May 8, 200422 yr From the Miami Herald: Darren Oliver is confident his bad days are behind him. ''I'll be a lot better from here on out,'' said Oliver, who starts tonight on the heels of four straight poor outings in which his ERA climbed to 8.54. Oliver, who has given up nine home runs, spent the past several days working with pitching coach Wayne Rosenthal on keeping the ball low in the strike zone. ''I'm just mad at myself it took me this long to figure it out,'' Oliver said. If Oliver throws another clunker, it could be his last start for a while. Because of upcoming off days, the Marlins could go with a four-man rotation the next two weeks. ''That could be a possibility,'' McKeon said. I saw Rosenthal working in the BP with Oliver on Tuesday. Not throwing, but simulating his mechanics. Oliver says he has it worked out....we'll see tonight.
May 8, 200422 yr Is that the smartest thing to do? It might wear our arms out. But I am not qualified to say that for sure
May 8, 200422 yr Author The only reason it would be considered is that we have several Monday's off in the next few weeks. I'm not sure it would happen either, but McKeon is old-school, so don't rule it out. San Diego was on a four man rotation at the beginning of the year, so it does happen for short stints.
May 8, 200422 yr The 4 man rotation could work because of the fact that it won't last long. Case in point, A.J. Burnett will be back soon and once he returns it will be a 5 man rotation once more. Oliver then goes to the pen, and we have another lefty in there to try and ease the pain we've been experiencing. Of course, this is all assuming he as another horrible outing, but either way, when Burnett comes back, he's going to the pen for sure anyways.
May 8, 200422 yr The four man rotation thing is, in my estimation, simply a message to Oliver that he'd better have straightened out his mechanical problem. It's not by accident he said this on the eve on Oliver's next start.
May 8, 200422 yr I think Oliver might actually pitch decent tonight because his job is on the line...gettin a good vibe. Four man rotation could work if they knew AJ would be back with in 2-3 weeks.
May 8, 200422 yr A four man rotation would be crippling to us if we were to go for a full year...of the staff, only Penny is a true "workhorse." Beckett has the uncanny ability to get finicky injuries, and Willis' workload increase is already looking like more than a 30 inning bump (something that has historically affected pitchers, read the article in last week's SI for some interesting insight if you don't believe me), and Pavano has always been an injury risk. I agree with the sentiment that this is more of a wakeup call to Oliver, but if this actually happens, I'll be surprised and worried... :confused
May 8, 200422 yr It wouldn't be a permanent thing, only until AJ got back. It would still be like the same rest, since there would be so many off days. LA started the season on a 4 man rotation because they didn't need a 5th starter until the middle of April.
May 8, 200422 yr Author DO will pitch well tonight I have that sense as well that Oliver will pitch better. PPS with it's deep alleys will hold more balls. Note I expect him to have a better game, but not necessarily an excellent game. Giving us a chance to win will be enough.
May 8, 200422 yr I personally don't think he is going to pitch well tonight. But the park will save him.
May 8, 200422 yr we might see a shootout tonight. valdez & oliver... keep tommy phelps close to the phone. seriously hopefully DO gets it together tonight. we don't expect shutouts from the guy, just keep the team in it.
May 8, 200422 yr I wouldnt mind a shootout tonight 21-8 Fish 21-8 huh? Sounds like doughnuts are in the bag (no pun intended)
May 8, 200422 yr Wow this sounds like something Mckeon would do, and I'm not really against it. But I do hope that DO can get it done tonight.
May 8, 200422 yr 4 man rotations haven't worked well the last few years (Blue Jays and Reds last seasons.) and you dont want to wear out your Arms now. Remember, I wouldn't panic, its the first week of May.
May 8, 200422 yr Not much to see here. McKeon is just hinting Oliver may skipped over. Beckett, Willis, Pavano and Penny will be pitching every 5th day as usual. I agree with Sham, four man rotations will be back soon. It only makes more sense to start your best four starters as often as possible. And pitchers claim shorter rest helps their command. The injury risk of pitching on short rest is unfounded and can be prevented with proper conditioning. Some studies that say it is actually overuse (pitch counts varrying from 100 to 113 pitches) can cause some pitchers to break down and be more susceptible to injury when they lose their mechanics.
May 9, 200422 yr guys you cant go to a four man rotation, its not in the best interest of the team. lets not forget Willis and his downhill slide in the second part of the season last year, that happened cuz he threw way too much, as for Beckett, he's never thrown more than 140 innings in any season, and you want them to pitch even more? i dont think so, we gotta stick with a fifth starter and it doesnt even have to be Oliver anyway, give a youngster a shot, it couldnt hurt.
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.