Dylan Bundy: Painting The Corner

Over the offseason, Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun wrote a story that detailed one of the new hobbies of Dylan Bundy. If one thinks of Dylan Bundy as the stereotypical professional baseball player, then it’s likely that the first hobbies that come to mind would probably be hunting or fishing. As the article outlines, the hunting assumptions would be correct. And based on this earlier tweet, it’s probably safe to assume he likes to fish as well.

To begin #BundyBash, Dylan caught a fish. pic.twitter.com/yd0fvsO8bk

— Camden Depot (@CamdenDepot) April 5, 2016

According to Meoli, Bundy has taken up painting this offseason, although drawing is something he’s enjoyed doing ever since he was a little boy. Click the link to the story at the beginning of the paragraph to read about it. The story contains pictures of two of Bundy’s pieces of art.

And that brings us to the point of this article, which is where I will be providing a review of Bundy’s artwork, or at least the two paintings shown in the article. Before I begin, let me state what is probably very obvious to the reader already, although I still feel compelled to state it as a disclaimer: I am not an art critic. I don’t even consider myself an artist. Sure, I have dabbled in writing music from time to time over the course of my life (sometimes more successfully than others), but the last time I have painted or drawn something was likely in some art class back in middle school. I may or may not have googled “how to critique art” prior to writing this piece. Additionally, I may or may not have followed any advice I may or may not have found in said “google search”.

“Scarlet”

“Scarlet” is a painting of the head/neck/upper body of horse and was named by Orioles pitcher Mike Wright who apparently has it hanging up on a wall in his apartment. The horse is boldly colored in red and white over a pitch black canvas background. The color scheme and movement of the horse’s mane provides the impression that the horse is of the wild variety, running majestically through an open field, flanked on one side by the light of a full moon and shadows on the other. The dramatic contrasting colors of the red, white, and black tones in the piece are a nice touch, and their vibrancy instantly catches the eye of the viewer. The right eye of the horse painted white, showing the subtle catch of the moonlight, is a nice touch that further adds to the bold color scheme.

The horse itself is more realistic than cartoon, which I believe is beneficial for this genre. Bundy’s brush strokes are very deliberate, as he does an excellent job at capturing the symmetry of the horses face (especially at an angle), while also providing the asymmetrical aspects of the flowing mane. The painting also provides good depth, as it’s easy to envision the horse’s neck pulled back in mid-gallop, ready to drive itself forward, while the muscles in the horse’s upper shoulder constrict and relax as he (or she) runs towards the viewer. Bundy captures the natural movement of a horse about as well as one can, especially while only showing a small portion of the overall animal.

Having said all that, this type of painting isn’t my style, so it wouldn’t be something that I would necessarily buy. But on the whole (especially for an amateur artist), Bundy nailed it. It’s definitely well done and something I would hang up somewhere in my house if a friend gave it to me (or if I painted it myself for that matter). Did Bundy paint it by replicating another picture or attending one of those evening wine/painting packages? Maybe. Does it matter? No, it doesn’t. Because I’m sure you’ve seen paintings from when one of your friends or family have attended one of those things and they aren’t nearly as good as this.

** Editor's Note - I think he obviously paying an homage to Katy Perry's "Dark Horse" featuring Juicy J.

Listened to "DarkHorse" far too many times today. Thanks a lot @bweiss14

— Dylan Bundy (@bundy_dylan) December 21, 2013

Obviously.

Untitled (as far as we know)

The second painting is presented without a title, so I christened it “Bad Sun Rising” (I know that name is very close to “Bad Moon Rising”, so please don’t sue me Creedence Clearwater Revival). To me, the painting shows a supernova type sun rising over the horizon, which obviously means bad news for whatever world Bundy is showing in the foreground. I’m sure that there could be many things a viewer could see in this painting, and the quality of the photograph of it isn’t the best, but that’s what I’m seeing.

Similar to the previous painting, this picture uses bold colors to draw the viewer in. There are elements of both subtle contrast (seen in the upper half of the painting as the colors blend from yellow to oranges to reds) and more dramatic contrast between the upper and lower portions of the painting, as there is a hard line between the exploding sky and the land below. On the surface, the painting looks very simple, especially compared to the much more technical and realistic “Scarlet”. But what Bundy does well in “Bad Sun Rising” is capturing the reflection of that explosion accurately on the lower half of the painting. Just like the explosion itself, the reflection of that explosion appropriately fills the dark landscape with bright light near its source, only to gradually return to its natural absence of color. Even though this painting is not (in my opinion) intended to be as realistic as the first one, it’s clear that thought and attention to detail is evident.

