The Pirates just announced that Jameson Taillon will undergo Tommy John surgery.

Paging: Keith Law.

"You will know Wayne Graham by the trail of dead arms" apparently applies to those who he recruits but doesn't get.

It's resonance of WG's voice. If you are a pitcher and hear him talk, it ruins your arm. It is magic. We just need to have him talking to opposing pitchers now.

(04-06-2014 02:38 PM)RiceLad15 Wrote:  "You will know Wayne Graham by the trail of dead arms" apparently applies to those who he recruits but doesn't get.

That tweet was after Lemond left the game Friday (just to clarify, not to defend The Klaw).

Someone needs to have a long conversation with that prick's employer. Put up, or shut the **** up.

I don't think this article will help the case of going to play college baseball. It focuses mostly on Taillon and TJ surgery.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/mlb/new...n-taillon/

Interesting article but it seems to me to be more of an attack on high school showcase tournaments like The Perfect Game event and the increased emphasis on pitching velocity for prep pitchers.

(04-15-2014 06:27 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  Interesting article but it seems to me to be more of an attack on high school showcase tournaments like The Perfect Game event and the increased emphasis on pitching velocity for prep pitchers.

As well as pitching year-round instead of taking some time off from competition. Dr. James Andrews has data showing significant correlation between playing year-round in youth and future arm issues.

(04-15-2014 08:02 PM)d1owls4life Wrote:  

(04-15-2014 06:27 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  Interesting article but it seems to me to be more of an attack on high school showcase tournaments like The Perfect Game event and the increased emphasis on pitching velocity for prep pitchers.

As well as pitching year-round instead of taking some time off from competition. Dr. James Andrews has data showing significant correlation between playing year-round in youth and future arm issues.

I just don't understand when it became necessary to play year round. Kids shouldn't have to "specialize". They should get to play all the sports they want. When I was growing up we played football or soccer in the fall, basketball in the winter, and baseball in the Spring.

Lemond played QB at Waltrip thru his junior year but not his senior year. I don't know how much if any he pitched during his senior fall. He was already committed to Rice at that point.

I guess I don't know how much total milage his arm has, but I'm guessing less than many since he had a second sport for a long time.

He blew us off! Why do we care now?

(04-15-2014 09:30 PM)Mademen Wrote:  

(04-15-2014 08:02 PM)d1owls4life Wrote:  

(04-15-2014 06:27 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  Interesting article but it seems to me to be more of an attack on high school showcase tournaments like The Perfect Game event and the increased emphasis on pitching velocity for prep pitchers.

As well as pitching year-round instead of taking some time off from competition. Dr. James Andrews has data showing significant correlation between playing year-round in youth and future arm issues.

I just don't understand when it became necessary to play year round. Kids shouldn't have to "specialize". They should get to play all the sports they want. When I was growing up we played football or soccer in the fall, basketball in the winter, and baseball in the Spring.

Not necessarily disagreeing, but this is just an extension of the same "arms race", that has athletic departments expanding constantly, competing with each other over the best facilities, locker rooms, corporate deals, amenities to the athletes, etc.

Add a discussion on steroids here as well . . .

Bottom line is that the more money gets involved, the more competitive people become.

And the colleges/universities, not only in terms of the facilities/conferences arms race, but in their whole recruiting processes, contribute tremendously in this regard.

(I'm talking collegiate athletics in general, not just baseball. Think AAU basketball, etc.)

(04-16-2014 08:08 AM)Rick Gerlach Wrote:  

(04-15-2014 09:30 PM)Mademen Wrote:  

(04-15-2014 08:02 PM)d1owls4life Wrote:  

(04-15-2014 06:27 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  Interesting article but it seems to me to be more of an attack on high school showcase tournaments like The Perfect Game event and the increased emphasis on pitching velocity for prep pitchers.

As well as pitching year-round instead of taking some time off from competition. Dr. James Andrews has data showing significant correlation between playing year-round in youth and future arm issues.

I just don't understand when it became necessary to play year round. Kids shouldn't have to "specialize". They should get to play all the sports they want. When I was growing up we played football or soccer in the fall, basketball in the winter, and baseball in the Spring.

Not necessarily disagreeing, but this is just an extension of the same "arms race", that has athletic departments expanding constantly, competing with each other over the best facilities, locker rooms, corporate deals, amenities to the athletes, etc.

Add a discussion on steroids here as well . . .

Bottom line is that the more money gets involved, the more competitive people become.

And the colleges/universities, not only in terms of the facilities/conferences arms race, but in their whole recruiting processes, contribute tremendously in this regard.

(I'm talking collegiate athletics in general, not just baseball. Think AAU basketball, etc.)

Oh I understand why it happens, I just don't agree with it. I can't believe HISD let Rocky Manuel get away with keeping his players from playing other sports for so long. I remember having a conversation with Joe Savery about how he ended up at Lamar instead of Bellaire.

