Writing
I have always enjoyed writing. I add a bit of a creative, humorous flair to my writing to further engage the audience. For someone who used to be deathly afraid of making a fool out of myself in front of people, I now enjoy nothing more than gaining a following from my writing and expert opinions that I share on Twitter.
While at Assumption, I put my sports knowledge and writing abilities to good use. I worked with Sports Talk Productions, a company that I helped form with a few classmates. We produced a weekly sports talk television show as well as creating a website to further build the Sports Talk experience. I was a constant contributor to the website and was able to land a sports writing internship because of my writing abilities that I displayed on the Sports Talk website.
While most of my writing has mostly been independent projects for myself, I am now writing for fanspeak.com, CLNSRadio.com, and bostonmadness.com.
While at Assumption, I put my sports knowledge and writing abilities to good use. I worked with Sports Talk Productions, a company that I helped form with a few classmates. We produced a weekly sports talk television show as well as creating a website to further build the Sports Talk experience. I was a constant contributor to the website and was able to land a sports writing internship because of my writing abilities that I displayed on the Sports Talk website.
While most of my writing has mostly been independent projects for myself, I am now writing for fanspeak.com, CLNSRadio.com, and bostonmadness.com.
In addition to sports writing, I did a great deal of writing for school, including my history seminar research paper. The paper was entitled "Amerigo Vespucci and how his name appeared on the maps." Having spend the entire semester researching and writing this paper, it is something I am extremely proud of.
History Seminar Research Paper |
This One's For You Guys
This is probably my favorite piece I have ever written. I had just finished my senior year at Assumption and wanted to let everyone that I worked with at Sports Talk Productions know how much they meant to me and how great of a senior year they made for.
May 29, 2013
Every Thursday afternoon I would sit in a Testa science lab with my iPhone 5 in my lab binder texting Dan Murphy and Mike Uva trying to figure out when I would be out. Time was never actually an issue; I just always was worried it would be. I did not want to miss a second of it. Once I was finally set free I would hastily walk out of Testa, cut across the grass outside of Fuller, and up the stairs to the Media Center. Finally, I was in my element. I would walk in, change out of my sweatpants and Timberlands and put on my shirt and tie.
Sitting down at the computers, I’d look up all sorts of sports stories, stats, videos, basically anything in the sports world. I’d talk to Manny about anything and everything while Dan pulled his already graying hair out as Mike and co-host Devin Raeli make yet another mistake, as they are on their fourth take. “Aight, Manny, who you got the Patriots taking at 29 tonight” I’d ask friend and fellow sports enthusiast as we prepared for the show. The best part? We weren’t even talking about the draft that day. We did that segment the week before. “I dunno man, but that DeAndre Hopkins is nice. That boy can catch anything!” Manny would come back with. So naturally, we pull up a YouTube highlight reel of Hopkins. And so it began. Two hours later after we’ve gone through Hopkins, Robert Woods, Datone Jones and just about any other player you can think of, even offensive linemen, Dan walks into the room.
“Alright guys, roundtable, let’s go.” We hadn’t prepared a minute for the NBA/NHL themed segment with the exception of the few notes I had scribbled the night before. We didn’t even care. We could have sat there all night talking football. Luckily for us, Manny is our expert hockey analyst and didn’t need much research. He knew everything about assists!
“Welcome back to Sports Talk with Raeli and the U. Roundtable segment of NBA and NHL.” And just like that we’re in front of the camera, totally switching gears from football to basketball and hockey. And it was just as natural. It was four guys just sitting there having a great time talking sports while a fifth guy (Dan) sits behind the glass with all sorts of controls around as he complains about Uva to technical producer Pete Padula. Poor Pete. He never got put on the “Sports Talk Wall” in the Media Center. And when he finally got up there by drawing a stick figure of himself and tacking it up there, it was set on fire.
After a solid ten minute segment, we are off air and it doesn’t take two seconds before Manny and I start complaining about how we didn’t talk football and when we do, the roundtable is too short.
