Peavy talks about his first start, going forward

SHARE Peavy talks about his first start, going forward

OAKLAND, Calif. — Jake Peavy reflected Friday on his first start of the season against the Angels on Wednesday night. Here is much of what he had to say about that outing, where he’s at physically and his desire to pitch deeper into games:

“Good day off yesterday. Just some cardio to make sure we did something. Good workday today. And got on my weight lifting and shoulder program. I’m not going till Wednesday. So just got plenty of time to recover. It’s not needed but what we’ve chosen to do so I hope to build the outing next time and let me go a little longer than 87 pitches.”

On pitching in a six-man rotation:

“I come out and treat it as if I’m going to start every five days and use those extra days as recovery. Let your body get stronger and I like to stay on my routine and then obviously play some long toss. Your arm is going to feel pretty good for a couple days in between so you can stretch it out and work on maintaining and getting some arm strength, which I intend to do. Take advantage of the off-day and having six guys. I like to get my work in on scheduled days, just because that’s what we’ve done for 10 years. It what I know what to do and how my body will respond a certain way and use those extra days before the start to recovery.”

Could you start every fifth day now?

“Absolutely. I don’t think there’s any question about that. I was doing that in my minor league starts. I wouldn’t be here if we didn’t feel if it was something I couldn’t do. We really didn’t have any options with the way Phil was throwing. He’s been our best guy. And how are you going to say it’s fair to bring him out of the rotation. I’m excited he’s getting the opportunity and maybe we’ll be fresh down the stretch when it counts. Hopefully when we go to a six-man staff, they’ll stretch us out a little longer. Let us go 115-120 [pitches]. With those extra days, that shouldn’t be a problem to do and come back if you got that extra day of rest.”

On the uncharted territory that is the six-man ‘ro’:

“Like I said, I don’t know if it’s etched in stone or they’re going to let it play out and see how things go. We got six guys that are going to get out there and most times give us a quality effort and a chance to win a game. If we can go.”

“I don’t know where that 100-pitch mark came from, but it seems like when your starting pitcher has 100 pitches, everyone starts to panic now. It used to not be how it was, but apparently it’s a big number now. Hopefully they’ll let us stretch out, like the other night. I know it was my first start, but if you’re at 100 pitches through seven and throw 115 through eight, maybe not even use a reliever, I know we used a couple relievers in that game. … That’s why I hope the plan is when you’re going with six starters, you can’t have a starter going six innings. I know I’ll be monitored more closely than some of the other guys. But hopefully we’ll put that to bed and the next few starts I’ll be one of the guys who can go as long as he can.”

“I hope so. It’s tough being the competitor you are to throw 87 pitches and feel you still got a lot in the tank with all the conditioning and stuff you do to come out of the game.”

“I always take pride in being one of the top end guys and taking the load off the boys in the pen on my day. It’s something I try to take pride in. If I don’t go seven innings, I’m going to have a hard time. I don’t care if it’s six shutout innings. I’m going to have a hard time calling that a quality effort from me. It’s just my expectations. When I take the ball, I want to finish the game I start. I understand in today’s world how ballgames are played out. But if I don’t throw seven innings as a starter and as a front-line starter as I want to be and going to be, I can’t walk away saying, ‘I did my job to the fullest.’ I understand there are days when you battle and throw six shutout and throw 110 pitches. There are those days. You can walk away. But at the same time, you’re not happy with that. Seven innings, to me, is a quality start. Obviously with a couple runs (allowed). Not any more than that. But that’s just the boar I have in my mind. And that’s what I want to do. Obviously the other night it was a good first step and so good to get out there. I was blessed to be able to just be where I’m at and feel that way. At the same time, I’m trying to get better.”

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