SI Story on Arrieta Hard on O's

[dc.]

Mainly on Rick Adair, first pitching coach under Buck, and a philosophy that he said made him feel not like himself. Said everyone in the organization felt it too: Matusz, Britton, Tillman, etc...

 

It wasn't a hit piece on us, but came up under how he reinvented himself/why he needed reinventing. Apparently 2011-2013, guys around the league we reporting he has some of the nastiest stuff in the game... But he just didn't throw it all the time. Sounds like most of our young guns.

 

Included in the piece: changing his wind up several times in the minors, moving him around in the mound, and worst: telling him not to use his cutter (organization role) because it could hurt his fastball otherwise.

 

Epstein had just moved to Chicago in 2013 and always instructed his scouts: find me the guy who just needs a change of scenery. Jake was always #1.

 

I heard about some other news on what the O's have done wrong with Gausman that has me worried, but haven't read it yet.

 

But all this is the biggest insider look at what's wrong with our organizational philosophy and more... I always think we are so injury fearful that we hurt our guys more. Too many limits kills them. Arrieta is now apparently a super Pilates, meditation health nut... He didn't talk mechanics, he talks "how his body feels"

[dc.]

Found the lines on Gausman, buried in SI's al East roster break down:

 

Rotation & Bullpen

For them to be a wild-card contender, Kevin Gausman has to be a mid- to upper-level rotation guy. He doesn't throw 95100 mph anymore. He's a 9193 guy, but he's starting to learn how to pitch with what he has. They've messed with him a lot. When he first came up, he pitched from the first base side of the rubber, threw very hard and commanded everything. Now they've pushed him over to the third base side and he doesn't command very well....

What's scary: exactly what Arrieta said they did to him for years. Exactly the same effect?

[cravnravn]

20-25 as an oriole with all the changing Adair made him do.

 

36-13 as a Cubbie when the just let him pitch naturally.

[thundercleetz]

That article was a tough one to read, barely got through it. Arrieta could have easily trashed our organization, but was gracious and spoke highly of his time here. The worst part was how Adair wouldn't let him use his cutter two years after a bone spur surgery. The excuse made no sense to Arrieta.

 

The blurb about Gausman is frightening as well. Why can't we fire every pitching coach in our organization and hire guys from Tampa, San Francisco or St. Louis?

[GrubberRaven]

Who do we blame? Buck for picking the staff? DD for just generally all around sucking?

[papasmurfbell]

Watched his highlights on SC this morning. He looked really good.

[varaven45]

I don't know the details of the Arrieta story but I watched him struggle mightily while in Norfolk a few years ago.

He was very ordinary when I watched him while in the minors and majors.

 

Who knows why or how his pitching has taken off ?

 

Maybe it was coaching (or lack thereof). Or may be it was simply change of scenery.

Or perhaps.. sometimes the grass is greener on the other side.

 

Stuff happens.

[dc.]

I still remember two thoughts about Arrieta when he came up: a nasty cutter/move on his fastball when it moved and a bull attitude, like Moose. I remember him playing through the Yankees one year and thinking we'd find a great, stable guy.

 

Obviously later I lost that enthusiasm.

 

 

Cleetz, as for the cutter, it's not just Arrieta, I have heard it's an organization wide rule about health and fastball velocity. They move many pitchers away from it.

 

 

As for Buck, I just don't know. Part of me thinks he gave some control over the organizational depth to Angelos and Duq and just doesn't fight those battles as much. At least I hope it's that. Buck talks the trainer/injury talk like he just does what they tell him when it comes to player health. But I also remember a story a few months ago saying Buck and Duq were clashing at times on roster items...

[dc.]

I don't know the details of the Arrieta story but I watched him struggle mightily while in Norfolk a few years ago.

He was very ordinary when I watched him while in the minors and majors.

 

Who knows why or how his pitching has taken off ?

 

Maybe it was coaching (or lack thereof). Or may be it was simply change of scenery.

Or perhaps.. sometimes the grass is greener on the other side.

 

Stuff happens.

I would agree more if we had more success with our pitching prospects, or any prospects. But Tillman is the only even half solid starter we've developed in a decade or more...

[thundercleetz]

Speaking of the cutter, on the radio broadcast last night they mentioned Tillman was throwing a nasty one. Maybe someone who watched the TV broadcast could shed some light.

[dc.]

I was reading today it is more something they do with injuries as they think it adds strain to the elbow... But it sounds like they rarely let guys get back to it ever