Protecting their Arms

quote:

Originally posted by Stats4Gnats:
Here’s a compilation of all the different state limits I put together a couple years back. The toughest are Vermont, and the least limiting are Texas, with literally no limits.

http://www.infosports.com/scor...images/pitlimits.pdf

Wow. I had no idea that the guidelines were so loose across almost every state. Generally, they basically allow pitchers to throw two complete games per week which encourages programs to rely heavily on one ace/horse, which exacerbates the problem. Unbelievable. At least here in CA, they limit to 10 innings per week, which basically requires two starters for programs who play two games per week and three starters for those who play three. This encourages development of more arms.

We operate our program on the safe side, maybe even to a fault. No P has thrown more than 51 innings in a season for us and we typically have five or six pitchers with double digit innings on the season.

quote:

Originally posted by cabbagedad:

quote:

Originally posted by Stats4Gnats:
Here’s a compilation of all the different state limits I put together a couple years back. The toughest are Vermont, and the least limiting are Texas, with literally no limits.

http://www.infosports.com/scor...images/pitlimits.pdf

Wow. I had no idea that the guidelines were so loose across almost every state. Generally, they basically allow pitchers to throw two complete games per week which encourages programs to rely heavily on one ace/horse, which exacerbates the problem. Unbelievable. At least here in CA, they limit to 10 innings per week, which basically requires two starters for programs who play two games per week and three starters for those who play three. This encourages development of more arms.

We operate our program on the safe side, maybe even to a fault. No P has thrown more than 51 innings in a season for us and we typically have five or six pitchers with double digit innings on the season.

Actually with Vermont rule a pitcher could pitch back to back games 3 innings each with no pitch count.
Being from Texas I don't know if I should be worried or proud of the Texas rule. Maybe everything is really bigger and better in Texas?

quote:

Originally posted by cabbagedad:
Wow. I had no idea that the guidelines were so loose across almost every state. Generally, they basically allow pitchers to throw two complete games per week which encourages programs to rely heavily on one ace/horse, which exacerbates the problem. Unbelievable. At least here in CA, they limit to 10 innings per week, which basically requires two starters for programs who play two games per week and three starters for those who play three. This encourages development of more arms.

We operate our program on the safe side, maybe even to a fault. No P has thrown more than 51 innings in a season for us and we typically have five or six pitchers with double digit innings on the season.

If you want to see real war, try suggesting that HSs go to pitch counts the way I have. What’s really sad is, nearly everyone agrees that pitch counts are a far better limitation than innings, but those same people will argue that it shouldn’t apply to HSs. The very same arguments and dire predictions that we all heard when LLI was instituting them, are used again, even though there’s more than ample proof that none of those arguments or dire predictions came true.

I agree that out here in LaLa land, our state assn. has done a pretty good job as far as pitching limitations, but leagues like ours have managed to even improve on that. As you said, because of the limits, pitcher development is almost mandatory with 3 game a week schedules being pretty much standard, trying to get 30 games into a basically 9 week season.

Our 6 team league has mandated that all league games, 3 against each league opponents, will be scheduled in the same calendar week. It would be possible for a team to get by on only 2 pitchers, but it wouldn’t be very likely. So really, coaches in our league have no choice. They have from the 6th of Feb to the 4th of Apr to get 3 starting pitchers ready for the final 5 weeks of the regular season and the playoffs.

quote:

Also, ibuprofen or Alieve is excellent for helping with blood circulation. My son takes one ibuprofen before every game he pitches. Check with you doctor before taking any medications.

Take note the the jury is out regarding the cost/benefits of taking NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflamtory drugs like ibuprofen, Aleve, etc.) before strenuous exercise (that is, prophylatically):

"...runners who’d popped over-the-counter ibuprofen pills before and during the race displayed significantly more inflammation and other markers of high immune system response afterward than the runners who hadn’t taken anti-inflammatories. The ibuprofen users also showed signs of mild kidney impairment and, both before and after the race, of low-level endotoxemia, a condition in which bacteria leak from the colon into the bloodstream....

“...there is no indication or rationale for the current prophylactic use of NSAIDs by athletes, and such ritual use represents misuse.