“AC Sports Update. Let’s go, everybody help set up!” yells Dan as he walks into the studio with a pen behind his ear clapping to make us hustle. As we begrudgingly oblige, we try to come up with a good signoff line for Manny. Oh did he ever signoff in a memorable way. Our first take ended after I totally blanked on who the Assumption baseball team had next on the schedule as the words “head over to the baseball field this weekend as Assumption plays the…uhhh…Pace and Dan can we cut” stumbled out of my mouth as Riggs was laughing so hard I don’t know how he was breathing. Oh but we all got the last laugh. After a solid discussion and news update in which we somewhat tore apart the baseball team, Manny ended by making sure students were focusing on their academics with a “stay motivated, Assumption” signoff. That phrase will be etched in his grave stone; I’ll make sure of it.
Sports Talk was some of the best times of senior year. Uva exclaiming “this is how you throw” as he tossed an intramural championship shirt, my intramural championship shirt, up into an light that could have set that shirt up in flames in seconds. Dan editing out half of the questions from “Ask the U” because they were wildly inappropriate. Dan doing his best Donald Trump impression as he fired Uva before, after, and during every episode and staff meeting. Devin and I going through the ESPN jobs listing to see what we were qualified to apply for.
The show took up a lot of time and required more effort than I thought it would. I may or may not have even skipped a class to interview new head football coach Bob Chesney. But you know what? It really wasn’t that much effort. It wasn’t effort because I would be looking up most of those stats anyway or reading up on the NFL Draft in my room instead of the Media Center. The guys I met on this show made it even better. Dan I didn’t meet on the show. I met him four years and countless Harry Potter jokes ago. Mike I didn’t know but knew him as the other kid in Sports Marketing with Professor Lewis that spoke up about everything we discussed in class. Turns out he’s a diehard Notre Dame Fightin’ Irish fan too. Devin I had never seen before in my life. I’m not even totally convinced he went to Assumption before I started doing Sports Talk. I ended up working with him on the roundtable every week. Before Sports Talk, Manny was the big dude who could knock anybody out with one punch. Now, I don’t think Manny would hurt a fly. The guy who I was texting during the draft predicting each pick to. And he’ll vouch for me, I nailed most of them. These guys became some of my best friends at Assumption and I’m going to miss them like hell. I’m going to miss doing Sports Talk every week. Just because I don’t go to Assumption anymore doesn’t mean that I’m not going to write for the site anymore, as you can tell. It may not even be the end of my appearances on Sports Talk. But nothing will compare to the senior year I had with these guys doing what we all love the most: sports.
So this is for you, boys. You made for one hell of a senior year. Continue Sports Talk and make it bigger and better next year. And to everyone else who is reading this and still at Assumption, I could not suggest something better to get involved in. Whether you’re the sports guy like I am or the technology nerd like Dan, I encourage you to make your way into the media center and find one of these guys. It won’t be an easy time. It’s a lot of work. But you’ll enjoy every second of it.
This is probably my favorite piece I have ever written. I had just finished my senior year at Assumption and wanted to let everyone that I worked with at Sports Talk Productions know how much they meant to me and how great of a senior year they made for.
May 29, 2013
Every Thursday afternoon I would sit in a Testa science lab with my iPhone 5 in my lab binder texting Dan Murphy and Mike Uva trying to figure out when I would be out. Time was never actually an issue; I just always was worried it would be. I did not want to miss a second of it. Once I was finally set free I would hastily walk out of Testa, cut across the grass outside of Fuller, and up the stairs to the Media Center. Finally, I was in my element. I would walk in, change out of my sweatpants and Timberlands and put on my shirt and tie.
Sitting down at the computers, I’d look up all sorts of sports stories, stats, videos, basically anything in the sports world. I’d talk to Manny about anything and everything while Dan pulled his already graying hair out as Mike and co-host Devin Raeli make yet another mistake, as they are on their fourth take. “Aight, Manny, who you got the Patriots taking at 29 tonight” I’d ask friend and fellow sports enthusiast as we prepared for the show. The best part? We weren’t even talking about the draft that day. We did that segment the week before. “I dunno man, but that DeAndre Hopkins is nice. That boy can catch anything!” Manny would come back with. So naturally, we pull up a YouTube highlight reel of Hopkins. And so it began. Two hours later after we’ve gone through Hopkins, Robert Woods, Datone Jones and just about any other player you can think of, even offensive linemen, Dan walks into the room.
