Quote:
Originally Posted by StyxNCa
Again, there is no guarantee that pitcher will still be healthy in 4 years even with the guarantee. You will be paying him regardless. He will also be older and may not be as good in 3 or 4 years anyway.
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Which is exactly why one wouldn't want to push the player so hard it increases the chance of injury.
In terms of pitcher usage, anecdotal evidence from earlier years indicates that the pitchers themselves approached the game differently, by only throwing as hard as needed in a given situation. A pitcher would put more effort into a situation where he was ahead only 2-1 than he would if he were ahead 8-1. They would only throw their best stuff when it was called for, and then back off the rest of the time.
If this was really the case, that would explain some of the differences.