Felipe Alou‘s annual assembly of a solid pitching staff out of kids and
retreads is as sure a thing as a crappy Fall lineup on CBS. However, last
year may have been the most challenging of any of his seven seasons as
manager of the Expos. Five of the eleven pitchers who started games for
Montreal in 1998 were rookies. Among the other six starters, only Carlos
Perez and Shawn Boskie entered the season with more than two years of major
league service. That means that 134 out of 162 games last season were
started by players with less than two years of major league experience.
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Still, Alou’s corps finished ninth out of sixteen NL teams in ERA. Looking
at the team numbers, the one thing that stands out is the low pitch count
compiled by the starters–an average of only 87 per outing. If there is one
trait that distinguishes Alou from his peers, it is realizing the fragility
of pitchers’ arms and handling them accordingly. While the team’s ten BQS
seems to be about league average, it is an admirable figure for a team with
so many young starters and such a patchwork bullpen. Interestingly, the
Expos starters performed considerably better on four days’ rest than on
five (51% QS+BQS versus 35%).
Before being peddled to the Dodgers at the end of July, Carlos Perez was
the workhorse of the Montreal staff. Perez was consistently asked to suck
it up when an off day afforded Alou the opportunity to skip the turn of one
of his struggling young starters. Still, Pastaman and his Fox employers
didn’t receive damaged goods, as Perez averaged only 102 pitches per start
with the Expos while posting an excellent 74% QS+BQS.
Twenty-six year old Dustin Hermanson is one of the gems fashioned by Alou’s
quick coal-to-diamond transformation process. Hermanson was very
consistent, racking up quality starts in half of his outings regardless of
the number of days’ rest. Alou kept a tight reign on his pitch count, and
Hermanson finished the year with only 187 IP, due in part to an upper back
strain that caused him to miss three starts in late May.
Despite having pitched only 40 innings at Double-A, twenty-two year old
Javier Vazquez was asked to take a regular turn in Montreal’s rotation. On
the surface, the Expos 1997 Minor League Pitcher of the Year didn’t fare
too well, posting only 38% QS+BQS. However, his peripheral numbers hint of
future success. Knowing that Vazquez is a vital part of the Expos future,
Alou didn’t yo-yo him in and out of the rotation or shuttle him back and
forth to the minors. Instead, Alou and pitching coach Bobby Cuellar
monitored his pitch count, limited his innings to a modest 172 for the
season, kept his confidence up and didn’t blast him in the media (is Mr.
Piniella paying attention?).
Shoulder tendinitis kept the baseball faithful of Quebec Province from
seeing Carl Pavano–the booty in the Pedro Martinez deal–until late May.
Upon being activated, the twenty-two year old was inserted into the
rotation and put up a solid 57% QS+BQS the remainder of the year. Pavano
really blossomed at the end of the season, with quality starts in 7 of his
last 10 trips to the mound. Alou did his part to insure that Pavano will
evolve into a top-flight starter (and not just the answer to the McGwire HR
#70 trivia question), by keeping his pitch count low, thereby limiting his
IP to 135 for the year.
Trey Moore and Marc Valdes both opened the season in the Expos rotation and
finished it on the surgeon’s table. But that is where the similarity ends.
Not much was expected of Moore, a soft-tossing lefty acquired in the Jeff
Fassero trade, but he pitched adequately (5 for 11 QS) before shoulder
problems–later diagnosed as a small rotator cuff tear–in early June.
Valdes continues to be a riddle. Alou started the former Marlin first
rounder despite thinking he was better suited for the bullpen, and was
careful in using him, always starting him on five days’ rest or more. Even
so, Valdes was a crowd pleaser in certain sections of the ballpark,
providing many souvenirs for Quebecois bleacher patrons. After moving to
middle relief, he pitched better before season-ending surgery on his elbow
at the end of June.
Miguel Batista returned to his original organization via the Oh Henry!
Rodriguez trade. While Alou used him primarily as a long reliever, he also
was used as a starter when someone suffered an injury or proved
ineffective. Though Batista wasn’t completely worthless as a starter (38%
QS+BQS in 13 starts), he was more effective in relief, and posted an
overall ERA of 3.80 in 135 IP. Expect him to fill the same role in 1999.
The less said about Shawn Boskie, the better.
