But my impression isn’t that he’s saying “be more like me”…my impression is that he’s saying "stand up, be a man, work more quickly, and don’t be afraid to throw 15-20 pitches more than you have in the past.—something that the organization will work up to. Is that too far off?

I’m guessing all of the starters are averaging more pitches per outing than the league average, no?

Neyer had a blog post up a few days ago specifically arguing that this was not a good thing (referencing Don Drysdale as an example).

But, just thinking about pitch counts, I’m wondering if my statement is true. I would imagine it is but not sure how much more they are this year than last

will Nolan get the same treatment Dusty Baker does for riding pitchers into the ground?

Rob Neyer hasn’t been paying attention. Just like he wasn’t paying attention in 2007 when Nelson Cruz was the starting RF out of ST only to post a .551ops in his 43 games.

I would be willing to guess that if a poll were taken here about which aspect of the game Washington has trouble, bullpen management would be at the top. As it stands so far, the starters are averaging 6 and 1/3 innings a game. Last season the starters averaged 5 and 1/3 innings. That leaves 3 fewer outs for Washington to (mis?) manage.

Last season, CJ most often came into the game in the ninth inning, but only had one appearance when he pitched for more than one inning (1 time in 50 games = 0.02). This season, Francisco has had three multiple-inning appearances in 15 games (0.2). Yeah, yeah – sample size and all that; still it seems that Francisco is no longer just a “ninth inning guy”.

The new approach to pitching will be effective because there are fewer outs for Washington to manage, thereby minimizing his biggest weakness.

Is where the break point is on an individual by individual basis. Which is pretty much where Maddux is coming from. For instance, 130 pitches for Millwood may not alter his ability to throw what he throws. Padilla is an anomaly, he can have it, lose it, and get it back (uncommon). Feldman appears to be getting used to throwing more but still may be vulnerable a third time around. (These are opinions, not substantiated with a study).

In any case, the better conditioning and preparation to stay out longer has to help, both from a durability and to prevent any loss of command due to exhaustion. And even when a starter is not on top of his game, the big benefit is to reduce the load on the bullpen, which in turn gives a manager a major break in late inning flexibility. That can win games that are iffy. And winning iffy games sure helps a team’s record.