“Bad Sun Rising” is more to my liking than “Scarlet” as it is more my style. And again, it is a solid painting. However, I’m personally not crazy about the particular colors used, and how I interpret the painting as an “end of the world galactic explosion” doesn’t help either. However, this painting (and many others) can be interpreted a number of different ways by a number of different people. And that’s what is great about art; one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Two contrasting opinions doesn’t make either person right.

So what do we make of Dylan Bundy the painter? Based on the two pieces I’ve seen, I would say that the kid’s got some talent. But in the end, does it really matter what we think about him as a painter? As long as Bundy enjoys painting and it makes him happy, it shouldn’t. The fact that I believe his artwork is well done (an opinion his teammates share according to the article) is just icing on the cake. On the other hand, if someone thinks his artwork sucks, that shouldn’t deter him from doing something he loves. You have to admire his confidence to put his paintings out there to the public and open himself to criticism, especially since “painting” and “baseball player” don’t typically go hand in hand. He’s a talented pitcher, and it looks like he’s a talented painter (typical small sample caveats apply), and if he paints the corner (and stays healthy) as well as he paints with the brush, he can look forward to a very rewarding season.

Finally, it’s the “painting the corner” joke that I am sure you were all waiting for.

What Could Have Changed For The Orioles If Dylan Bundy Never Got Hurt?

The Orioles, as we all know, are one of the few teams favored to win the 2016 World Series. The offense plays an important role, as the Orioles have a strong middle of the lineup with Chris Davis, Manny Machado, Nelson Cruz, Miguel Sano and Adam Jones. It’s a shame the Orioles only have one middle of the lineup. Jonathan Schoop is considered a rising star and the Orioles are hoping that he can take another leap forward. It’s too early to judge, but his comments about focusing on plate discipline during the offseason and spending extra time just studying video is a good sign.

People may have complained about Matt Wieters deciding to accept the Qualifying Offer, but he was certainly the best catcher available in free agency this year and gives this team more depth. Ron Herder may have written an article about how Desmond wasn’t worth the draft pick lost by signing him, but Desmond has shown an ability to be above average at RF and is good insurance in case JJ Hardy gets hurt.  It can be easy to lose sight of the fact that piles of cash don’t help teams win championships. All in all, the Orioles may not have many high OBP players, but they have a number of elite power bats and their only real possible weakness is at SS. That’s acceptable for a team that wants to contend for a championship.

The defense is looking pretty good also. The infield is strong defensively, boasting a superb Machado/Hardy combo on the left side of the infield. The Wieters/Joseph time-share at catcher will ensure that both players remain fresh. Nelson Cruz is getting a bit past his prime in LF while it’s questionable whether Miguel Sano will be able to stick, but Ian Desmond is showing good range and a plus arm in RF while Reimold and Rickard are showing the ability to be acceptable defensive replacements. As usual, the Orioles promise to have a strong defense.

The bullpen also looks tough. Britton is settling in for another year as the closer, while O’Day and Givens promise to be top setup men. Wright and Brach will compete to pitch in the sixth inning and sometimes seventh inning. Matusz is a capable LOOGY. The Orioles could probably use another left-handed pitcher to even things out, but no team is perfect.

But the real reason why the Orioles are favored to win it all is due to their tough starting rotation. It may have taken Jake Arrieta a long time to figure things out, but he finally broke through at the end of 2013. His turning the corner convinced the Orioles not to go after a starting pitcher that offseason and instead focus on buying the bats.

This also allowed the Orioles’ to bring Kevin Gausman along slowly. Gausman feels comfortable throwing his fastball, circle change and curveball, which allows him to dominate opposing batters. Tillman and Zach Davies pitch at the back of the rotation, at least until Eduardo Rodriguez is healthy. The Orioles haven’t given up hope completely for Tillman (unlike Miguel Gonzalez who was DFAd this offseason), but he certainly is feeling the heat. Rodriguez is expected back in June and will likely kick someone out of the rotation. Otherwise, Hunter Harvey and Tyler Wilson are also just waiting for their opportunities to start. The rotation has good talent and a reasonable amount of depth.