“Alright guys, roundtable, let’s go.” We hadn’t prepared a minute for the NBA/NHL themed segment with the exception of the few notes I had scribbled the night before. We didn’t even care. We could have sat there all night talking football. Luckily for us, Manny is our expert hockey analyst and didn’t need much research. He knew everything about assists!
“Welcome back to Sports Talk with Raeli and the U. Roundtable segment of NBA and NHL.” And just like that we’re in front of the camera, totally switching gears from football to basketball and hockey. And it was just as natural. It was four guys just sitting there having a great time talking sports while a fifth guy (Dan) sits behind the glass with all sorts of controls around as he complains about Uva to technical producer Pete Padula. Poor Pete. He never got put on the “Sports Talk Wall” in the Media Center. And when he finally got up there by drawing a stick figure of himself and tacking it up there, it was set on fire.
After a solid ten minute segment, we are off air and it doesn’t take two seconds before Manny and I start complaining about how we didn’t talk football and when we do, the roundtable is too short.
“AC Sports Update. Let’s go, everybody help set up!” yells Dan as he walks into the studio with a pen behind his ear clapping to make us hustle. As we begrudgingly oblige, we try to come up with a good signoff line for Manny. Oh did he ever signoff in a memorable way. Our first take ended after I totally blanked on who the Assumption baseball team had next on the schedule as the words “head over to the baseball field this weekend as Assumption plays the…uhhh…Pace and Dan can we cut” stumbled out of my mouth as Riggs was laughing so hard I don’t know how he was breathing. Oh but we all got the last laugh. After a solid discussion and news update in which we somewhat tore apart the baseball team, Manny ended by making sure students were focusing on their academics with a “stay motivated, Assumption” signoff. That phrase will be etched in his grave stone; I’ll make sure of it.
Sports Talk was some of the best times of senior year. Uva exclaiming “this is how you throw” as he tossed an intramural championship shirt, my intramural championship shirt, up into an light that could have set that shirt up in flames in seconds. Dan editing out half of the questions from “Ask the U” because they were wildly inappropriate. Dan doing his best Donald Trump impression as he fired Uva before, after, and during every episode and staff meeting. Devin and I going through the ESPN jobs listing to see what we were qualified to apply for.
The show took up a lot of time and required more effort than I thought it would. I may or may not have even skipped a class to interview new head football coach Bob Chesney. But you know what? It really wasn’t that much effort. It wasn’t effort because I would be looking up most of those stats anyway or reading up on the NFL Draft in my room instead of the Media Center. The guys I met on this show made it even better. Dan I didn’t meet on the show. I met him four years and countless Harry Potter jokes ago. Mike I didn’t know but knew him as the other kid in Sports Marketing with Professor Lewis that spoke up about everything we discussed in class. Turns out he’s a diehard Notre Dame Fightin’ Irish fan too. Devin I had never seen before in my life. I’m not even totally convinced he went to Assumption before I started doing Sports Talk. I ended up working with him on the roundtable every week. Before Sports Talk, Manny was the big dude who could knock anybody out with one punch. Now, I don’t think Manny would hurt a fly. The guy who I was texting during the draft predicting each pick to. And he’ll vouch for me, I nailed most of them. These guys became some of my best friends at Assumption and I’m going to miss them like hell. I’m going to miss doing Sports Talk every week. Just because I don’t go to Assumption anymore doesn’t mean that I’m not going to write for the site anymore, as you can tell. It may not even be the end of my appearances on Sports Talk. But nothing will compare to the senior year I had with these guys doing what we all love the most: sports.
So this is for you, boys. You made for one hell of a senior year. Continue Sports Talk and make it bigger and better next year. And to everyone else who is reading this and still at Assumption, I could not suggest something better to get involved in. Whether you’re the sports guy like I am or the technology nerd like Dan, I encourage you to make your way into the media center and find one of these guys. It won’t be an easy time. It’s a lot of work. But you’ll enjoy every second of it.
Holiday Wish List for Every NFL Team
This was a fun piece to write. I highlighted a need on each NFL team with a Christmas spin to it.
December 19, 2013.
