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Post by amfox1 on Jun 3, 2015 8:44:54 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier 3s3 seconds ago Brian Johnson's been scratched from his start for the PawSox, replaced by Miguel Celestino. Appears a callup for Johnson may be imminent.
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Post by Chris Hatfield on Jun 3, 2015 8:47:43 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier 3s3 seconds ago Brian Johnson's been scratched from his start for the PawSox, replaced by Miguel Celestino. Appears a callup for Johnson may be imminent. Whoa. K then.
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Post by soxfan2015 on Jun 3, 2015 8:49:59 GMT -5
Who's spot would Johnson take?
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Post by amfox1 on Jun 3, 2015 8:49:56 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier 42s43 seconds ago Clarification: Brian Johnson NOT getting called up.skipped due to workload.
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Post by jrffam05 on Jun 3, 2015 8:59:22 GMT -5
Is this normal? They also pulled him out of his last game with 70-something pitches and a perfecto.
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Post by Chris Hatfield on Jun 3, 2015 9:02:10 GMT -5
Is this normal? They also pulled him out of his last game with 70-something pitches and a perfecto. They've skipped a number of starters recently to manage workload - Kopech, Ball, Stankiewicz, Cuevas come to mind, although I'm sure there have been others I'm not thinking of. At this time of year, it's normal for them. Now, the weird thing is that those pitchers aren't still in the team's pitching probables the day before. To me, this telegraphs that they might be hoping he's pitching for them in September, so they're managing his workload now so that he's not wasting bullets in May/June in Triple-A/
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Post by James Dunne on Jun 3, 2015 9:23:46 GMT -5
Is this normal? They also pulled him out of his last game with 70-something pitches and a perfecto. They've skipped a number of starters recently to manage workload - Kopech, Ball, Stankiewicz, Cuevas come to mind, although I'm sure there have been others I'm not thinking of. At this time of year, it's normal for them. Now, the weird thing is that those pitchers aren't still in the team's pitching probables the day before. To me, this telegraphs that they might be hoping he's pitching for them in September, so they're managing his workload now so that he's not wasting bullets in May/June in Triple-A/ Good call. Johnson threw only 143 innings last year, and that was the most of his career by a good amount. And that was a fairly light 143 - he faced only 561 batters. He's already to 55 1/3 innings and 219 BF this year.
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radiohix
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'At the end of the day, we bang. We bang. We're going to swing.' Alex Verdugo
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Post by radiohix on Jun 3, 2015 9:53:28 GMT -5
Eduardo Rodriguez is 22 and has pitched 140 innings last year. B. Johnson is 24 and pitched 143 innings (with a big jump in IP from 2013)...At a certain point and if E-Rod remains with the big club, they're going to to shut him down when he reaches his innings limit (170-180?) or they move him to the bullpen (David Price type of role)? Still early but I've been curious on how they're going to handle this since they gave E-Rod the call.
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Post by jimed14 on Jun 3, 2015 10:11:53 GMT -5
It looks like they're maybe trying to save Johnson for September. How many innings do people think Rodriguez could pitch this year? It's hard to figure out because he threw more innings in 2013 than 2014 because of I assume an injury.
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Post by cologneredsox on Jun 3, 2015 10:14:49 GMT -5
It looks like they're maybe trying to save Johnson for September. How many innings do people think Rodriguez could pitch this year? It's hard to figure out because he threw more innings in 2013 than 2014 because of I assume an injury. That's what I was thinking. Would be a bummer if they change Erod after hitting his cap with Johnson, but we'll see.
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Post by Chris Hatfield on Jun 3, 2015 10:41:50 GMT -5
Eduardo Rodriguez is 22 and has pitched 140 innings last year. B. Johnson is 24 and pitched 143 innings (with a big jump in IP from 2013)...At a certain point and if E-Rod remains with the big club, they're going to to shut him down when he reaches his innings limit (170-180?) or they move him to the bullpen (David Price type of role)? Still early but I've been curious on how they're going to handle this since they gave E-Rod the call. I wouldn't look at it like that. Look at it like this. Innings by year: Rodriguez 2010: 65.1 (doesn't include preseason camp in DR) 2011: 48.2 (doesn't include XST) 2012: 107.0 2013: 145.0 2014: 120.0 Johnson 2010: 73.2 (in college, so likely w/ more rest) 2011: 79.2 (same) 2012: 95.2 (nearly all college) 2013: 85.0 (after having no offseason program due to injury 2014: 143.2 Pretty stark, yes?
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radiohix
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'At the end of the day, we bang. We bang. We're going to swing.' Alex Verdugo
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Post by radiohix on Jun 3, 2015 11:01:33 GMT -5
Yes (I mentioned the big leap in IP for BJ from 2013 to 2014) but on the other hand there's the age factor that should be taken into consideration IMO: Johnson reached an age where the physical maturation is complete while E-Rod is still growing. Anyway, my question was essentialy what the posters here think the team will handle E-Rod work load when he'll get closer to his innings cap?
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Post by okin15 on Jun 3, 2015 11:21:17 GMT -5
There must be at least some chance that the Sox feel they would need Johnson in game 2 of the DH. If their bullpen gets blown up in game 1, they could easily call him up to be a backstop against a short outing or for extra innings.
