9
2012
On Second Thought, Dickey Will Not Be Used On Short Rest
An article by 
Updated Post 8/9
According to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, Terry Collins said he no longer plans to use R.A. Dickey on short rest through the remainder of the season.
Collins intends to use Jeremy Hefner in the rotation if he needs to give a starting pitcher extra rest, but will continue to use Dickey in his normal turn through the rotation.
Updated Post 8/3
Terry Collins told reporters before the game that he does not intend to use R.A. Dickey on short rest through the next couple turns in the rotation because of how the schedule works out with off days. But he did say they will likely be making that adjustment soon to give the other pitchers five days rest instead of four and using Dickey to fill in the gaps.
Collins said he won’t give any starters more than five days rest and it that were to happen, then that pitcher could just get skipped in the rotation and be used out of the bullpen temporarily.
Looks like they are going through with this…
Updated by HoJo
Original Post 8/2
Before yesterday’s game, Mets manager Terry Collins announced that he would be using R.A. Dickey on short rest at some point during the remainder of the season.
He didn’t say exactly when, but he said it would happen.
The idea of pitching Dickey on short rest came about based on his great success this year, his ability to bounce back quickly between starts and the fact that the Mets have had injuries to their starting rotation.
Collins finally gave in to all the speculation. Let’s see how short rest will affect Dickey, as he attempts to become the first Mets pitcher since Frank Viola in 1990 to win 20 games.
What do we all think of Collins’ decision to start Dickey on short rest?
There are of course pros and cons to each side. Short rest would give Dickey more starts in his quest for 20 wins as well as give injury-prone pitchers Chris Young and Johan Santana (when he returns from the disabled list) extra rest between starts.
However, he would also have an increased workload — something, even at age 37, that he hasn’t experienced in the big leagues.
I’m a proponent of short rest for Dickey. He’s having a miracle season, and I’d like to see him get the opportunity to compete for a Cy Young. The more times he’s out there, the better chance he’ll have to rack up victories.
Before we completely give up on the season, the Mets are a hot streak away from getting right back in the race. With Dickey going every fourth day, it increases the team’s chances of winning.
I’m interested to see how this plays out. As long as the team is able notice signs of fatigue before they affect Dickey long-term, short rest it is!
Please voice your thoughts below.
About the Author: Jim Mancari
Jim Mancari hails from Massapequa, N.Y. He recently earned a Master's degree in Journalism at Hofstra University. He is a devout Mets fan and takes pride in his team, despite their lack of success over the last few years. Like all Mets fans, Jim has plenty of hope. He also writes as the sports reporter for the Brooklyn Tablet newspaper and the senior editor of metroBASEBALL Magazine. Click my name to view my personal website.
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Meh, not breaking new ground here. Dickey’s gone on short rest before and 4 man rotations used to be the norm.
It was 4-man rotations that had pitchers logging 275+ innings per season and led to short careers and more injuries. I think it’s a bad idea. I think it’s a worse idea for Dickey who isn’t a spring chicken. This could backfire in a huge way and ruin our 1013 season. Just because Dickey has a bionic elbow, that doesn’t mean his shoulder could handle the extra workload and shorter period of rest.
Actually when baseball had 4-man rotations there were less injuries and more pitchers having dominating seasons, fighting out of trouble, and the games were shorter because pitchers were staying in the game and was less use for journeyman pitchers – which is what they now refer to as long men.
When baseball had 4-man rotations it was a better, smarter, and more competitive game with less injuries. That being said i do not want RA Dickey to be going every 4th day here. Maybe Sandy doesn’t care because he’s not going to re-sign RA DIckey anyway so may as well use him up and decrease his value going forward this way it won’t look as bad when RA leaves because Alderson is so cheap.
I think the last team to incorporate a 4 man rotations with a spot 5th starter was the Braves in 1993
It is hard to say one way or the other if players were injured more often because now we have more ways of diagnosing injuries and players are no longer property of the teams, so their career is no longer in danger by admitting their elbow is sore.
“That being said i do not want RA Dickey to be going every 4th day here. Maybe Sandy doesn’t care because he’s not going to re-sign RA DIckey anyway so may as well use him up and decrease his value going forward this way it won’t look as bad when RA leaves because Alderson is so cheap.”
That completely contradicts everything you said.
“I think the last team to incorporate a 4 man rotations with a spot 5th starter was the Braves in 1993″
I think the Royals of the mid 90s used a 4 man rotation for a little while.
That was in 1995, I think, but only for a bit. Boone scrapped it in the second half. How’s Colorado doing with theirs? I think they’re still going strong with it.
Colorado is doing it because they all suck. They aren’t even really worried about letting their starters go 5. They seemed to have gone too far in the opposite direction and abandoned any concept of roles.
In other news, the Angels and Rangers are at it again.
Not saying going full bore. You can still maintain pitch counts and use a spot starter if someone gets tired.
Think of it this way: Most 5th starters aren’t very good and are a bad week away from pitching in Japan. A 4 man rotation gives you 7 or 8 more starts from better pitchers plus an extra spot on the roster. Use that for a swingman to rest the arms.
No.