But you may have noticed that I omitted a starter from that rotation. As we know, Dylan Bundy first made it to the majors after a strong 2012 season, and seized a starting spot in 2013. Since then, he’s thrown 200 innings in both 2014 and 2015, and makes a terribly good 1-2 punch combined with Jake Arrieta. At $136 million, this roster is extremely expensive, but teams like the Orioles don’t have chances to win the World Series every season and decided to take a shot. The Orioles offense may only be above average, but combined with a deadly pitching staff and makes the Orioles a tough team to beat and it’s easy to see why they’re a contender.

Or more accurately, this is what could have been.  Instead, Jake Arrieta and Eduardo Rodriguez were never able to figure it out until they left Baltimore and Dylan Bundy has been hobbled by injuries the past three seasons. Chris Tillman did turn into a serviceable starter for the Orioles, but one wonders whether a better development program would have turned him into a top-of-the-rotation starter rather than the back of the rotation pitcher that he has ultimately become. One has to wonder whether Kevin Gausman would be further along in his development if he wasn’t shuttled from major leagues to minor leagues because the Orioles were competing for a playoff spot and needed pitching talent.  Would the Orioles have signed expensive and average pitchers like Jimenez and Gallardo if their homegrown talent had turned out slightly better? Miguel Sano and Nelson Cruz would be an extremely potent addition to this clubs’ offense. It’s impossible to blame the Orioles for not signing those two guys as both were extreme question marks, but this club would be better if they were.

By just looking at players that were either on the Orioles or nearly signed by the Orioles, it’s quite easy to see how this team could be a legitimate world series’ contender if it was able to develop its pitching better. The sad thing is that the Orioles were able to find enough raw talent to be a top club but were unable to develop it. It’s not so hard to develop a scenario where this club really did look like the team I described earlier in this article.

In the end, perhaps this franchise over the past four years is best described by Dylan Bundy. Both had so much potential to do great things, but despite some success were unable to truly become stars. Bundy had a strong 2012 when he looked like he was ready to become a top starter. He was considered a top prospect by Baseball America for a number of years. The Orioles have been to the playoffs in 2012 and 2014 while having respectable seasons in 2013 and 2015. They’ve had one of the highest win totals in baseball over the past four years. But what ultimately matters is performance on the big league level and whether or not teams end up winning a World Series. Who cares which team won the AL East in 2003? Both the Orioles and Bundy’s results weren’t bad per se, but you look back at both of them and wonder what could have been.

And now, the Orioles really resemble Dylan Bundy. Most commentators see a few sparks of talent in this Orioles club; they look at guys like Manny Machado and Chris Davis, but ultimately don’t think the Orioles will be successful this year. They simply have too many weaknesses. Likewise, it’s possible to see the talent in Dylan Bundy. He’s still got talent, but it’s been three years since he’s been in the majors and people are wondering whether he can be successful. And even if he can succeed, will he ever be able to start? Can he truly develop his potential?

Everyone is simply asking question after question about this team and player. Looks like they both get a chance to answer their critics starting right now. Play Ball!

The Option Rules Were Unfair To Dylan Bundy

Dylan Bundy is out of options and thus cannot be sent to the minors without being subject to a waiver claim. Most players are entitled to be optioned in three different seasons; because Bundy used three options before his fifth professional season, he was eligible for (and used) a fourth option year. Bundy has pitched 63 innings over the past two seasons; clearly Bundy and the Orioles would benefit if he could get more minor-league seasoning - even though he had an additional option year.

After drafting Bundy, the Orioles signed Bundy to a major-league contract, which put him on the 40-man roster (a practice outlawed in the most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement). So when Bundy was sent to the minor leagues for his first professional season (2012), that used his first option year. Bundy was optioned to Bowie on March 16, 2013; he was placed on the disabled list on March 31 and missed the entire season. That used his second option year. In 2014, he was again optioned to Bowie; that used his third option year. And in 2015, he was optioned to Bowie a third time; that used his fourth and final option year.

