Tuesday Morning Food For Thought: Heavy Workload Starting To Take Its Toll?

Tough go for Adam Warren and Dellin Betances last night.  They combined for 2 IP, 1 H, 4 BB, and only 1 strikeout from the top of the 6th to the top of the 8th.  Each of them failed to finish off the innings they started cleanly after getting 2 outs, and overall they allowed 5 of the 11 batters they faced to reach base.  Workload has been a big concern for these 2 for a while now, and in late June the signs of that heavy workload catching up to them started to show:

Warren May- 16.2 IP, 1.62 ERA, 1.78 FIP, 4 BB, 17 K
Warren June- 12.2 IP, 4.97 ERA, 3.41 FIP, 5 BB, 12 K

Betances May- 17.1 IP, 1.04 ERA, 0.96 FIP, 2 BB, 28 K
Betances June- 17.1 IP, 1.56 ERA, 1.60 FIP, 7 BB, 25 K

The splits aren't as drastic with Betances, but both he and Warren took a statistical step back in June from the complete and utter dominance they displayed in May.  There is the normalization factor to consider here as a grain of salt.  There was no way they were going to keep up May's level of performance for the rest of the season no matter what their workload was.  Joe's decision to be more judicious with how he uses them coupled with the change in eye test, however, suggests this is more than just a natural statistical regression.  Both guys have had to labor more in their recent appearances and their command has not been as spot on as it was earlier.  Their performance for the first few weeks of July is definitely something to keep an eye on.

Concern Over Tanaka's Workload?

(Courtesy of Getty Images/AsiaPac)

There's not much that can slow down the Masahiro Tanaka train now that the 30-day negotiation window has been opened.  He's young, he's strong, he's very good, and he's generally regarded as the hands down best starting pitcher available on the FA market this offseason.  If anything could, however, it could be a growing sense of concern over the workload already accumulated on Tanaka's arm.  Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports posted a story on this very topic yesterday, quoting multiple unnamed MLB front office personnel who expressed varying levels of concern about Tanaka's arm and the stress that's already been put on it.

When Does Boon Logan's Elbow Stop Being A "Minor" Issue?

(Courtesy of Reuters)

Two weeks ago, we read about Boone Logan walking around camp with his left arm wrapped after a short throwing session and got the dreaded "just being cautious" explanation from pitching coach Larry Rothschild.  I say "dreaded" because it's never good to know that a pitcher coming off a career high workload the previous season is feeling discomfort in his pitching arm the following spring, especially when the discomfort is in his elbow.

Logan has thrown a few side sessions here and there in the last two weeks, but has still yet to get into a game this spring.  Of the pitchers who expected to be ready for the start of the season, only four haven't pitched in a game yet.  Two of them (Mo and CC) are recovering from surgeries, one of them (Hughes) hurt himself early in camp, and the other is Logan, who hasn't been officially diagnosed with any injury to his left arm but according to Sweeny Murti is being "shut down for a few days" after going for an MRI on his sore elbow yesterday.

Scaled Back Spring For CC Could Be A Positive

(Always good to see the big fella on the mound.  Courtesy of the AP)

After what the team called a "scheduling error," CC Sabathia threw his first bullpen session of the spring on Saturday, really testing out his left elbow for the first time since offseason surgery to remove bone chips.  Sabathia said he felt good after the 29-pitch session, which was all fastballs and changeups, and commented on his desire to stay healthy for the full season this year, something that becomes a new goal for all players as they journey into their mid-30s.  Joe was also happy with CC's performance and gave a little bit of insight into what might be a more cautious team approach with CC this season when he announced that CC will be skipped the first time through the spring rotation.  This might come as a surprise and cause for concern for some, but if this is handled correctly it could be the perfect way to keep CC fresh.

Any Innings Concerns For 2013?

The 2013 New York Yankees starting rotation is set right now after yesterday's re-signing of Andy Pettitte was made official.  At worst, the rotation should be pretty good again next season and at best it could be very good if everybody stays healthy and a few things rebound from 2012.  Not to rain on anybody's parade or start to poke holes in this group, but it is worth pointing out that there will be a lot of workload questions tied to next year's rotation.

CC Sabathia- Coming off a season in which he had 2 separate stints on the DL, and already has plans being made to limit his innings/pitch count next season.

Hiroki Kuroda- Coming off a career high 235.2 IP between the regular and postseasons in 2012 at age 37.  Unknown how that extra work will carry over and affect him in 2013.

Pettitte- Pitched just 89 total Major League innings last season, and has pitched just 106 total innings in the last 2 calendar years.  Unknown how many innings he can pitch over a full season.

Phil Hughes- Coming off a career high 201 total IP between regular and postseasons in 2012 a year after pitching just 91 total innings and 2 years after pitching 192 total innings, and after years of being shuttled between starter and reliever.

The only guy in this group without innings concerns is Ivan Nova, who was the least effective starting pitcher in the rotation last season.  It's not time to raise the red flag on this or anything, just something to keep in mind going in ST next year.

I'm All For Reducing CC's Workload (If It's Done The Right Way)

(Nothing wrong with wanting to keep the big guy as healthy as possible.  Courtesy of Getty Images)

Pitching limits are a tricky thing.  People are either in support of them as a way to lessen the stress on a pitcher's arm and reduce risk of injury or vehemently against them because they don't allow a pitcher to build up the arm strength needed to make it through a full season without getting hurt, with very little gray area in between.  Typically these debates are had in reference to young pitchers making the transition to the Majors, but the Yankees stoked the debate fire last week when they brought up the idea of reducing the workload for their ace, CC Sabathia.  Sabathia is coming off a season dotted with DL stints that saw him pitch fewer regular season innings (200.0) and make fewer regular season starts (28) than he has since 2006, and is fresh off surgery to clean bone spurs out of his pitching elbow.  Not surprisingly, Sabathia stated last week that he was against the idea of limiting his workload moving forward, but there may be some merit to the idea.