Verlander is notorious for throwing too many pitches. In fact, he's lead the league in total pitches, 100+ pitch games and 120+ pitch games in each of the last two seasons. These are exactly the kind of macho statistics that amount to a pile of steaming poop. Give me seven innings with 85 pitches every night and extend your career. It doesn't help that JV gets out of jams by throwing harder, putting more stress on that $80M arm.
This made Leland's move last night all the more puzzling. JV was dealing, throwing a 1-hitter through eight innings and had a comfortable 5-0 lead heading into the 9th inning with MLB's best bullpen waiting. Verlander had a pitch count of 107 and finally had a night where he didn't need to throw 125 pitches to get through the 5th inning. So logically, Leland sent him back out to pitch the 9th. Where the hell is the logic in this move? Verlander has already established that he is no Jack Morris and Leland shouldn't be afraid to walk to the mound as Sparky was when Cactus Jack was on the mound. We play 162 games and Verlander is our horse. The smart call in this situation is pat him on the ass and send out Ryan Perry to close out the 5-0 game. JV, if you want to pitch complete games, try throwing more strikes earlier in the game.
That being said, when does Leland ever make the smart call?
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