Sportsnet.ca: R.A. Dickey may be dealing with fatigue

polo007 · Post #1 » by **polo007** » Tue Jul 16, 2013 4:22 pm

http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/te ... h-fatigue/

NEW YORK – Terry Collins has kept an eye on R.A. Dickey from a distance and the New York Mets manager has a theory on why his former ace has had so many ups and downs this season.

“If you take into consideration all the innings he pitched last year, he might be a little fatigued, and it might take a while for his arm-strength to totally come back,” Collins said Monday. “That’s a workload he put in, and sometimes the next year guys see a drop in (velocity).”

Dickey – 8-10 with a 4.69 earned-run average in 20 starts for the Toronto Blue Jays – logged 233.2 innings during his National League Cy Young campaign in 2012, following seasons of 174.1 innings in ’10 and 208.2 frames in ’11.

Compounding matters for Dickey this year was an injury between his back and neck which sapped some of his velocity. While he managed to throw through the pain, on average his pitches have been two m.p.h. slower than in 2012, scaling back the wicked movement that made his knuckleball so unhittable.

Whatever the issue, Collins knows from experience that Dickey will work relentlessly to find a solution. That’s what happened in New York, and while Mets pitching coach Danny Warthen did what he could to familiarize himself with the knuckleball, when it comes to adjustments, “R.A. did a lot of it on his own.”

KobeDwightPau · Post #2 » by **KobeDwightPau** » Wed Jul 17, 2013 12:39 am

he looks like a naturally out of shape guy

kwamebargnani · Post #3 » by **kwamebargnani** » Sat Jul 20, 2013 1:43 am

excuses

galacticos2 · Post #4 » by **galacticos2** » Sat Jul 20, 2013 2:49 am

kwamebargnani wrote:excuses

We as a forum should not post opinion pieces from Sportsnet.ca. Just mouthpiece garbage from Rogers. Matter of fact, that goes for all sports in the city. Can never get an honest perspective.

Yosemite Dan · Post #5 » by **Yosemite Dan** » Sat Jul 20, 2013 4:26 pm

kwamebargnani wrote:excuses

So true, I've never seen so many excuses made about a pitcher and by the pitcher himself in half a season but this latest one is hilarious. One of the many things the Jays were bragging about Dickey initially, after giving up so much for him, was that he's a knuckleballer so he can pitch lots of innings. At this point you might as well call him R.A. Bargnani because the excuses made this year for Dickey are very similar to pasta boy.

BigLeagueChew · Post #6 » by **BigLeagueChew** » Sat Jul 20, 2013 4:31 pm

Yosemite Dan wrote:
So true, I've never seen so many excuses made about a pitcher and by the pitcher himself in half a season but this latest one is hilarious. One of the many things the Jays were bragging about Dickey initially, after giving up so much for him, was that he's a knuckleballer so he can pitch lots of innings.

Which is what has happened. He leads the Jays in Innings pitched.

Yosemite Dan · Post #7 » by **Yosemite Dan** » Sat Jul 20, 2013 4:47 pm

BigLeagueChew wrote:
Yosemite Dan wrote:
So true, I've never seen so many excuses made about a pitcher and by the pitcher himself in half a season but this latest one is hilarious. One of the many things the Jays were bragging about Dickey initially, after giving up so much for him, was that he's a knuckleballer so he can pitch lots of innings.

Which is what has happened. He leads the Jays in Innings pitched.

And by doing that he apparently is fatigued and his performance had been affected so what was the point of giving up 2 prize prospects for him if he can't handle pitching 200 innings? Having a knuckleballer was supposed to mean he could pitch lots of innings without it affecting his performance and pitch into his 40's. At least that's what all the Jay nuthuggers here were spewing when we made this idiotic trade.

kwamebargnani · Post #8 » by **kwamebargnani** » Sat Jul 20, 2013 10:29 pm

BigLeagueChew wrote:
Yosemite Dan wrote:
So true, I've never seen so many excuses made about a pitcher and by the pitcher himself in half a season but this latest one is hilarious. One of the many things the Jays were bragging about Dickey initially, after giving up so much for him, was that he's a knuckleballer so he can pitch lots of innings.

Which is what has happened. He leads the Jays in Innings pitched.

That's not saying much tho. Johnson, Morrow, Happ barely pitched, Romero is crap and his only competition is Mark freakin Buehrle.

Post #9 » by **Schad** » Sat Jul 20, 2013 11:01 pm

Schadnet.ca: R.A. Dickey may be dealing with old.

sule · Post #10 » by **sule** » Sun Jul 21, 2013 5:59 am

Why are they talking about his arm? He's a knuckleballer. He can pretty much lob the pitch.

Raps in 4 · Post #11 » by **Raps in 4** » Sun Jul 21, 2013 4:51 pm

He's dealing with age-related decline. Where are all the people now that said knuckleballers can pitch at a high level into their mid 40s?

Post #12 » by **Schad** » Sun Jul 21, 2013 10:52 pm

Raps in 4 wrote:He's dealing with age-related decline. Where are all the people now that said knuckleballers can pitch at a high level into their mid 40s?

Knuckleballers can, often. With Dickey, the question has been whether his aging curve would be more like a typical knuckleballer who floats one up at 65 MPH, or closer to a traditional pitcher given that his knuckler is thrown with some force. The book isn't completely closed on that question, but the fact that he's dealing with issues typically related to age and innings suggest that he isn't going to have the longevity of a Niekro or Hough.