The Orioles' 2013 opening day was April 2. The Orioles optioned Bundy on March 16, even though they didn't have to reduce the roster to 25 until April 2. They optioned him then to streamline their spring training. But this turned out to be a costly convenience. For if they had known that he would go on the disabled list on March 31 - before opening day - they could have waited until March 31 and put him on the disabled list from the major-league spring training roster. And if they had done that, then he wouldn't have used an option that year, and he would still have an option for this year.

Players spend time in the minor leagues to develop their skills. Players have only a limited number of option years to prevent teams from hoarding players, allowing players an opportunity to play in the major leagues and allowing other teams to add players they can use. Surrendering one of Dylan Bundy's years of optional assignment in a year in which he didn't pitch because of injury doesn't help him develop. It doesn't help the Orioles in that they have to keep Bundy on the 25-man active roster before he's presumably ready. It's a lose-lose for both player and team.

Of course, other teams are helped because the Orioles must carry Bundy on their active roster or allow one of them to acquire him. However, I believe the penalty to both Bundy and the Orioles is so severe that the rule should be changed. While it's arguable that some organizations just don't know how to keep players healthy, it's more likely that this is an arbitrary situation that wouldn't help - or hurt - one organization more than another.

I see three possible rule changes:

1. Simply change the rule so that an option year is not used if a player does not play in any game during the season. This is the easiest rule to understand and to apply, but is most subject to manipulation. For instance, a player may start the season on the disabled list but be able to come back late in the season. The team would have to weigh the benefit of holding back a healthy player in exchange for not burning an option year. And, because players on optional assignment are on the major-league team's 40-man roster, the Players' Union would get involved. I imagine there would be little controversy if a player were held out of the games of late August, but there might be issues if he were ready to come back at the end of July.

2. Allow options made before opening day to be "revocable," thereby allowing players to be "recalled" without burning an option year provided the recall is before opening day. This would, essentially, allow a player to be placed on the disabled list from the major-league roster. I don't know if there are any roster limits during spring training (I think not), so there shouldn't be any implementation issues. The disadvantage of this change is that it doesn't adequately address the cases in which an injury proves to be more serious than first suspected, and a player misses the entire year even though his option wasn't revoked.

3. Allow teams to apply to the Commissioner's Office for, essentially, an additional option year. If this rule was in effect, after the 2013 season the Orioles would have applied to the Commissioner's Office to cancel the option (or to award an additional option). This is similar to the NCAA practice through which players may be granted an additional year of eligibility in extraordinary circumstances. The Commissioner's Office would evaluate the request, and (presumably, based on the facts provided) grant or not grant the extra option. This provides the best protection against abuse by the team (holding back a healthy player to retain the option) while introducing another possible abuse (arbitrary action by the Commissioner's Office).

In the big picture, this is not a major problem. But it does seem to be an issue which both the players and the teams have an interest in addressing. It's an issue that at least both players and teams should agree on the desirable outcome. If this is addressed in the next CBA negotiations, and an agreement can quickly be reached, it may contribute to a spirit of cooperation and smooth the rest of the negotiations.

The Arm, The Original Earl Weaver, And Dylan Bundy

Earlier in the day, I discussed Jeff Passan's new book, The Arm: Inside the billion-dollar mystery of the most valuable commodity in sports, and Dylan Bundy's short appearance in the book.  As noted then, the book tries to tackle the acknowledged elephant in the room: how does the industry stop all of these arm injuries.  Things have changed quite a bit over the past 150 years except for the fact that a great number of pitchers crash and burn.

My great great aunt has something in common with 20 year old pitchers in the 1930s.  While she was 75 years old, what she had in common was the same surgical procedure.  Her issue was arthritis and the medical world largely thought that arm injuries in baseball was actually an arthritic condition.  A popular perspective was that arthritis was caused by bad teeth.  The idea was that bad teeth leached poison into the blood stream and that the poison collected in and destroyed joints.  My great great aunt had a lovely set of teeth that she took great pride in as many her age had succumbed to cavities and other maladies.  Her teeth looked perfect, but with arthritis crippling her the doctors suggested pulling out all of her teeth.  It did nothing.  Likewise, many a young phenom whose arm died either in the minors or majors had their teeth removed for what now is obvious as no good reason.

