Today's DMN features a somewhat reassuring article on the specifics of the Rangers' plan, largely developed by Ryan it seems, at improving the stamina and testicular fortitude of the system's pitchers.  Sorry, this is kind of long, but let's look at the major points, as outlined by Grant in the article:

His frustration, along with that of general manager Jon Daniels, led to discussions about how to change the Rangers' preparation.  In reality, there is no grand plan to re-invent the art; the changes are mostly simple and minor.

Minor league pitching coordinator Rick Adair said he felt "liberated" by Ryan's suggestions.

"He is as fundamentally sound in his concept of how things should be as you can possibly be," Adair said. "It's about conditioning, about challenging them and about instilling in them the belief that they can meet those challenges."

It sounds like Daniels has been involved in the concept, and Adair has bought into it.  Now you could say that both men would not be too forthcoming with the media about misgivings, but this is, I think, the 3rd time Adair has been quoted as having unequivocal support for Ryan's ideas (DMN article and blog, and FWST article IIRC).  If Ryan was suggesting something potentially harmful I would think there would at least be some hemming and hawing in those quotes.

More live batting practice. It was incorporated in the minor leagues at the start of the regular season. Ryan wants more in spring training, too, something now-deposed pitching coach Mark Connor and bullpen coach Dom Chiti resisted last spring for the major league pitchers. Ryan believes batting practice helps build stamina.

Connor and Chiti are gone, obviously, so it looks like we'll see pitchers throwing batting practice in spring training.  I thought batting practice was for the batters, but what do I know.  I'm not sure this will help, but it probably won't hurt.

More sprinting: The system is stocked with power pitchers. Sprinting helps create more explosiveness than long jogs.

Seems intuitively correct, at least.  I expect a few queesy hamstrings out of this if guys don't show up ready for it.  Hopefully the offseason conditioning the team seems to be insisting on will prepare the pitchers for a more rigorous spring training.  Or maybe, the sprinting is part of the offseason program?

Expanding limits: He doesn't favor abandoning pitch counts for minor leaguers. But he does want pitch counts to be more individually tailored. If a pitcher is closing in on his limit when he finishes one inning, it's more likely he'll be sent out to start the next inning and pitch right up to his limit rather than taking a seat early.

This seems like common sense to me.  Push the pitchers a bit, but smartly.  And I see nothing here to suggest the managers' hands will be tied in game situations.

Most importantly, Ryan wants to instill a genuine feeling of fearlessness among Rangers pitchers.

This smacks of hair on fireness, but a good idea to have guys who aren't afraid of big, bad, scary Arlington.  Millwood and Kiker are both singles out as guys expected to show up in better shape, and there are hints that Kiker pouted a bit.

Finally, the most controversial part of this past week's quotes:

From Ryan on down, there is acknowledgement that pushing pitchers may result in a high-profile pitcher or two breaking down along the way. The general feeling: The number of capable pitchers found along the way will outnumber those lost.

While you might think this nonchalance at injuries is bad, I think the guys that will get injured because of this are most likely guys who would have eventually been hurt anyway.  Bad mechanics, poor conditioning, and bad attitudes will be exposed quickly.  It might even lead to fewer injuries in the long term if some arms are forced to make changes more quickly as bad mechanics become more painfully apparent and a no nonsense attitude is adopted.

In the end I don't see much in the above program that makes me fear a rash if career ending, or even delaying, injuries.  What I find most refreshing here, though, is that Ryan seems to have the complete trust and cooperation of Daniels, Adair, and all of the prospects he has come in contact with.  This says to me that Daniels and Adair are not going anywhere, and that every arm in the system is excited to be a part of this organization's future.

Link:

http://tinyurl.com/4ojwsq