11 Walks!

[klaiggeb]

For starting pitchers not named Bumgarner or Jeffy, ball four, and I don't mean the book, has been occurring at an alarming pace.

And for major league pitchers, that is an unforgivable sin.

It really, really is.

There is no excuse for it. None, and I'll be honest, it's one of the things that is souring me on our pitching coach, Curt Young.

I was NOT, repeat, NOT happy that Rags was forced out.

And yes, forced out is the word I mean.

Young comes with a good reputation, but from where I sit, he's just another pitching coach.

And in the case of these young Giants, a below average one at that.

Consider all of the guys struggling to throw quality strikes under his leadership.

Suarez
Rodriguez
Beede
Menez

That's not a good thing, and I believe it reflects poorly on Young.

I really, really do.

[sharksrog]

I don't think we know enough about the coaches to make informed judgments. Certainly if a coach's unit isn't performing well, it reflects negatively on him, but it's really hard to know how much of the blame belongs with the coach(es) and how much rests with the players.

One pitching coaching staff I feel confident in endorsing is that of the Houston Astros. The Astros work with their pitchers on pitch selection, emphasizing using their best pitches more. I suspect they're really good with sequencing too.

Let me give you some recent examples of how pitchers were performing when they came to the Astros and how they've fared as Astros:

Justin Verlander -- Justin had a 3.98 ERA with the Tigers in 2017 when he was traded to the Astros. Some thought he had begun his final decline. But with the Astros he's posted a 2.63 ERA and has been about as good as any pitcher in the majors.

Ryan Pressly -- Pressly had a nice 3.40 ERA with the Twins last season prior to being dealt to the Astros. As an Astro, his ERA is 1.57, and he's been one of the most effective relievers in the game.

Charlie Morton -- Morton had a 4.81 ERA in his last full season before joining the Astros. In two seasons with Houston, he delivered a 3.21 mark. It should be noted that he's done even better, 3.20, since signing with the Rays this season as a free agent. When I was deciding whether to pick him up for my fantasy team this season, I worried about his leaving Houston, but then realized that the Rays also have an outstanding reputation and record with their pitchers.

Gerrit Cole -- Cole had slipped to a 4.26 ERA with the Pirates. After being traded to the Astros, he's pitched an excellent 2.87 ERA in his two seasons with the Astros.

The lastest one? Aaron Sanchez was traded to the Astros at the deadline. He looked like some of the young Giants starters, pitching to a 6.07 ERA with Toronto. In his two starts with the Astros, he's given up just one run and three hits in 11 innings.

I feel comfortable saying that the Astros and Rays likely have good pitching coaches. With the Giants, I simply don't know enough to be sure. You mentioned though that Young came with a good reputation. At this point I'd still lean toward that.