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Written by Maury Brown
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Sunday, 11 May 2008 13:54 |
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 This afternoon’s “Sunday MLB on TBS” was postponed due to rain. During the delay, Chip Caray and Ron Darling discussed some developing storylines in MLB.
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New York Yankees @ Detroit Tigers (Postponed due to rain)
Game announcers: Chip Caray and Ron Darling
Darling on the Yankees attempt at a youth movement: “The Yankees are the type of team that always seem to get what they want in the off-season. They decided to evaluate their talent differently this (past) year, decided not to go after (starting pitcher Johan) Santana and instead (they) went with two young pitchers. Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy have really been a flop.”
Darling on the AL West division race: “Seattle has had pretty good pitching but they haven’t had any kind of hitting. Oakland has been a surprise team and the Angels are a juggernaut in that AL West (division).”
Darling on the Oakland A’s: “(The Oakland A’s) have been unbelievable. When you think about it, they made the trade (involving starting pitcher) Danny Haren (to the Diamondbacks), just another trade where (the A’s) have gotten rid of one of their great pitchers. (Oakland GM Billy Beane) got Greg Smith and Dana Eveland back (in exchange for Haren), they are both in the rotation. (The A’s) are so good that when Rich Harden comes back (from injury), Chad Gaudin will go back to the bullpen. Billy Beane has done an amazing job.”
Darling on the surprising Florida Marlins: “When you think of Florida, they’ve made the most errors in the league and that’s after having the most errors last season. (Manager) Fredi Gonzalez wants them to play a little better (defensively). I think the key for Florida is they just hit, Dan Uggla is unbelievable, (Hanley) Ramirez and (Mike) Jacobs. They lost (Miguel) Cabrera (traded to Detroit) and Mike Jacobs said it nicely, ‘It takes more than one person to make a team.’ Florida is proving that.”
Darling on the St. Louis Cardinals leading the NL Central: “(The St. Louis Cardinals) are getting great pitching, not only from their starters but from their relievers. They are getting just enough hitting. They are one of those teams, like the Minnesota Twins, that play really good baseball. They catch the ball and they play really fundamental baseball. I think that is why they are on top (of the NL Central).”
Darling on the Houston Astros: “(The Houston Astros) have arguably one of the best middle of the lineups, lead by Carlos Lee. It’s going to be interesting as the season goes along, if (Astros ace pitcher Roy) Oswalt gets hot, he’s one of those starting pitchers that can really carry a team.”
Darling on how importance of how teams utilize their bullpens: “In baseball, the recipe for success seems to be that baseball has decided to use the ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth pitcher (on the staff) in the sixth and seventh inning. It’s tough to get those outs when you are only leading by one or two runs. Those pitchers who can go two innings (in relief) have become so valuable.”
Darling on how young starting pitchers are “under-trained”: “A starting pitcher in baseball is the only (position) that you under-train for. You go to the minor leagues and you can’t throw more than 85 pitches and you can’t throw more than 35 (pitches) in an inning. Games now, you need to be able to throw 120-130 pitches, (starting pitchers) aren’t allowed to do that. Right now, that’s not going to change. Until you get an organization that says, ‘We can’t treat all pitchers the same’ (it’s not going to change). Sometimes you have a Clydesdale and sometimes you have a sprinter. I think (teams) are going to have to treat their pitchers accordingly.” Source: TBS
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