Paul Skenes

A more oblique solution, one suggested to me by Fitzgerald of the Diamondbacks, would award additional draft picks to the teams whose starters remain in the game the longest over the course of a season. Such remedies would have consequences, though.

A more oblique solution, one suggested to me by Fitzgerald of the Diamondbacks, would award additional draft picks to the teams whose starters remain in the game the longest over the course of a season. Such remedies would have consequences, though.

The pitchers who throw the most would include the majority of baseball's best starters, many of whom would very likely end up on the best and wealthiest teams, the last ones you'd want getting additional draft picks. And roster limits would force the one-inning relievers to work two or three innings, which is like making sprinters suddenly start running the mile.

The pitchers who throw the most would include the majority of baseball's best starters, many of whom would very likely end up on the best and wealthiest teams, the last ones you'd want getting additional draft picks. And roster limits would force the one-inning relievers to work two or three innings, which is like making sprinters suddenly start running the mile.

If you start messing with the rosters, you're going to crush those guys, Scherzer says. You're going to create injuries. Already, baseball is straining to accommodate those pitchers whose elbows, shoulders, or other body parts have failed under the strain of throwing balls at such high velocities.

If you start messing with the rosters, you're going to crush those guys, Scherzer says. You're going to create injuries. Already, baseball is straining to accommodate those pitchers whose elbows, shoulders, or other body parts have failed under the strain of throwing balls at such high velocities.

Last season, 390 pitchers, 13 per team, spent time on MLB's injury list, missing a total of more than 33,000 days. And if you're on the injured list, you aren't throwing any innings at all. Injuries to pitchers are already such a problem, in fact, that strenuous effort is made to avoid them.

Last season, 390 pitchers, 13 per team, spent time on MLB's injury list, missing a total of more than 33,000 days. And if you're on the injured list, you aren't throwing any innings at all. Injuries to pitchers are already such a problem, in fact, that strenuous effort is made to avoid them.

The professional life of a pitcher used to consist primarily of pitching, in games and in bullpen sessions between them. When Jim Cott, who worked in more than 900 big league games over a 25 year career, served as a pitching coach for the Cincinnati Reds in the 1980s, he instructed starters to never go more than a day without throwing as much as they would throw in a game.

The professional life of a pitcher used to consist primarily of pitching, in games and in bullpen sessions between them. When Jim Cott, who worked in more than 900 big league games over a 25 year career, served as a pitching coach for the Cincinnati Reds in the 1980s, he instructed starters to never go more than a day without throwing as much as they would throw in a game.

He believed that pitchers shouldn't expect to complete a nine inning game if they couldn't even do that in practice.

He believed that pitchers shouldn't expect to complete a nine inning game if they couldn't even do that in practice.

These days, the act of actually throwing a ball toward a batter has been scaffolded with a regimen of exercises designed to increase velocity, but also, theoretically at least, to help prevent the ligament tears and other breakdowns that are prematurely ending seasons and even careers. Pitchers are certainly throwing harder, yet they're still getting hurt.

These days, the act of actually throwing a ball toward a batter has been scaffolded with a regimen of exercises designed to increase velocity, but also, theoretically at least, to help prevent the ligament tears and other breakdowns that are prematurely ending seasons and even careers. Pitchers are certainly throwing harder, yet they're still getting hurt.

And it may be that, to Kott's point, all this scaffolding at the expense of throwing is increasing the likelihood that complete games will, like 400 batting averages, soon exist only in the record books. One recent Thursday in Bradenton, Skeens stood under a portico outside the Pirates' clubhouse at 9 AM, swinging a weighted pendulum.

And it may be that, to Kott's point, all this scaffolding at the expense of throwing is increasing the likelihood that complete games will, like 400 batting averages, soon exist only in the record books. One recent Thursday in Bradenton, Skeens stood under a portico outside the Pirates' clubhouse at 9 AM, swinging a weighted pendulum.

After that, he picked up a medicine ball and hurled it against a concrete wall in a simulacrum of his pitching motion. Next, he strapped an oversized plastic tube filled with water onto his back, stepped to the top of a ramp with the same downward slope as a pitching mound, and took a stride while flinging his right shoulder forward.

After that, he picked up a medicine ball and hurled it against a concrete wall in a simulacrum of his pitching motion. Next, he strapped an oversized plastic tube filled with water onto his back, stepped to the top of a ramp with the same downward slope as a pitching mound, and took a stride while flinging his right shoulder forward.

He grabbed a weighted ball and flipped it backhanded against the wall, then threw it from the top of the ramp. Satisfied, he walked under the stands and onto the field. Still, he wasn't ready to pitch. He spent the next few minutes tossing a football to a coach. He continued his game of catch with a baseball.

He grabbed a weighted ball and flipped it backhanded against the wall, then threw it from the top of the ramp. Satisfied, he walked under the stands and onto the field. Still, he wasn't ready to pitch. He spent the next few minutes tossing a football to a coach. He continued his game of catch with a baseball.