One revolutionary thought about bringing up young pitchers was brought forward by Paul Richards, which is presented in the book, who was named the Orioles manager and general manager prior to the club's second season.  Richards was a product of the Branch Rickey legion of thought.  What became the Oriole Way was the same thing as Dodger Baseball, Cardinal Way, and a half dozen or so other organizational approaches to developing winning baseball teams.  Due to Weaver on Strategy, many erroneously think that the ideas he proclaims in there are his own ideas, but they are almost all Richards.  To some extent, many are also found elsewhere.  In other words, what you knew about the Oriole Way, well, you probably should forget it.

Anyway, the original Earl Weaver, Paul Richards, was actually the one who came up with the idea that rookie pitchers should be brought in slowly.  A rookie pitcher would first be brought into the bullpen to be introduced to the MLB game.  Then easing him into a swing starter role and, finally, into the rotation.  The idea was that by easing a player into the high effort, high leverage game that his arm would adjust, get use to the work load, and then be dependable as a 200+ IP arm year-in and year-out.

As opposed to Weaver, Richards actually did what he preached.  Each year in Chicago, he would stretch out his pitchers in that manner.  Mike Fornieles and Jack Harshman were both examples of that approach.  With the Orioles the framework was used for Milt Pappas, Jerry Walker, and Jack Fisher.  When he moved on to Houston, he continued this practice with Mike Cuellar, Dave Giusti, and Larry Dierker.  While Earl Weaver's team were largely known for picking up veteran retreads like Mike Cuellar.

Now, bringing this back to Dylan Bundy.  Without subscribing to Paul Richards' approach or the ideal that Earl Weaver spoke of but never truly implemented, the Orioles will be taking this route with Dylan Bundy.  Bundy was part of the final draft class that was permitted to sign Major League deals.  It was suggested at the time that by signing a MLB deal that the Orioles saved some money.  The club thought this was not much of a risk because as Bundy was, he was already rather close to being a MLB pitcher right out of high school.  He was not considered much of a risk to run out of options before he was ready to play.  Unfortunately, after his first taste of the Majors in 2012, he then found himself suffering injuries that limited him to 42 innings over three years.

The Orioles, concerned about keeping Bundy healthy and stretching out his stamina, will now ease him in.  Buck mentioned a similar Richards' approach.  Bundy would work relief in the first half and then at some point find himself starting a few times in the second half.  All of this would be done to target 2017 as his time to enter into the Orioles' rotation.

We shall see.

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The Arm: Inside the Billion Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports
by Jeff Passan
368 pp

Orioles' Bullpen Could Be Dominant With A Healthy And Rejuvenated Dylan Bundy

If the Orioles do nothing else, they should excel in two areas this season: hitting home runs and pitching well out of the bullpen. Last season, the O's had one of the best bullpens in the majors. In terms of fWAR (6.4), they ranked first and finished a win better than the next closest team. They were also fifth in ERA (3.21), sixth in FIP (3.48), sixth in K/9 (8.98), t-16th in BB/9 (3.33), and third in GB% (48.7).

Buck Showalter's three most-used weapons out of the bullpen last year were Brad Brach (79.1 IP), Zach Britton (65.2 IP), and Darren O'Day (65.1 IP). All three had strikeout rates over 10. While Brach was merely good, with a 4.31 walk rate weighing his numbers down a bit (2.72 ERA/3.47 FIP), Britton and O'Day were phenomenal (more on those two at the bottom).

Three other trusted relievers last season -- Tommy Hunter, Brian Matusz, and Chaz Roe -- were not on the Orioles' opening day roster. Hunter is gone, shipped away at last year's trade deadline. As a free agent, he signed with Cleveland in the offseason. Matusz is currently on the disabled list, though he could return soon. And Roe recently went unclaimed on waivers and will start the year with Triple-A Norfolk.

So that leaves some interesting names to fill out the bullpen. There's Mychal Givens, who was tremendous in 30 innings of work last season and could have a very bright future. Tyler Wilson and Vance Worley could both receive starting and relief work this year depending on Kevin Gausman's health and the effectiveness of the rest of the rotation. Mike Wright, currently in the rotation as the No. 4 starter, could certainly find himself in a relief role later in the year as well. T.J. McFarland is the only left-handed pitcher in the bullpen besides Britton. He's a long-man type, but it's not out of the question he gets used in a matchup role until Matusz returns.