Arizona Cardinals - A Change of Division
The Arizona Cardinals are actually a decent football team. They have a very good defense and some pieces on offense that they can build around, most notably wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. However, they have the unfortunate duty of sharing a division with the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers. Both of these teams are young and already dominant. Barring any major injuries, these two teams should be atop the division most seasons. The Cardinals are a good team, but not on the level of the Seahawks and Niners. If they could switch divisions to, say the NFC East, they could be a playoff team.
Atlanta Falcons - A very persuasive front office to pry Tony Gonzalez back for another year
When healthy, the Falcons offense is one of the best in football. Matt Ryan. Julio Jones. Roddy White. Tony Gonzalez. Stephen Jackson. However, they have not been healthy at all and teams have been able to focus on Gonzalez and limit his production. If the Falcons can convince Gonzalez to play another year, he will have a typical Tony G season and produce for a playoff team. If they improve the defense (drastically), he could even have a shot at a ring.
Baltimore Ravens - A time machine to go back, not make Flacco the highest paid player in NFL history, and build a better all-around team
Since Flacco demanded to be the highest paid player in the league, the Ravens had to let most of their unrestricted free agents walk and had to trade Flacco’s number one receiver (Anquan Boldin) to the Niners. If they could do it over, would they give Flacco so much money? He is by no means worth it. Personally, I would not want a player who is more concerned with being the highest paid player in the league than building a well-rounded team on my team!
Buffalo Bills - A healthy backfield
I am not a big CJ Spiller fan. However, when he hits the open field, he is impossible to catch. Fred Jackson also continues to produce when he is healthy. If these guys are healthy, it will open up a lot for the Bills’ passing attack and let EJ Manuel develop as a passer in the league.
Carolina Panthers - A “haters gonna hate” shirt after Cam Newton actually panned out and many, including myself, were wrong
Thursday, December 19, 2013 at 7:55 PM. Samuel Joseph Pericolo admits to being wrong. It does not happen often but I admit it when I am. If I remember correctly, I said the Panthers should draft AJ Green first overall. Since nobody was there to throw to Green, they would again have the first pick and select Andrew Luck. While that would be an insane combination, Cam Newton and Luke Kuechly is not too bad itself. Newton has been a very good player and, while inconsistent at times, has proven he can play with the league’s best.
Chicago Bears - A contract offer for Cutler from another team that the Bears can’t top
The Bears do not want to bring Cutler back. Why would they? However, it would make them feel better if another team (Jacksonville) offers Cutler a massive contract that the Bears could not match.
Cincinnati Bengals - Consistency from Andy Dalton
I do believe Dalton can be a solid starter in the league. He will never be among the elite; however, if Joe Flacco can win a Super Bowl, so can Dalton. He just needs to be more consistent. He can throw five touchdowns one week, and then turn the ball over four times and throw no touchdowns the next week. (He actually did that this year.) I believe Gio Bernard, if they increase his touches, will help this offense become more consistent.
Since this is a very long article, you can read the rest here.
This was a fun piece to write. I highlighted a need on each NFL team with a Christmas spin to it.
December 19, 2013.
Arizona Cardinals - A Change of Division
The Arizona Cardinals are actually a decent football team. They have a very good defense and some pieces on offense that they can build around, most notably wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. However, they have the unfortunate duty of sharing a division with the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers. Both of these teams are young and already dominant. Barring any major injuries, these two teams should be atop the division most seasons. The Cardinals are a good team, but not on the level of the Seahawks and Niners. If they could switch divisions to, say the NFC East, they could be a playoff team.
Atlanta Falcons - A very persuasive front office to pry Tony Gonzalez back for another year
When healthy, the Falcons offense is one of the best in football. Matt Ryan. Julio Jones. Roddy White. Tony Gonzalez. Stephen Jackson. However, they have not been healthy at all and teams have been able to focus on Gonzalez and limit his production. If the Falcons can convince Gonzalez to play another year, he will have a typical Tony G season and produce for a playoff team. If they improve the defense (drastically), he could even have a shot at a ring.
Baltimore Ravens - A time machine to go back, not make Flacco the highest paid player in NFL history, and build a better all-around team
Since Flacco demanded to be the highest paid player in the league, the Ravens had to let most of their unrestricted free agents walk and had to trade Flacco’s number one receiver (Anquan Boldin) to the Niners. If they could do it over, would they give Flacco so much money? He is by no means worth it. Personally, I would not want a player who is more concerned with being the highest paid player in the league than building a well-rounded team on my team!
