San Francisco Giants:Holding Cueto back is the right decision
To all of the San Francisco Giants fans out there who are worried about Johnny Cueto being held back from his first start, it is actually no surprise and the right thing to do.
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As reported last month by Henry Schulman, the Giants are planning on being extra cautious with their new starter after a postseason that lasted until November. To put it into proper perspective, Cueto’s last official pitch was at the end of a complete-game two-hit masterpiece in Game 2 against the New York Mets.
So of course the Giants want to slow-play an arm that, had there been a Game 6 last year, would have had a chance to be the World Series MVP with another good outing, and thus would have been untouchable to the Giants (would have been in the David Price category, and had more guaranteed years).
Today, Andrew Baggarly reported that:
Johnny Cueto's exhibition debut with #SFGiants is being pushed back: https://t.co/zUdAx1AVPS
— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) March 4, 2016
The team is beginning to learn a little bit from its recent past. With deep postseason runs comes a World Series hangover. Not a mental one, but a physical one the cannot be rectified easily.
The human arm is not built for repetitive overhand motion, not even a huge bank account can make the body recover any faster.
After each one of the World Series wins, there has been a bit of a slip in the pitching staff the following year. It is likely due to the lack of stamina left in the arm, and not being given the proper rest. But again, the price is steep when you are going for a championship.
Cueto is a pitcher who changed teams and leagues last year, and that was a new thing on both counts. He also shined when the light was brightest on the biggest stage. His presence in the regular season is much more important than seeing him out there early in the spring.