No. Not if the plan is to go on 4 days rest from here on out.
Doing it a couple of times is O.K.
They want to take the oldest SP and pitch him on 4 days rest the rest of the way? He might not be in danger of TJ but everything else from legs to shoulders to oblique is 37 years old.
When/if Johan returns just stick Hefner in the BP and use him for spot starts.
Dickey’s arm may be up to the challenge, but I’m more worried about his 37-year-old body. What’s the point if they’re not in the race? To give Young & Santana’s reconstructed shoulders a little extra rest? Give Hefner a spot start then. To me it’s just an example of creating unnecessary complications. Why disrupt the routines of the young guys, Niese & Harvey? In short, thumbs down
No for all the reasons stated here and some that weren’t. Bad decision.
No.
The 4 man rotation is a MYTH. Largely, teams have always had 4 main starters and a carousel of guys trying to fill the 5th slot.
Examples:
1969 Mets http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NYM/1969.shtml
Look at the GS stats, even on this historically great pitching team!
In this 162 game season, a 4 man rotation would mean 40 starts each. NO ONE made 40 starts.
Seaver: 35 starts
Koosman: 32
Gentry: 35
Cardwel: 21
McAndrew: 21
Ryan: 10
McGraw: 4
DiLauro: 4
How about the ’73 Mets? http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NYM/1973.shtml
Similar: Seaver, Koosman, Matlack, Stone but then we have 6 players combining for 24 starts. Sounds like a modern 5 day staff to me.
The 2000 Mets 5th starter Bobby Jones made 27 starts. Very similar to 24 starts by the “non-existent” 5th starter in 1973. Staff ace Mike Hampton made 33 starts. Hmm… looks similar to Seaver’s 35 starts in ’69.
Lest you think I’m not going back far enough…
1927 Yankees http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NYY/1927.shtml
In an era of 154 games, 5 starters made 21 or more starts. Another 3 guys combined for 23 starts.
The difference in pitching today is that the great pitchers aren’t allowed to FINISH their games. We have more middle relief and so-called specialists. Or as I call them, guys who are too sucky to pitch a full inning.
Basically, the great pitchers have always been able to pitch two to three hundred innings per year. And that type of pitcher has always been hard to find! Plus remember, if you’re on a good team, you will pitch many more playoff innings than in days of yore.
So Dickey putting out there every 4th day from here on out would get him to about 35 starts for the season.
That is all.
my jokes: http://www.twitter.com/hogwild
Is that because there was an actual 5th spot in the rotation or because teams would use a spot starter if a regular was dinged up or looking tired?
I don’t really see the point to doing this right now.
The issue isn’t Dickey’s ability as much as it is the affect on the rest of the rotation.
Santana is supposedly coming back soon and we have already seen what happens to him when you mess with his schedule!
I don’t see the point in this either. I thought Dickey had a say in the decision and
didn’t he say he did not want to do this?
Sounds like they are saying they are going to use him up this season because they have no intention of going after him in the offseason…or they are hoping he gets tired and hit hard so his asking price will be more in the Mets’ ballpark. Why else would a team 8.5 GB of a playoff spot do this with their Cy Young candidate?
There is a team option for next season. It is in their best interest to keep him healthy.
Just because RA is going every 4 days, does NOT mean there is now a 4-man rotation. All it means is that RA will pitching more often, at the expense of the other guys in the rotation.
Given Niese’s propensity to wear down, Johan and Young’s shoulder and Harvey being on an inning’s limit, it makes perfect sense.
Oh and if guys didn’t know RA throws a knuckleball so less need for rest. I think it’s a fantastic idea…
Back then you had DH before owner figured they could make more money by charging for single games.:)
So you only need 4 starters, 2 for Sunday plus extra “long” man “journey” man on team for long stretches of games.
Don’t he remember what happened to No Han after his no hitter and the “extra” rest because of 10-15 extra pitches? This really hurt No Han, apart from the media crush over the 1st Mets no hitter.
Bad idea and am surprised by this, if it is coming from TC, cause he doesn’t seem the type to panic to try to rescue this season or is he trying to look good for an extension after this season?
Bad, Bad idea; did I say Bad Idea?
B
the extra rest is a bunch of garbage. Santana’s fastball is very hitable now that it’s only 88 mph and he tends to groove it over the middle. Not a good combination. Combine that with a bad command and it makes his change-up much less of a threat.
Totally Off Topic: But so funny.
Umpire ejects sound guy between innings for playing 3 blind mice over the speakers. LMAO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hS0GrJoBBzs
One more idiotic idea by a team run by and owned by idiots.Just watched Thole screw up an out at home plate when the throw beat the runner by 20 feet.Thole looked so afraid to get hit at the plate that the minute the runner made contact this clown dropped the ball.Not to mention that Hairston should have caught the ball in right center to begin with.What an awful team.Maybe Dickey can catch in between starts also.Can not be much worse than Thole who is one of the worst offensive and defensive catchers ever to wear a met uniform.
Before you say that, remember that Jason Phillips came up as a catcher! Also, remember Mackey “Yips” Sasser that couldn’t throw to 2B without double or triple pumping?
Figures!