Buffalo Bills - A healthy backfield
I am not a big CJ Spiller fan. However, when he hits the open field, he is impossible to catch. Fred Jackson also continues to produce when he is healthy. If these guys are healthy, it will open up a lot for the Bills’ passing attack and let EJ Manuel develop as a passer in the league.
Carolina Panthers - A “haters gonna hate” shirt after Cam Newton actually panned out and many, including myself, were wrong
Thursday, December 19, 2013 at 7:55 PM. Samuel Joseph Pericolo admits to being wrong. It does not happen often but I admit it when I am. If I remember correctly, I said the Panthers should draft AJ Green first overall. Since nobody was there to throw to Green, they would again have the first pick and select Andrew Luck. While that would be an insane combination, Cam Newton and Luke Kuechly is not too bad itself. Newton has been a very good player and, while inconsistent at times, has proven he can play with the league’s best.
Chicago Bears - A contract offer for Cutler from another team that the Bears can’t top
The Bears do not want to bring Cutler back. Why would they? However, it would make them feel better if another team (Jacksonville) offers Cutler a massive contract that the Bears could not match.
Cincinnati Bengals - Consistency from Andy Dalton
I do believe Dalton can be a solid starter in the league. He will never be among the elite; however, if Joe Flacco can win a Super Bowl, so can Dalton. He just needs to be more consistent. He can throw five touchdowns one week, and then turn the ball over four times and throw no touchdowns the next week. (He actually did that this year.) I believe Gio Bernard, if they increase his touches, will help this offense become more consistent.
Since this is a very long article, you can read the rest here.
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of the Patriots Loss to Miami
I have recapped games in many different fashions. This is my most recent style of reviewing the previous game.
December 16, 2013
The Good
Julian Edelman stepped up as the go-to-guy for the Patriots with Rob Gronkowski out for the year. Edelman has had a phenomenal year, but hit career highs in receptions (13) and yards (139) while adding a touchdown to his stat line. Edelman has been Welker-esque this year. He has 89 catches for 914 yards and six touchdowns through 14 games. If Edelman can continue this kind of production, all Brady needs is a deep threat for the Patriots to become a potent offense again.
The Bad
The bad is that Julian Edelman was Tom Brady’s go-to-guy. He is a very good receiver and can be one of Brady’s favorite targets. That is all fine. However, they need more, as we saw in the final minute of the game. As good as Edelman and Danny Amendola have been, they are in need of a red zone target, somebody who can draw multiple defenders and either go up and make a catch in traffic, or pull the defenders away for receivers like Edelman and Amendola.
The Ugly
The fact that the Patriots had yet another game come down to the final minute of the game is just disgusting. It has happened far too many times recently. The worst part is that they almost pulled it off again. As much as I wanted to see a win, they deserved what they got. They cannot expect to have a game winning drive in the last minute of the game every week, especially against teams who are hungry for a victory to keep their playoff hopes alive. It finally caught up to them and if they want to have any chance of winning next week in Baltimore, they are going to have to do it before the final minutes of the game.
Ugly Fun Fact: The tallest wide receiver active for the Patriots on Sunday was Austin Collie. He is listed at 6’0”. (A generous number in my opinion.)
I have recapped games in many different fashions. This is my most recent style of reviewing the previous game.
December 16, 2013
The Good
Julian Edelman stepped up as the go-to-guy for the Patriots with Rob Gronkowski out for the year. Edelman has had a phenomenal year, but hit career highs in receptions (13) and yards (139) while adding a touchdown to his stat line. Edelman has been Welker-esque this year. He has 89 catches for 914 yards and six touchdowns through 14 games. If Edelman can continue this kind of production, all Brady needs is a deep threat for the Patriots to become a potent offense again.
The Bad
The bad is that Julian Edelman was Tom Brady’s go-to-guy. He is a very good receiver and can be one of Brady’s favorite targets. That is all fine. However, they need more, as we saw in the final minute of the game. As good as Edelman and Danny Amendola have been, they are in need of a red zone target, somebody who can draw multiple defenders and either go up and make a catch in traffic, or pull the defenders away for receivers like Edelman and Amendola.
