kbrun said:
Moore was just interviewed at SLC Regional 1st game. He said that he had pitched ace pitcher Daria too much and now she's day to day! Why does he do this over and over? Every time we get a great pitcher they end up injured because he pitches them too much! Does he make these decisions or is it Newman?
Don't know the details on this one, but this is a common problem in softball. I coached club softball for over 20 years. There was a saying that two pitchers is not enough and three is too many......because the ace pitches most of the games. Nobody wants to sit on the bench. Then the problem becomes the number of games they pitch in a year.
When I started out you played in the spring and into the middle of summer when the national championships were held. There might have been one, maybe two fall tournaments. By the time I retired, the fall was just as busy as the rest of the year. Bottom line, a lot of these pitchers are worn out before they even step on campus. The trick in having a successful college staff is to find great ones that don't look at not pitching a game as a demotion giving you the ability to have at least two aces. Most schools are lucky to get one.
The thought that the underhand motion doesn't stress the body, I don't think, IMO, ever took into account the number of games a girl would pitch by the time she got to college. Too many club coaches only care about winning. If their ace has a limited college career because of arm damage because he or she pitched them 90% of the games......well that's not his problem. Things may have changed since I retired, but that was the situation 15 years ago.
The college coach runs the risk, if you don't have two aces that if you spread the load around during the season you risk not even getting into the post season. But having to pitch the ace too much to get you there can be a losing strategy as well. Unless you have two great ones at once (think OU, etc.) no matter what you do is wrong.