And then there's the wild card: Dylan Bundy. Anyone familiar with the Bundy hype train of years past is aware of the talent he possesses. And since he's battled back from injury and is back in the majors, we are focusing on him today with our Bundy Bash. The O's are used to pitching prospects failing to achieve lofty expectations, but Bundy still has a chance to shine.

At the moment, it's unclear what role Bundy, who must be on the major league roster, will fill. Will he receive mop-up work? How many innings will he pitch at a time? Could he even start a game this season? Regardless, just having him healthy is cause for celebration.

The most likely scenario for Bundy is that he'll have a controlled workload that the O's could ramp-up over time. He hasn't pitched in a non-spring training game since May 21, after which he was shut down because of right shoulder inflammation. For now, at least, resting seems to have worked for him. Bundy's strong performance this spring was one highlight in a busy and bizarre offseason.

Bundy, 23, is saying all the right things that you'd expect from someone who is tired of being hurt and just wants to pitch: "I'm just here to compete and whenever they need me I'll pitch. I don't really care what role that is. I'll just go out there and eat up innings and do my job."

Roch Kubatko of MASN also noted that Bundy hasn't been used on back-to-back days yet. Considering Bundy's recovery (and that we're talking about spring training outings), it's not surprising that he's being brought along slowly. But it's also worth noting that if anyone won't overwork a bullpen or has a feel for reliever workload, it's Showalter. He doesn't like using relievers on back-to-back days, if he can avoid it:

Orioles manager Buck Showalter is a little unique in his handling of his pen. They lead the majors in relief appearances of more than one inning with 106. . . .What Showalter prefers to avoid is using a reliever on two consecutive days, let alone three. Tommy Hunter, now with the Cubs, is the only Orioles reliever to appear in three straight days this year, which he did once. Showalter has used a reliever on consecutive days just 44 times.

Even if there's a small chance, the Orioles hope that Bundy is able to pitch as a starter again in the future. Showalter has even hinted that it could be a possibility later in the year. It would be a tremendous coup to both get him through this season and eventually see him in the rotation again. Within realistic expectations, there's only so much Bundy will be able to contribute for the Orioles this season. The key is to do whatever it takes to keep him healthy. But as they're aware of, with Britton's dominance and to a lesser extent with Matusz, there is still value in having pitchers not completely flame out (or, you know, dominating for other teams).

Even if Bundy ends up not pitching well, the Orioles' bullpen still projects to be outstanding. But if he is healthy and throwing flames, then that makes the bullpen a little stronger, a little more well-rounded. The roles of Britton (closer) and O'Day (set-up man) are set in stone, while Givens and Brach will battle it out to see who gets regular seventh-inning work. If/when Matusz returns, he'll resume the left-handed specialist role. Anything else is basically up for grabs.

Bundy likely won't pitch more than a couple innings at a time, preferably in low-leverage situations. But things can change in a hurry. Just ask Britton, who was nearly traded before the 2014 season before eventually grabbing hold of the closer's role after Hunter's injury/ineffectiveness. Britton hasn't looked back. Injuries happen, and relievers can have bad seasons. Bundy could end up having an uneventful 2016, which would definitely be welcomed if he's able to avoid the disabled list. But he could also end up contributing more. Considering where he's been, that would be something special.

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More on Britton and O'Day:

Britton's full-time shift to closer in 2014 has been well told, and he was already pretty good that season. He kept the ball on the ground and in the ballpark, posting a ridiculous 1.65 ERA that didn't exactly match his peripherals (7.31 K/9, 2.71 BB/9, .215 BABIP). And yet, somehow Britton in 2015 blew the 2014 version out of the water. He threw about 10 fewer innings, but he increased his strikeout rate by about 3.5 per nine innings, dropped his walk rate under 2, cut his home run rate a tiny bit more, and even managed to increase his already low groundball rate from the year before (from 75.3% to 79.1%). And he did all that while posting a BABIP that was 93 points higher.

Like Britton, O'Day raised his game last season as well. He posted a career best K/9 of 11.3 despite never previously topping 10. With his funky delivery and pitch repertoire tinkering, O'Day has posted an ERA under 2.3 in every season since joining the O's in 2012. Somehow, that number has also dropped every year: 2.28 in 2012, 2.18 in 2013, 1.7 in 2014, to 1.52 in 2015. Perhaps in the past, we'd explain a chunk of that away as good fortune, particularly because those results don't match his fielding independent numbers. But even before joining the Orioles, O'Day had demonstrated the ability to outpitch his peripherals; plus, four seasons of work with the O's, even if only about 262 innings, is still a pretty good sample size for a reliever. O'Day has been very good, and while that doesn't mean he'll continue to be great, there doesn't appear to be concern for 2016.

