April 20, 200521 yr Here's another article from espn.com about Jack's and Wiley's pitching philosophy: Nine games into the season, the Marlins had more complete games -- four -- than 10 teams had last season. Somewhere, Old Hoss Radbourn, who made 503 starts and completed 489 of them, is happy. So is the great Warren Spahn, who had nearly as many complete games after turning 40 as Curt Schilling, one of the workhorses of today, has in his career. Complete games is the pitching statistic that perhaps has changed the most over the last 30 years, not to mention the last 100. The Marlins became the first team since the 1981 Dodgers to throw five complete games in their first 12 games. Through the first two weeks of the season, there were 14 complete games, four percent of all starts. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that's the highest rate in a corresponding number of games since 1994, when 4.7 percent of games were complete games. In 1975, however, it was 29 percent. Mark Wiley Getty Mark Wiley, center, won't obsess with pitch counts in his first season as a Marlins' coach. "Why not?" Marlins manager Jack McKeon said of the complete games. "Why not let them throw 100 pitches? Why not 120? These guys have great stuff. You deflate them when you take them out. We don't challenge guys to go nine. Let them do it like the old-timers." Josh Beckett (age 24), A.J. Burnett (28) and Dontrelle Willis (23) are young, strong and willing. Plus, they've been very efficient with their pitch counts; none threw more than 114 pitches in any complete game the first two weeks of the season. "We count them (pitches), but we try not to be too concerned with the number," said Marlins pitching coach Mark Wiley. "I go more on my gut, from what I know from watching pitchers my whole life. You have to have the right guys, and we do. "We're talking about one guy (Willis) who is 6-4, 245. Another (Beckett) is 6-5. Come on, let's be real here. We're not talking about Nolan Ryan here throwing 165 pitches per start. We're talking about 114 pitches; you've got to be able to do that. We're talking about every five days ... five days!" This spring, Wiley reminded his young starters they don't need maximum effort on every pitch, urging them to throw more fastballs and rely on the Marlins' terrific defense. "I don't think you get hurt throwing fastballs," said Wiley. "Those three guys throw a lot of fastballs. I've never seen anyone throw with the velocity and with the ease of A.J." Old-time pitchers such as Bob Feller and Early Wynn said they strengthened their arms by throwing more. But when a team drafts a pitcher today, especially a good one, it protects him immediately, starting with low pitch counts. It is wise philosophy, in a way; there are all sorts of studies about how overworking a young pitcher can significantly shorten his career. So, owners, general managers and agents are very careful with their best arms. Last year, Johan Santana, the Cy Young winner in the American League, didn't throw more than 113 pitches in any game. Jason Schmidt led the major leagues in pitches per start with 112.7. "It comes from the top," said McKeon. "When a guy hurts his arm, it (too many pitches) is the reason why the guy gets hurt. It's inactivity and bad mechanics, not the number of pitches. (Former major league pitcher) Johnny Sain was my pitching coach (one of the best ever) in Richmond in 1977. He said it best: There is a greater chance of getting hurt with less activity than with more activity. He wanted 40 starts. He wanted two, three days rest." Spahn, one of the most durable pitchers of all time, routinely pitched batting practice between starts. He occasionally worked in relief between starts. He finished his brilliant career with 382 complete games. Pedro Martinez has pitched in 391 games in his career. "Our guys have been very economical," said McKeon. "They're not trying to strike everyone out. I asked Burnett after the Met game, 'how many guys did you strike out?' He said five. I said, 'How did you do? Pretty well, right?' If he had 15 strikeouts, he might have been out in the sixth or seventh inning. But it hasn't happened here this year." Beckett, Willis and Burnett enjoy going the distance. They don't think it's a big deal to do so in April. Beckett shrugged his shoulders and said, "That's what we're supposed to do." Tim Kurkjian is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine and a regular contributor to Baseball Tonight. link
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