Does the prevalence of arm injuries due to overuse/overstress on kids' arms before they get to college (i.e., every young pitching arm seems to be a ticking time-bomb these days) indicate that teams should spend less of their 11.7 scholarships on pitching, or more? On the one hand, if the odds are you are going to lose a certain number of pitchers due to injury, you have to recruit more pitchers to make up a staff; on the other, do you get more bang for the buck in recruiting position players as they are less likely to suffer year-ending or career-ending injuries?

(04-16-2014 10:01 AM)Mademen Wrote:  Oh I understand why it happens, I just don't agree with it. I can't believe HISD let Rocky Manuel get away with keeping his players from playing other sports for so long. I remember having a conversation with Joe Savery about how he ended up at Lamar instead of Bellaire.

It wasn't just Rocky. In my son's freshman year, the baseball coach said he wouldn't have players on his team that played other sports. Of course, that coach was an assistant for Rocky before he got his own head coaching gig, so it's probably not surprising. He also had very few players on his team to whom he hadn't given private lessons for years ahead of their high school career.

That coach moved on and my son moved to a new high school for his sophomore year where he played both baseball and basketball until he made the decision to focus on one sport. The coaches at the new school encouraged the kids to play multiple sports at least their first couple of years. Most, but not all, of his peers made their own decisions to focus on one sport eventually.

Another problem is that basketball and baseball seasons in Texas overlap, ensuring that anyone playing basketball gets a late start on the baseball season. The same is true for football and basketball.

Is there an issue in the Houston area with "elite team" coaches telling their players not to play for their HS, at all, even in their chosen sport?

In the 1950s, we had King Hill lettering in football, basketball and golf for Rice. He was an NFL quarterback for several years and ran a golf course for a while many years after he retired.

(04-16-2014 10:25 AM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  

(04-16-2014 10:01 AM)Mademen Wrote:  Oh I understand why it happens, I just don't agree with it. I can't believe HISD let Rocky Manuel get away with keeping his players from playing other sports for so long. I remember having a conversation with Joe Savery about how he ended up at Lamar instead of Bellaire.

It wasn't just Rocky. In my son's freshman year, the baseball coach said he wouldn't have players on his team that played other sports. Of course, that coach was an assistant for Rocky before he got his own head coaching gig, so it's probably not surprising. He also had very few players on his team to whom he hadn't given private lessons for years ahead of their high school career.

That coach moved on and my son moved to a new high school for his sophomore year where he played both baseball and basketball until he made the decision to focus on one sport. The coaches at the new school encouraged the kids to play multiple sports at least their first couple of years. Most, but not all, of his peers made their own decisions to focus on one sport eventually.

Another problem is that basketball and baseball seasons in Texas overlap, ensuring that anyone playing basketball gets a late start on the baseball season. The same is true for football and basketball.

(04-16-2014 10:34 AM)owlsfan Wrote:  Is there an issue in the Houston area with "elite team" coaches telling their players not to play for their HS, at all, even in their chosen sport?

I wouldn't say the real problem is with 'elite' coaches telling their players to not play sports for their HS. (Haven't heard of a player not playing their chosen sport for their HS in favor of 'elite' ball, yet.)

By the time many pro/D1 prospects are in HS they are already specialized due to the nature of amateur sports now. Travel teams in all sports, starting at 8-9 years old, play year round. This causes major scheduling conflicts and financial strains for families and players if they are going to pursue multiple sports since playing for these teams typically involve year long commitments.

So by the time kids get to Middle school or HS its almost to late to start playing certain sports since they are competing against 'year-rounders' for spots on the team. Some talented athletes can overcome this disadvantage but they're an aberration these days. So when athletes face the decision to be an average player in 'sport B' or be a star in 'sport A', many concede 'sport B' to focus their energy on 'sport A'. Incentives like scholarships, pro aspirations, and fame/glory only add more pressure to this dilemma.

"I wouldn't say the real problem is with 'elite' coaches telling their players to not play sports for their HS. (Haven't heard of a player not playing their chosen sport for their HS in favor of 'elite' ball, yet.)"

Well, that is coming next. It has started in youth soccer ("Your HS coaches don't know what they are doing, and you risk injury playing with a bunch of hacks; don't play HS soccer, and continue to train with our great coaches and elite-level teammmates"), and will then creep into other sports (not football, thank-goodness, as there isn't travel football [yet?])

(04-16-2014 10:34 AM)owlsfan Wrote:  Is there an issue in the Houston area with "elite team" coaches telling their players not to play for their HS, at all, even in their chosen sport?

I know of at least one HS soccer player who only played elite club soccer. He has a D1 scholarship. Don't know if the decision to not to play HS soccer was his or his club team coach's, but it worked out for him, although the HS team would have loved to have had him on the roster.