Complete games largely gone, but still valued
For the baseball romantic, there's nothing quite like seeing the starting pitcher shake hands with his teammates at the end of a complete-game victory.
The complete game has become a baseball relic during the past four decades, right along with the sub-two-hour game.
It was in 1980 that Oakland Athletics pitchers Rick Langford, Mike Norris and Matt Keough went 1-2-3 in complete games with 28, 24 and 20 respectively.
This symbolic supernova finish to the complete-game era wasn't exactly good for the Oakland pitchers' health, but that's a story for another day.
Last season the Chicago Cubs' Jake Arrieta tied for the National League lead in complete games with Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer and Madison Bumgarner.
Each had a grand total of 4. That total also led the American League, with Mark Buehrle and Corey Kluber topping the list.
This year's Cubs as a team have 3 complete games, tying them for second with the Los Angeles Dodgers and behind the San Francisco Giants, who led the National League with 4 complete games entering Thursday's action.
Although the complete game has gone by the wayside - mostly because of the emphasis on pitch counts and the number of hard-throwing relievers in the game today - Cubs manager Joe Maddon sees some value in letting his pitchers go long in the right circumstances.
"I'm a big believer when a guy completes a game, it could really catapult him in the next several starts," Maddon said. "There's something that it does to a starter's mentality. I learned that in the minor leagues, and I really believe that.
"I really believe when they pitch that efficiently and that well, let them finish it. I totally believe that once you've done it, you know how to do it again."
On May 28, Kyle Hendricks tossed a complete-game victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at Wrigley Field. In his next start, Hendricks went 8 innings in beating the Dodgers.
"He knows he can do it," Maddon said. "He knows he can do it now, and that really matters. For the most part this year, we were going 5, 6-plus with him, maybe a 7."
Jon Lester went the distance on June 1 in a victory over the Dodgers. On June 6, he went 8 shutout innings at Philadelphia.
"I love when they finish it off like that in a reasonable amount of pitches," Maddon said. "I totally believe it benefits them down the road.
"Even part of it is maybe working out of a jam in the seventh inning when you might have 85, 90, 95 pitches. But you're still (like), 'I've done this before. I'm OK' playing in this latter part of the game. That's why I like it."
Nowadays the emphasis is on the "quality start," in which a pitcher works at least 6 innings and gives up no more than 3 earned runs.
Although the quality-start stat often is maligned because 3 runs over 6 innings is an ERA of 4.50, it must be pointed out that's the minimum requirement.
The Cubs entered Thursday leading the National League with 45 quality starts, followed by Washington (44), San Francisco (42) and the New York Mets (41). Each of those teams was in a playoff position Thursday.
For the Cubs, only 2 of their quality starts have been of the minimum-requirement variety. Overall, their starters' ERA in quality-start games is 1.46, and the team's record when it gets a quality start is 35-10.
When the Cubs don't get a quality start, the team's record is 9-10, and the starters' ERA is 5.12.
Because Cubs starters have been able to go deep on many days, they entered Thursday fourth in major-league baseball in innings pitched (410). The Toronto Blue Jays led the big leagues with 438, ahead of the Giants (417⅓) and Nationals (417⅓).
The Jays are in the American League, which uses the designated hitter, meaning starting pitchers don't come out for pinch hitters as they do in many NL games.
Because of the innings piled up by Cubs starters, their bullpen has logged the fewest innings (168) in the majors, and that could pay off down the road, as relievers' arms may not be as tired.
So the complete game is all but gone, but its demise is lamented by some. Cubs TV analyst Jim Deshaies logged 15 complete games in 253 big-league starts, including 6 complete games for the Houston Astros in 1989.
Deshaies also was a broadcaster for the Astros when former pitcher Larry Dierker managed the team to four division titles in five years from 1997-2001.
Dierker, a former workhorse pitcher, liked to push his pitchers, and his Astros were among the league leaders in complete games, finishing third, fifth and tied for second, respectively, in his first three years at the helm.
"He was a little bit counter to the trend," Deshaies said. "He would leave his guys in there a little longer. He would challenge them, push them.
"Like Joe (Maddon) says, (Dierker) wanted to stretch them to the point where if they did it, at least they'd feel a little more comfortable the next time they're in that situation.
"He had a big starting-pitcher's bias. And he pitched in an era where bullpens were a little different. If you were an ace of a staff like Dierker was, his thinking was that there weren't many guys in the bullpen who were going to be able to outpitch him even if he was at 80 percent or 70 percent.
"So the game has changed that way. But he brought that starting-pitcher's bias with him."
Deshaies' 6 complete games in 1989 tied him for 11th in the NL, 1 behind Greg Maddux of the Cubs and David Cone of the New York Mets.
Although a part of him misses the complete game, Deshaies says it's mostly gone because of the way the game has evolved.
"I think it's the natural evolution," he said. "I do miss it. I think it was fun when guys would hang in there and pitch complete games - Jack Morris, the stories about Jack winning 6-5 ballgames and going the distance.
"I think they're always fun to watch to see if a guy can take it to the finish line.
"But it makes perfect sense with all the talented arms in the game and all the hard throwers in the bullpen to make those (bullpen) moves. And all the data supports it, too - he's in the third time through the batting order.
"When the (starting pitcher) gets around 100 pitches, the batting average against tends to elevate. There's any number of reasons to manage the game the way it's being managed now."
Scouting report
Chicago Cubs vs. Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field
TV: ABC 7 Friday; FOX Saturday; ESPN Sunday
Radio: WSCR 670-AM
Pitching matchups: The Cubs' Jake Arrieta (10-1) vs. Francisco Liriano (4-6) Friday at 1:20 p.m.; Jon Lester (8-3) vs. Jonathon Niese (6-3) Saturday at 7:15 p.m.; Kyle Hendricks (4-6) vs. Jameson Taillon (1-0) Sunday at 7:08 p.m.
At a glance: The Cubs are 5-1 against the Pirates this year, having outscored them 38-13. The Pirates are fighting to remain relevant in the wild-card race as they trail the Cardinals for second place behind the Cubs in the NL Central. Ace pitcher Gerrit Cole (triceps) is on the DL, so the Pirates have brought up rookie Taillon, their first-round pick (second overall) in 2010. Pittsburgh is hoping Taillon can jump-start a pitching staff whose ERA (4.29) was ninth in the NL entering Thursday. The Cubs, on the other hand, were first in ERA (2.66). The Pirates offense is led by Starling Marte, whose line entering Thursday was .332/.374/.498 with 6 homers and 25 RBI. Gregory Polanco was at .296/.379/.524 with 9 homers and 39 RBI. The Cubs enjoyed Thursday's off-day while sitting second in runs scored, first in on-base percentage and first in walks taken by their batters.
Next: St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field, Monday-Wednesday
- Bruce Miles