Aren't the Pods down to one good pitcher, Peevey, with Young being hurt lately?

I'm liking Red Sox vs. Mets in World Series, with advantage Red Sox. Outside shot to the Dbacks.

Yeah, as much as it chagrins me to admit it the Mets do look like the favorites to represent the NL in the Fall classic.

[Brad]

Even though I'm a Mets fan, the National League is not that impressive. I can't figure out my team, although they've played better since the Phillies swept 'em. It's like they finally realized they better start playing some ball. The only team I really like (to win it all that is) are the Sox. I haven't seen much of the Tribe so I can't really say about them.

[Patrick]

The Red Sox have to be the favorites at this point, but it's understandable if Red Sox Nation is not breathing easily right now.

Dan, quite clairvoyant regarding tonight's disaster at Camden Yards. I watched that long third inning. Dice K couldn't get a fastball over to save his life. He looked completely gassed in the third inning. It was hot and humid (I think 90 degrees at first pitch), but based on his recent string, would it make sense to skip him once (or give him an extra day) and let Buchholz spot start? Life is still good (...though not as good as it could be).

Meanwhile after two losses in LA, including a tough extra inning affair in which Ryan Garko hit a ninth inning homer to send it into extras, C.C. Sabathia pitches a complete game 5-hitter (5 singles, one walk, 4 double plays). Bullpen gets a night off before the rookie Laffey goes tomorrow night. Given Laffey is a 5/6 inning guy at most, this is good. Hopefully Tribe bats will get to Weaver and they will get out of LA with a respectable split. Would have been nice to close some ground on LA, though they're only two games apart right now.

Tribe will need every game of their current 5 game lead over Detroit. Besides a 3 game series at Cleveland, Detroit only plays one game against a team with a winning record the rest of the way (Toronto). Tribe still has a 4 game series in Seattle.

[Dan Gould]

There's been talk that Dice-K should be skipped, with at least one Boston writer stating that he is too "proud" to take kindly to that idea. With Buchholz, they've recently declared that his season innings limit is 155. I believe he is at 145 so that doesn't leave much room to blow it all in a spot start. I get the feeling that they like the idea of being able to bring him into a close game and let him go 3 innings, that he'd have a greater impact on the race if he does that 3 times rather than pitch one start and go 7 innings or whatever. I strongly suspect that they want to be able to use him like that during the Yankee series, at least.

At least Beckett goes today - I was kind of afraid before last night's game that if they managed to win Saturday, Beckett would be hard pressed to complete a sweep. At least now we can hopefully start a new losing streak for Baltimore, and Beckett is obviously the best guy to do that.

And best of all, the Yanks will have two rookies and Mussina going against Toronto next week, while they counter with AJ Burnett, and a guy who is 12-5. So long as we take care of business against Tampa at home, we should be in good shape when the Yankees arrive. Unless A-Rod keeps up his current two-homer a day pace.

It does look like Detroit is turning it around again - finally - but I think Cleveland is still in good shape. At this point Seattle can only be a spoiler, and it doesn't look like they've got anything at all left in the tank. Cleveland just has to do the job head-to-head.

Oh, and glad to hear they won last night against LAA. At least we keep our margin as best record in the league. That's really crucial to our chances to win the pennant, imo.

[Matthew]

As Dr. Elliot Reed would say: Frick on a stick! The Mariners are road kill now. How I hate it when your team is in the role of "spoiler" in September

[Dan Gould]

This is an important essay everyone should read since the news broke about Ankiel.

As the suspicious among us point out that there is no test for HGH, it turns out that there is no reason to believe that HGH does anything to help you play better:

April 5th, 2007

I Don’t Worry about HGH in Baseball, and Neither Should You

Last week, I happened across an article by Daniel Engber entitled “The Growth Hormone Myth,” and I was a bit shocked by its contents. According to Engber, Human Growth Hormone (HGH or GH) has little to no performance enhancing-benefits.

What’s the difference between steroids and HGH? For starters, we know that a baseball player can beef up on steroids and improve his athletic performance. But most clinical studies suggest that HGH won’t help an athlete at all….So far, no one has been able to connect the increase in lean body tissue caused by HGH with enhancement of athletic performance. Unlike steroids, growth hormone hasn’t been shown to increase weight-lifting ability; in the lab, it has a greater effect on muscle definition than muscle strength. And it doesn’t seem to help much with cardiovascular fitness, either.