The Ugly
The fact that the Patriots had yet another game come down to the final minute of the game is just disgusting. It has happened far too many times recently. The worst part is that they almost pulled it off again. As much as I wanted to see a win, they deserved what they got. They cannot expect to have a game winning drive in the last minute of the game every week, especially against teams who are hungry for a victory to keep their playoff hopes alive. It finally caught up to them and if they want to have any chance of winning next week in Baltimore, they are going to have to do it before the final minutes of the game.
Ugly Fun Fact: The tallest wide receiver active for the Patriots on Sunday was Austin Collie. He is listed at 6’0”. (A generous number in my opinion.)
What Grinds My Gears: Pitch Counts
I did a series of articles about aspects of sports that I am not a fan of and should be changed. There are still many "Grind My Gears" articles to come; I may love sports, but there is a lot wrong with them.
July 11, 2013.
On July 2, 1963, the greatest game ever pitched took place. The Milwaukee Braves and San Francisco Giants played 16 innings using only two pitchers in a 1-0 Giants win. Giants pitcher Juan Marichal got the win going 16 innings and striking out 10. Warren Spahn took the loss pitching 15.1 innings before giving up a home run to center fielder Willie Mays.
In 457 career starts, Marichal pitched 244 complete games. In 665 starts, Spahn pitched 382 complete games. Marichal pitched until he was 37 and Spahn pitched well into his 40s and won 23 games at 42 years old. Both have a plaque in Cooperstown. It's a shame. If they had been better managed they could have had longer careers...
A lot has changed since these two dueled it out 50 years ago. Such a feat will never happen again and the mere thought of it will lead to sleepless nights by statisticians like as Bill James .
Complete games are now a big deal. My fantasy team only has three, and one of them was a rain-shortened 6 inning game by Bronson Arroyo.
Complete games have become such a rarity because of the 100 pitch count. Why 100 pitches? Who knows. It is a even, round number but other than that it is just an arbitrary number. You cannot put all, or most, pitchers under the 100 pitch count watch because every pitcher works a different way. It is different for every pitcher. Some can continue to pitch well past 100 pitches. Some should be pulled.
The pitch count has been very damaging to baseball and its pitchers. While many pitching coaches, managers, and front office executive believe that they are saving young pitchers, or saving them for the playoffs, they are actually doing more harm than good.
Limiting pitchers is hurting them because they are not building up arm strength. Instead of letting pitchers go out to the mound and "pitch until he could no longer get anyone out or the game was over," pitchers are only going around six innings and not building up their arm strength. (A quality start is considered six innings, three runs. That is a 4.50 ERA. I see nothing "quality" about that.) Pitchers may not be tired and are being pulled from games. They may be pitching a gem, but they reached 100 pitches so get him out of there!
When pitch counts became most prominent in the 1990s, the number of arm-related injuries has skyrocketed. Tommy John Surgery, a serious operation for a pitcher, was a very rare occurrence since it was first performed in 1974. While still serious, it is now a very common procedure in baseball.
What has changed? It is the way pitchers are preparing themselves for games and the way they are limited to an arbitrary number of pitches per outing.
Another arbitrary number surfaced last year. Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg was returning from Tommy John Surgery last season and was vital in the Nationals pennant chase. However, they had plans to shut him down at 160 innings no matter what the circumstances. Confident that they would be back to the postseason most years with their young core of Strasburg and Bryce Harper, the Nationals continued to sit their star pitcher as they watched the Cardinals came into their building and beat them in a game 5 series clincher of the NLDS.
Where does it say that the year following Tommy John surgery that a pitcher should be limited to 160 innings? The Nationals took their spectacular 98 win season and their youth for granted and it could very well have cost them a World Series. They sit only three games above .500 this year.
Pitchers should be used to their full potential. They are looked at more as investments now. If executives are hesitant to let pitchers pitch deep into games because of the contract they are paying them, do not invest so much money into them. Contracts are getting out of hand, but that is a different story for a different day.
