MLB pitchers not built like they used to be

Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers pitched a complete game shutout in deciding Game 7 on two days rest in the 1965 World Series.

Mark Fidrych of the Detroit Tigers pitched 24 complete games in 29 starts in 1976.

Randy Jones of the San Diego Padres pitched 25 complete games in the same season.

Yes, it used to be that a starting pitcher was considered to have a successful outing if he pitched a complete game every four days.

Then why is it that now, a pitcher is believed to have done his job if he works six innings every fifth day?

And on top of that, why do so many starting pitchers get injured nowadays?

Consider the staff aces that couldn’t even make it through the second week of the 2009 season without going on the disabled list:

Among them are Daisuke Matsuzaka of the Boston Red Sox, Brandon Webb of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Hiroki Kuroda of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Then there is World Series MVP Cole Hamels of the Philadelphia Phillies, whose first start was pushed back five days due to injury and hasn’t exactly been lighting things up since.

Lone gone are the days of players signing one-year contracts.

But one has to wonder: Would pitchers (and many hitters for that matter) be much more productive if they were paid year-by-year based on what they did the previous season?

Just asking …

Peavy is a hot ticket

The Jake Peavy factor is alive and well in San Diego.

Did you see where the Padres drew 26,931 for Wednesday night’s game against Baltimore?

Did you see where the attendance was 11,250 fans more (38,181) when Peavy pitched Tuesday against the Orioles?

Taking it back one step, the Padres drew 40,631 in Peavy’s previous home start June 7 against the Dodgers in the final contest of a three-game series. The night before, the attendance was 31,541 (9,090 fewer than when Peavy pitched.)

That means there has been an attendance increase of 20,340 fans in Peavy’s last two home starts, both on weekdays, in comparison to the day before or after against the same team.

Once again, this is the Randy Jones theory in San Diego. The Padres used to draw about 10,000 fans more per game during Jones’ Cy Young award season of 1976, and the Peavy influence seems to be about the same.

The Padres’ ace will make his next start Sunday against the Boston Red Sox. Since the entire series is sold out, the Peavy factor will not come into play.

Let’s see the attendance difference when he pitches after the Padres begin their next homestand July 2.

Peavy: There's no place like home

Coincidence or not, Jake Peavy will pitch the first and last games on the Padres’ six-game homestand that begins tonight.

This will mark the third time in the last four homestands (all six games) that Peavy has pitched the first and last contest.

More than a coincidence?

Maybe.

Let’s face it: Peavy is a hot topic at home.

The last time Peavy pitched at home June 7 against the Dodgers, the attendance was 40,631. That was about 9,000 more than for each of the first two games against Los Angeles.

There may be a Randy Jones theory at work here. When Jones won the National League Cy Young award in 1976 for the Padres, home attendance was normally about 10,000 more when he pitched.

Peavy is actually a better road pitcher this year, with a 4-0 record and 0.88 ERA. But his presence at home, where he is 4-1, certainly adds up the attendance figures.

And the Padres have taken note of that, especially as Peavy tonight will try to tie his personal best of six consecutive winning decisions in a season set from July 16-Aug. 28, 2004.

Get it over with ... fast!

What has been the most impressive thing about the Padres through the first week of this season?
The team’s 5-2 record? The bullpen not allowing a run in 20 2/3 innings?
Maybe it’s none of the above. Perhaps the most noteworthy item about the 2007 Padres through Week One is how rapidly their pitchers work.
Through seven games, the Padres are playing in an average time of 2:34. Their longest game took 2:42 opening day at San Francisco, which would be considered a fast game by today’s standards.
The past two games have seemed to move at the speed of light. It took only 2:27 to beat the Colorado Rockies, 2-1, in 10 innings Sunday; then last night’s 1-0 win over the San Francisco Giants took a mere 2:25.
This is all bringing to mind the 1998 pitching staff led by Kevin Brown, Sterling Hitchcock and Andy Ashby. They worked as if they were double-parked and wanted to get away from the ballpark before they were issued a parking ticket. And their ultimate ticket was a trip to the World Series that year against the New York Yankees.
Nobody has ever been a quicker worker for the Padres than Randy Jones. I can remember seeing Jones once in 1976 beat Steve Carlton and the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-0, in one-hour and 33 minutes.
This year’s Padres are also pitching as if they have an early date for the night. All spectators can be thankful for that in the era of the three-hour game.