9/13/2009

A little something to think about.

Here is a Tom Haudricourt column that was posted on Saturday.

Arms not growing on farm
Brewers to discuss how to address issue

The Milwaukee Brewers are not blind to the fact they have no pitching prospects close to being ready for the major leagues.

And they're going to get together after the season to discuss how that vacuum happened.

Assistant general manager Gord Ash plans to conduct "a pitching symposium" in which all of the organization's pitching coaches, doctors and trainers as well as researchers gather to exchange ideas on developing pitchers.

"It's going to be a blank slate," said Ash. "I've asked for topics and ideas.

"Hopefully, it will be a no-holds-barred discussion, but at the end of it somebody has to say, 'This is what we're going to do.' "
Something that may be of interest to Timber Rattlers fans will be a topic of discussion.
Ash wants to learn if the Brewers are doing anything fundamentally that has slowed the progress of pitching prospects. One tactic that will be discussed is the use of young starters in tandem, with each pitching half a game to limit the number of pitches thrown.

"We had one of these symposiums about four years ago," said Ash. "From that one, we came up with the idea of tandems in the lower levels.

"Now that we've had some history with tandems, we want to review that. Is it a good thing? Not a good thing?"

In an effort to limit injuries to young pitchers, the Brewers have restricted them to low pitch counts in games. But players have still broken down, including Rogers and promising left-hander Zach Braddock, who has had shoulder and elbow issues.

Ash said a novel thought by general manager Doug Melvin will be batted around.

"Doug has this idea that starters never get the feel of what it's like to pitch in the eighth and ninth innings (in the minors)," said Ash.

"He's had this long-held idea that it might be a good idea to start (games) with the bullpen and have the starter come in, in the fourth inning and having him pitch four through nine."

Plenty more at the link.

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