"When, then, are ibuprofen and other anti-inflammatory painkillers justified? “When you have inflammation and pain from an acute injury,” Warden says. “In that situation, NSAIDs are very effective.” But to take them “before every workout or match is a mistake.”

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/...g%20Exercise?&st=cse

Thanks for bringing that up Slotty.

An athletes goal is to be able to compete, without any type of medicine before or after competition.
Why not just do exercise before and after that would increase blood circulation?

Young pitchers (or for anyone) taking NSAIDS before an outing is not only poor practice, but could jeopardize and compromise his health later on.

JMO.

quote:

Originally posted by Stats4Gnats:
If you want to see real war, try suggesting that HSs go to pitch counts the way I have. What’s really sad is, nearly everyone agrees that pitch counts are a far better limitation than innings, but those same people will argue that it shouldn’t apply to HSs. ..

Of course, I agree that pitch count is more important than IP. But, I think one of the obstacles there is policing. IP is generally a visible stat that can be checked by officials and opponents. Far fewer officials or opponents are going to monitor pitch counts, nor are they as commonly publicly logged.
I seem to recall a few youth club tournaments (might have been LL?)where pitch counts were regulated and it sure slowed things down when SK's had to come to an agreeable number.

quote:

Originally posted by cabbagedad:
Of course, I agree that pitch count is more important than IP. But, I think one of the obstacles there is policing. IP is generally a visible stat that can be checked by officials and opponents. Far fewer officials or opponents are going to monitor pitch counts, nor are they as commonly publicly logged.
I seem to recall a few youth club tournaments (might have been LL?)where pitch counts were regulated and it sure slowed things down when SK's had to come to an agreeable number.

There’s all kinds of rationalizations as to why to not use pitch counts rather than innings, but they’ve pretty much all been disproved. While at one time it was more difficult to get a number for pitches than for innings, that simply isn’t true any longer. There is no NFHS “requirement” to log IPs. As far as I know, when there is any question, a coach is required to make his book available, and if necessary the opponent’s book too, if it’s the official book. But in over 10 years of SK’ing HS ball, no one has ever asked for the book, and no one has ever asked for any kind of “report”. And I should know because I’m the one who keeps the book with me. Its never in the coach’s control.

I agree that it could slow things down some in a tournament situation, but there’s really no reason that has to happen. There’s an official book for a reason. What that book shows is official. If someone wants to challenge it, they can, but until the official book is proved to be wrong, its always right. If I was an SK for a team where it made a difference and I wasn’t the OSK for a game, you can bet your butt I’d be checking after every half inning as a minimum.

Its only a matter of people being willing to do it. Anyone who wants to can look back into MaxPreps and see pitch counts for every one of our games since 2007.

I've been interested in the field of hypnosis and have used it on my son at times to block pain which has allowed him to pitch longer innings from one day to the next.
Our mind is a very powerful instrument that is underutilized. When we harness the untapped potential available in all of us we can do great things.

baseballexpert,

I am searching for clues that your comment is tongue-in-cheek, but don't find any. The mind is is a powerful instrument and hypnosis can do many things, but using it to enable a youth baseball player to pitch more innings than he would otherwise sounds wildly irresponsible. The pain is there for a reason, as a message from the body to the brain.

quote:

I've been interested in the field of hypnosis and have used it on my son at times to block pain which has allowed him to pitch longer innings from one day to the next.
Our mind is a very powerful instrument that is underutilized. When we harness the untapped potential available in all of us we can do great things.

Please tell me this was a joke?????

What do you get when you cross a Tradasaurus and TheUndiscovered?

quote:

Originally posted by baseballexpert:
I've been interested in the field of hypnosis and have used it on my son at times to block pain which has allowed him to pitch longer innings from one day to the next.
Our mind is a very powerful instrument that is underutilized. When we harness the untapped potential available in all of us we can do great things.

quote:

Originally posted by baseballexpert:
I've been interested in the field of hypnosis

haha, I have a feeling that you are going to hypnotize the old timers and send them into a boiling rage.

quote:

Our mind is a very powerful instrument

It can even cause a person to jump off a 50 story building.

and perhaps some should sit back and listen to the oldtimers and learn something

You're giving a troll the attention he craves. He would respond, but I heard he was already tossed. HIs IP address matched a recently deposed member.