Good morning, all! I hope your Labor Day weekend is going well!
The New York Mets have announced they are adopting a six-man pitching rotation. The Baltimore Orioles made the same pronouncement last week. The Boston Red Sox use a six-man rotation in their minor league system. What’s going on here? A paradigm shift in the game, that’s what. And the root cause? You guessed it! Money!
Owners are reluctant to shell out big money to starting pitchers who constantly turn the game over to relievers. Throw in the fact the game has become more bullpen oriented and you have the perfect storm.
New York Yankees starter Carlos Rodón might be the greatest example. Friday night he was removed after six innings, with the Yankees leading the lowly-Chicago White Sox, 8-1. Everyone was doing cartwheels because the southpaw had pitched six innings. The Yankees handed Rodón a six-year, $162M contract and we are to be excited that he pitched six innings?
Not all of this is Rodón’s fault. Batters are adept at running up pitch counts, purposely fouling off pitches. Try that in the old days and a Bob Gibson would have knocked you on your backside. Not to mention, every pitcher tries to throw 100 MPH these days, adding to stress on the arms. In Rodón’s case he had thrown 97 pitches against the White Sox and he was coming out, case closed.
With more pitchers from Japan being signed to play in the big leagues, there is another reason for a six-man rotation. In the Japanese leagues, starting pitchers work one game per week. But the root cause is money. A starter who goes once a week is not going to command the salary of even a middle-of-the-road starter like a Rodón. So look for more clubs to adopt a six-man rotation. The Mets and Orioles will not be the last.
Here are some other thoughts, as I ponder when Tommy DeVito will be the Patriots starting QB:
How could anyone have thought Texas was going to storm into Columbus and beat Ohio St.? I just felt the defending national champions to be a tough team to beat, especially in the first game on their home turf.
Yes, in his final sign-off the legendary Lee Corso did pick Ohio St. to defeat Texas.
The knives are out already for coach Kalen DeBoer as No. 8 ranked Alabama loses to unranked Florida St., 31-17.
Who had the Pirates storming into Fenway Park and taking the first two of three games against the Red Sox?
And another thing. I get that it’s the Boston media going gaga over Red Sox starter Payton Tolle in his big league debut on Friday night. And yes it’s a story because he was just drafted last year. But it was hilarious that there was hardly a mention that the current era’s pitching phenom was the winning pitcher. That would be Paul Skenes for anyone keeping score at home. Good for MLB to send out this post on X.
On that note have a terrific Sunday and thank you for being a subscriber!
DAN