Yankees: Will they eventually replace starting pitching altogether?

Fighting the Riptide – Starting Pitchers

Hurdles? You betcha, and the first chorus of boos will come from the starting pitchers, whose value (I.E. $) to the team is measured by wins and losses. And at one time, we used to start fires by rubbing two stones together.

Baseball is already adapting to the presence of relief pitching in the game, and it is paying accordingly. $86 million for the services of Chapman, after all, is not chump change, and that trend is continuing. Middle relievers will win big, but maybe it’s about time they did.

But when you can make the argument to starting pitchers that their careers will last longer and the opportunity for injury will lessen, and both will add more to the dollars in their pockets, they should, at least, be willing to listen.

And besides, have you ever wondered why a starting pitcher can zip through three innings mowing batter after batter down? And then all of a sudden they “lose it”?

I have, and if I were a starting pitcher, I’d jump at the chance to throw my best slider to a batter once, instead of at least twice and maybe three times as the batting order turns over, and I’m facing the same guy with my same pitches that he’s seen before.