I was intrigued. Engber is a credible source, and his documentation solid; however, I remained skeptical. I closely follow media coverage of performance-enhancing drugs yet I was not aware of the dubious benefits. Did I miss something? Then I realized that I didn’t have to take Engber’s word for it or go do a lit review in research out of my field. I have the benefit of working down the hall from several exercise physiologists.

I forwarded the article to my colleague, John McLester, with whom I have had numerous steroid discussions. He showed up at my office door a few minutes later, and our conversation went something like this.

Me: What do you think of this argument?

John: Oh yeah, I agree with him. This isn’t even controversial in exercise physiology.

Me: Why haven’t I heard about this in the media?

John: I guess no one has asked anyone in the profession to comment. People think andro works, and that is laughable.

Me: How does HGH work?

John: Unlike anabolic steroids, growth hormone doesn’t target muscle, everything grows. You will get bigger muscles, but you’ll also do things like enlarge your organs. In an adult who has finished growing, it’s going to result in acromegaly. Remember Andre the Giant’s gut? That wasn’t fat. That’s where his organs had to go because there wasn’t room in his chest cavity.

Me: But, doesn’t the subject benefit from bigger muscles.

John: There is no evidence of this. It seems that the muscle that is developed is abnormal and not mature. I’ll point you to some studies (see below).

Me: Wow. So you think there are no performance-enhancing benefits to using HGH?

John: Little to none, especially in baseball. An offensive lineman in football might benefit just from gaining mass, but there are probably easier and cheaper ways to gain mass—HGH is very expensive. If I were to use PEDs, I’d take steroids and there is no way I’d even touch HGH. If benefits to taking HGH exist they are tiny, and the health consequences are not pretty.

After several more conversations with John and following up on his leads I believe that there are no performance-enhancing benefits from using HGH in baseball. There is no documented evidence that HGH improves performance. While studies are sparse due to ethical limits, what studies have been done show that while growth hormone may promote muscle growth that it does not increase strength. This is quite different from anabolic steroids for which there exists evidence of improved strength. Of course, future research may change this, but right now I see little reason to contradict what is out there.

Here is some documentation.

Mary Lee Vance, New England Journal of Medicine, 2/27/2003.

A recent double-blind, placebo-controlled study involving 27 women and 34 men, 68 to 88 years of age, who were given growth hormone or placebo for 6.5 months confirmed the effects of growth hormone on body composition; there was no change in muscle strength or maximal oxygen uptake during exercise in either group. This study corroborated the findings of a study by Papadakis et al. involving 52 healthy men, 70 to 85 years of age, who were given placebo or growth hormone for six months. Not mentioned on the “antiaging” Web sites is a study of 18 healthy men, 65 to 82 years of age, who underwent progressive strength training for 14 weeks, followed by an additional 10 weeks of strength training plus either growth hormone or placebo. In that study, resistance exercise training increased muscle strength significantly; the addition of growth hormone did not result in any further improvement.

Karl E. Friedl, “Performance-Enhancing Substances,” in Baechle and Earle (eds.) Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, 2e, p. 219, . (Textbook)

There is no evidence that supplemental growth hormone produces effects of the same magnitude [as growth hormone deficiency] (it may not even produce normal muscle) or enhance athletic performance in a normal man or woman….Apparently, few athletes are actually using this hormone, which suggests that they may well be aware that the substance probably does little to enhance performance, carries risks, and is very expensive.

With MLB’s adoption of mandatory testing for steroids, many thought that home run rates would drop dramatically. They didn’t, and many felt that the lack of a test for HGH could be part of the explanation. Well, it’s time for the scientists working on such a test to start something else more important. Even if players are taking HGH, the drug no more effective than ionized bracelets, magnets in your shoes, or jumping over the foul lines. The impact of HGH on home runs in today’s game is zero. If a player is dumb enough to take this stuff, let him go right ahead.

http://www.sabernomics.com/sabernomics/ind...ther-should-you

[Brad]

In Ankiel's defence, he claims he used it to treat his elbow and that he's prepared to discuss the issue with MLB fully and openly whenever and wherever they want.

[Dan Gould]

Yes, but it looks as though there's no medical reason to use it, and he went to a Doctor who was prescribing these things for anyone, without even examining the patient. This Doctor was also in the top 100 in the state for number of malpractice claims and tops in Palm Beach County for dollar awards on malpractice claims (or something like that).