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Post by Chris Hatfield on Jun 3, 2015 16:13:07 GMT -5
Yes (I mentioned the big leap in IP for BJ from 2013 to 2014) but on the other hand there's the age factor that should be taken into consideration IMO: Johnson reached an age where the physical maturation is complete while E-Rod is still growing. Anyway, my question was essentialy what the posters here think the team will handle E-Rod work load when he'll get closer to his innings cap? Well, part of my point was that I don't think he has an innings cap in the first place. It's not like he's going to throw 200 innings or anything crazy. If he throws 30 innings each month in June, July, August, and September, he'll get to what, 170 innings? That's not a huge jump considering he's thrown 140 before. And I think that's a high estimate - he'll more likely be around 150 at the end of the year. He's fine.
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Post by wcsoxfan on Jul 13, 2015 18:20:37 GMT -5
With Johnson getting called up, and never having seen him in person, I have a couple of questions:
1. How well does he field his position? This is all I was able to find on the subject:
2. What did Chris see/hear to switch from to predicting he would be called up a day or two early - right before the Buch injury and a month after the earlier prediction.
I appreciated all of the info from you guys who get to see them play before they get to the show. Thanks!
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Post by James Dunne on Jul 13, 2015 18:31:15 GMT -5
Good questions.
1. He fields his position extremely well. I'd say top 10 percent of pitchers at fielding his position. Very sure handed and quick off the mound. The only negative in his fielding is that I've seen him rush throws with fast runners on bunts a couple of times.
2. That wasn't a change. Chris can correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think he meant that he expected Johnson to get the call in September, but rather that they were limiting his innings at the time so that he would still be able to contribute once September hit.
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Post by iakovos11 on Jul 13, 2015 18:32:26 GMT -5
I think it was in today's 108 Stitches where Speier mentions he spoke with a scout who has scouted Johnsons a bit and thinks he might be a dominant bullpen arm. 4 pitch mix that he can control with the ability to hit 94 in 1-2 innings stints.
Long term that might be a good role for him, depending on how the Sox fill out their rotation and who develops.
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Post by sibbysisti on Jul 13, 2015 18:40:24 GMT -5
Four pitch mix with control spells starter to me. Relievers normally have one or two pitches they do well, though for an inning or two, otherwise second time around they're vulnerable.
My hope is that Farrell slots Brian into the rotation for a couple of starts until we have either a Buchhotz return to health or a determination that he will be out longer than expected.
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Post by iakovos11 on Jul 13, 2015 18:43:17 GMT -5
But no real "out" pitch for Johnson.
I agree in general, that's the norm. Just repeating what Speier said he heard from a scout.
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danr
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Post by danr on Jul 13, 2015 19:07:39 GMT -5
Most scouts never have been very high on Johnson. In a key way he is quite different from most young pitchers. He has had exceptionally good control and command all along. That is unusual and it has made his stuff play better than it might have otherwise. There have been many successful major league pitchers who didn't have that wipe-out pitch, and usually their success has been due to command and control. We don't know yet whether Johnson can be one of those, but his record is encouraging.
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Post by gregblossersbelly on Jul 13, 2015 19:46:42 GMT -5
Four pitch mix with control spells starter to me. Relievers normally have one or two pitches they do well, though for an inning or two, otherwise second time around they're vulnerable. My hope is that Farrell slots Brian into the rotation for a couple of starts until we have either a Buchhotz return to health or a determination that he will be out longer than expected. The point the scout is making is that he won't throw 94 if he's a starter. But, might be able to do in short spurts. A mediocre fastball 90 or so may not work regardless of how many pitches you have. Unless, you have unreal command.
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danr
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Post by danr on Jul 13, 2015 22:48:03 GMT -5
Greg Maddox did pretty well almost never throwing anything faster than about 91.
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Post by James Dunne on Jul 13, 2015 23:06:19 GMT -5
Greg Maddox did pretty well almost never throwing anything faster than about 91. .... 1. Greg Maddux threw harder than 91 when he came up. 2. Greg Maddux had three seasons with over 220 innings and fewer than 30 walks and over 170 strikeouts. The rest of the pitchers in baseball history have three such seasons combined. Two by Cy Young, one by Roy Halladay. 3. Greg Maddux threw a changeup that went sideways and it might not have been his best pitch. 4. Greg Maddux grew up to be Greg Maddux, which is an unrealistic comparison for any other human being.
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Post by Oregon Norm on Jul 13, 2015 23:48:34 GMT -5
Brian Johnson may be able to get by simply by being Brian Johnson. In an age that favors pitchers who can shave the corners, he seems to have that down. And when it comes to Ks, it isn't all about having a power arm. If it was, Kelly wouldn't be trying to dig himself out of AAA.
Sequencing, mixing pitches and speeds, hitting spots, that all plays into it. Again, from the few times I've watched him, Johnson has that approach. Let's see how it plays in the ML.
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Post by bluechip on Jul 14, 2015 6:30:46 GMT -5
Obviously all things being equal a 98 mph fastball is preferable to a 90 mph fastball, but all things are never equal.
Pitchers besides Maddux survived without velocity. For instance, conventional logic says you want a Billy Wagner type closer that can hit 100 mph, but Koji does pretty good hitting 88 to 89.
If the guy is successful in AAA without a dominating fastball, he might also be successful in MLB. He might not, but its worth giving Johnson a look.
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