Pitch counts should truly be rethought. They clearly are not helping pitchers stay healthy and are not good for the game of baseball. Go back to the good ol' days when pitchers finished games and still pitched into their late 30s and even into their 40s. As David Biderman wrote in a 2010 Wall Street Journal article entitled "Who's Afraid of 100-Plus Pitches?" "there's no conclusive evidence that shows a correlation between throwing more and getting hurt." That, ladies and gentlemen, is what grinds my gears.
I did a series of articles about aspects of sports that I am not a fan of and should be changed. There are still many "Grind My Gears" articles to come; I may love sports, but there is a lot wrong with them.
July 11, 2013.
On July 2, 1963, the greatest game ever pitched took place. The Milwaukee Braves and San Francisco Giants played 16 innings using only two pitchers in a 1-0 Giants win. Giants pitcher Juan Marichal got the win going 16 innings and striking out 10. Warren Spahn took the loss pitching 15.1 innings before giving up a home run to center fielder Willie Mays.
In 457 career starts, Marichal pitched 244 complete games. In 665 starts, Spahn pitched 382 complete games. Marichal pitched until he was 37 and Spahn pitched well into his 40s and won 23 games at 42 years old. Both have a plaque in Cooperstown. It's a shame. If they had been better managed they could have had longer careers...
A lot has changed since these two dueled it out 50 years ago. Such a feat will never happen again and the mere thought of it will lead to sleepless nights by statisticians like as Bill James .
Complete games are now a big deal. My fantasy team only has three, and one of them was a rain-shortened 6 inning game by Bronson Arroyo.
Complete games have become such a rarity because of the 100 pitch count. Why 100 pitches? Who knows. It is a even, round number but other than that it is just an arbitrary number. You cannot put all, or most, pitchers under the 100 pitch count watch because every pitcher works a different way. It is different for every pitcher. Some can continue to pitch well past 100 pitches. Some should be pulled.
The pitch count has been very damaging to baseball and its pitchers. While many pitching coaches, managers, and front office executive believe that they are saving young pitchers, or saving them for the playoffs, they are actually doing more harm than good.
Limiting pitchers is hurting them because they are not building up arm strength. Instead of letting pitchers go out to the mound and "pitch until he could no longer get anyone out or the game was over," pitchers are only going around six innings and not building up their arm strength. (A quality start is considered six innings, three runs. That is a 4.50 ERA. I see nothing "quality" about that.) Pitchers may not be tired and are being pulled from games. They may be pitching a gem, but they reached 100 pitches so get him out of there!
When pitch counts became most prominent in the 1990s, the number of arm-related injuries has skyrocketed. Tommy John Surgery, a serious operation for a pitcher, was a very rare occurrence since it was first performed in 1974. While still serious, it is now a very common procedure in baseball.
What has changed? It is the way pitchers are preparing themselves for games and the way they are limited to an arbitrary number of pitches per outing.
Another arbitrary number surfaced last year. Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg was returning from Tommy John Surgery last season and was vital in the Nationals pennant chase. However, they had plans to shut him down at 160 innings no matter what the circumstances. Confident that they would be back to the postseason most years with their young core of Strasburg and Bryce Harper, the Nationals continued to sit their star pitcher as they watched the Cardinals came into their building and beat them in a game 5 series clincher of the NLDS.
Where does it say that the year following Tommy John surgery that a pitcher should be limited to 160 innings? The Nationals took their spectacular 98 win season and their youth for granted and it could very well have cost them a World Series. They sit only three games above .500 this year.
Pitchers should be used to their full potential. They are looked at more as investments now. If executives are hesitant to let pitchers pitch deep into games because of the contract they are paying them, do not invest so much money into them. Contracts are getting out of hand, but that is a different story for a different day.
Pitch counts should truly be rethought. They clearly are not helping pitchers stay healthy and are not good for the game of baseball. Go back to the good ol' days when pitchers finished games and still pitched into their late 30s and even into their 40s. As David Biderman wrote in a 2010 Wall Street Journal article entitled "Who's Afraid of 100-Plus Pitches?" "there's no conclusive evidence that shows a correlation between throwing more and getting hurt." That, ladies and gentlemen, is what grinds my gears.
For more writing samples, visit my page on the Sports Talk Productions website. Also, feel free to contact me for more writing samples; I have plenty saved!