I think what it really shows is how desperate a lot of players get when their careers are on the line.

Meanwhile, has anyone considered that with A-Rod's home run barrage, he has a strong shot at being the first, no-doubt-about-it, no-questions-asked to break Maris' record? If he hadn't slumped occasionally, he'd be right there challenging Barroid's "record".

[Big Al]

Rangers sweep the A's to move into a tie for third! Hey, it ain't much, but the way this season's going and the fact that things are FINALLY starting to look up for my guys, there is reason to be excited! I hope I'm not jinxing anything by saying I'm actually looking forward to next season.

If the Rangers can finish at .500 or better this year, it will have been a success. (I can only imagine where the Rangers might be right now if April and May hadn't been so horrific)

[Tim McG]

Giants squash out the [hated] dodgers!

The Wildcard just might come from the NL West.

Sometimes, Life is good.

Edited September 11, 2007 by GoodSpeak

[Matthew]

Good Grief! The Mariners lose again... This from the AP account of the game:

Mariners starter Horacio Ramirez allowed five runs in 1 2/3 innings as Seattle lost for the 14th time in 16 games, among the worst falls by a contending team in September over the last half-century.

This is bad.....

[Dan Gould]

Good Grief! The Mariners lose again... This from the AP account of the game:

Mariners starter Horacio Ramirez allowed five runs in 1 2/3 innings as Seattle lost for the 14th time in 16 games, among the worst falls by a contending team in September over the last half-century.

This is bad.....

I hate to say it but when me and Johnny were having our pissing contest, I kind of predicted that the stretch of games wouldn't go the right way.

Meantime, the Sox lost a crusher to Scott Kazmir, 1-0 as the only run scored off of Schilling on a double, sacrifice bunt and sacrifice fly. Over his last six starts, Schilling has an ERA under 3 but is only 2-2. I'd be more relaxed about it if

A) the Yankees would lose occasionally

and

B) the Devil Rays weren't so hot (14 of their last 17, I believe)

Wakefield goes tonight, which is normally a virtual lock against Tampa (19-2 lifetime) but he didn't have a very good night in his first start after missing one with back pain. The worst thing is that the Yankees don't get Tampa for another two weeks, by which time I am sure they will be back to their usual level of incompetence.

So we're back to the five game lead we had after the Yankee sweep in the Bronx, with Wakefield and Lester going against Tampa while the Yankees send the two rookies and Mussina against Toronto, who counter with McGowan (12-5) and Burnett and someone else. Normally its a perfect time to gain a game or two, but the way the Yankees and A-Rod are playing, it doesn't feel like a normal time.

[Dan Gould]

Well Wakefield has thrown batting practice and we are a few innings away from actually LOSING a motherfucking series to the Devil Rays AT HOME.

Its official: I am no longer rooting for Detroit to challenge the Yankees for the Wild Card. The only intelligent strategic rooting I can do is for Detroit to lose as often as possible, so that when the Yankees take over the East, the Red Sox will still be in position to make the playoffs.

[Patrick]

All tied up after the Pedroia blast in the 6th. You've got the great bullpen. No problem.

[Dan Gould]

All tied up after the Pedroia blast in the 6th. You've got the great bullpen. No problem.

Yeah, I was going to come in and see if I could edit my entry but you already responded.

Maybe the paranoia is running rampant but after the loss last night and Wake looking terrible tonight and the Yanks pounding on the Jays, I had a really bad vision of how the rest of this week would go, and that we'd find ourselves trying to back in to the playoffs in the last week of the season against the A's and the Twins while the Yankees finish against Baltimore and Tampa.

13-9 now by the way, on a three run triple by Youk and a double by Coco.

But that comes with an alert: Gagne has been cleared to pitch and I'd expect he's going to soon. (He had four straight scoreless appearances, then figured out that he was tipping in his pitches by varying the way he'd reach into his glove for the ball (how does any experienced pitcher fall into such a habit, or change what he's been doing?) and he had a fairly strenuous throwing session to work on that - and came out of it with an achy shoulder. Now its better, and I'm sure he'll get the call here. I can only hope he won't blow it)

[Patrick]

I gotta question about Wake. He's always struck me, perhaps based on my limited exposure, as being very iffy late in the season and post-season. The impression I have is that it is either total mastery of the opposing lineup, or total BP for him. Almost like you have to warm up another pitcher from the start just in case it is the latter. Is this correct?