Youngsters Mike Thurman, Jeremy Powell and Mike Johnson all had an
opportunity to don the red white and blue of les Expos in 1998. Thurman,
the oldest at 24, worked the last two months of the season and had the most
success. While he recorded only a 31% QS+BQS in thirteen starts, he also
had four outings of 5+ innings and three runs or less, as Alou was
particularly stingy with his pitch counts. Powell and Johnson were both
promoted from Double-A Harrisburg, and Alou admitted that he was rushing
them. While Johnson crashed and burned in two emergency starts (each time
being called up to cover for an injury), Powell showed enough in his
six-pack to open some eyes for next year. Neither ever threw more than 90
pitches in a game.
So how does Alou pull off his annual juggling act? While other managers pay
lip service, the numbers show that Alou truly believes in limiting pitch
counts and innings worked–particularly for his youngest starters. To
accomplish this, Alou has to use the entire pitching staff, even when its
back end is composed of castoffs like Mike Maddux. Nine times Alou pulled
his starter after less than fifty pitches, indicating that he tries to
limit the damage to his pitcher’s confidence when things aren’t going well.
Traits that aren’t as measurable are his patience, nurturing, allegiance,
positivism, and the ability to create a situation where his players can
succeed. With Alou’s magic and the age and abilities of his current
starters, watch out for the Expos around the year 2000.
C. Perez Days rest Hermanson Days rest
4 5 6+ Totals 4 5 6+ Totals
Starts 18 5 0 23 Starts 20 8 2 30
QS 12 2 0 14 QS 10 4 1 15
%QS .67 .40 .00 .61 %QS .50 .50 .50 .50
BQS 2 1 0 3 BQS 1 0 0 1
%QS+BQS .78 .60 .00 .74 %QS+BQS .55 .50 .50 .53
Avg # pitches 102 102 0 102 Avg # pitches 96 74 94 90
Vazquez Days rest Pavano Days rest
4 5 6+ Totals 4 5 6+ Totals
Starts 20 10 2 32 Starts 16 3 4 23
QS 3 3 2 8 QS 9 1 2 12
%QS .15 .30 1.00 .25 %QS .56 .33 .50 .52
BQS 4 0 0 4 BQS 1 0 0 1
%QS+BQS .35 .30 1.00 .38 %QS+BQS .63 .33 .50 .57
Avg # pitches 85 98 96 90 Avg # pitches 94 89 87 92
Thurman Days rest M. Batista Days rest
3 4 5 6+ Totals 3 4 5 6+ Totals
Starts 1 8 3 1 13 Starts 1 7 4 1 13
QS 1 1 0 1 3 QS 0 3 1 1 5
%QS 1.00 .13 .00 1.00 .23 %QS .00 .43 .25 1.00 .38
BQS 0 1 0 0 1 BQS 0 0 0 0 0
%QS+BQS 1.00 .25 .00 1.00 .31 %QS+BQS .00 .43 .25 1.00 .38
Avg # pitches 77 83 61 82 77 Avg # pitches 66 94 92 103 92
T. Moore Days rest Je. Powell Days rest
4 5 6+ Totals 3 4 5 6+ Totals
Starts 6 2 3 11 Starts 1 3 2 0 6
QS 4 1 0 5 QS 1 0 1 0 2
%QS .67 .50 .00 .45 %QS 1.00 .00 .50 .00 .33
BQS 0 0 0 0 BQS 0 0 0 0 0
%QS+BQS .67 .50 .00 .45 %QS+BQS 1.00 .00 .50 .00 .33
Avg # pitches 82 80 72 79 Avg # pitches 78 57 80 0 68
Boskie Days rest M. Valdes Days rest
4 5 6+ Totals 5 6+ Totals
Starts 3 0 2 5 Starts 2 2 4
QS 1 0 0 1 QS 0 1 1
%QS .33 .00 .00 .20 %QS .00 .50 .25
BQS 0 0 0 0 BQS 0 0 0
%QS+BQS .33 .00 .00 .20 %QS+BQS .00 .50 .25
Avg # pitches 52 0 68 58 Avg # pitches 36 88 62
Mi. Johnson Days rest
3 4 5 Totals
Starts 1 0 1 2
QS 0 0 0 0
%QS .00 .00 .00 .00
BQS 0 0 0 0
%QS+BQS .00 .00 .00 .00
Avg # pitches 82 0 70 76
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