Jeff Passan's The Arm (Part I) And Dylan Bundy

For Bundy Bash, I thought it was apropos to discuss Jeff Passan's new book, The Arm: Inside the billion-dollar mystery of the most valuable commodity in sports, which is released today.  This book is a rather important collection of information that anyone who has considered throwing a game or having their kid throw a game should read.  The book is short on answers, but does well to describe the problem of arm injuries and how so many approaches have failed as well as how slowly but surely progress is being made.  Passan focuses primarily on ligament replacement, but also expands on that a little when he addresses bone injuries to children. 

This post is the first of three review posts on the book and will tie into the framework of today's Dylan Bundy Bash.  This entry will introduce you to the personal toll experienced by pitchers, like Dylan Bundy, who undergo Tommy John surgery.  It is more than a simple slice and dice, drilling out bone, and tying up some tissues to form a new ligament in the elbow.  The pain is more felt in the weeks and months afterward.  The numbness in the fingers, the slow rehabilitation as arm comes together, and the amazing self-discipline needed to maintain the schedule (even though the schedule differs team to team and is not exactly based on anything other than anecdotes and experience).

Now, Passan did not have the luxury of following Dylan Bundy on his ups and downs in the rehabilitation process.  However, he follows perpetual underdog Todd Coffey and local wonder Daniel Hudson.  While the two differ in pedigree and organizational faith, they share a common bond.  They both were trying to do something few have done: return from a second torn ligament.  This was not planned.  While Passan recruited Coffey in order to follow a second time through a rehab, Hudson was included in order to follow a player on his way back and working through the minors until he was able to stand on that mound again in front of 40,000 fans.  It did not turn out that way; Hudson tore his ligament on his first minor league outing and Passan had a second case of a second ligament replacement recoveree to follow. 

While most fans know of Tommy John as a pitcher being shut down and typically returning a year later, the time between surgery and return is more of a black box.  Passan peeks into that box and describes to the reader how individuals in a highly competitive field try to cope with being unable to do much of anything.  Hudson becomes irate watching his Diamondbacks lose.  He tucks into his depression by obsessively playing video games, but does not give himself the pleasure (or pain) of pitching in The Show.  Instead, he plays as a shortstop.  For Coffey, he dives down into extreme thriftiness by collecting coupons and going to flea markets.  They and their families both learn to deal with how to handle the physical and mental aspects of rehabilitation.

We can imagine the struggle it was for Dylan Bundy.  He was one of the best pitching prospects in the game.  He was on the threshold of an MLB starting rotation gig.  He trained his entire life to achieve that.  And, he had to wait.  And, he hopefully did what he was told.

Dylan Bundy gets a couple pages in the book as an example of another attempt to condition the body to prevent arm injuries that winds up not working out.  Bundy is noted as an atypical high school student.  Him and his father, Denver, had worked together on Dylan since he was six years old to have incredible core strength through hard labor and challenging workout sessions in the training room.  He also loosened up while throwing 300 feet in the outfield.  While much of the chatter his senior year before the draft was about his physique and a conventional wisdom-y reasonable workload, his less-talked-about junior year was not the case.

The most impressive, maybe foolish, feat Bundy achieved in varsity baseball was when he pitched twice in a day during his junior year.  In those two games on a Saturday, he threw 181 pitches.  At the time his father told the press:

"No, I don't regret letting him go 181 pitches. We trained for that number of pitches. (However), we didn't train for such a long delay between the two games. That wasn't good."

Two items that were not covered in the book are make Dylan's case slightly more interesting.  His brother, Bobby, was also drafted by the Orioles.  He was considered less talented than Dylan, but was still valued enough for the Orioles to throw a good bit of over-slot money his way.  His varsity baseball feat was pitching 13 innings and tallying up 163 pitches.  With Bobby as the first generation prototype for Denver Bundy to create the perfect pitcher, Dylan's greater ability likely led him and Denver to push the envelope further and beyond what even his father said he was not exactly comfortable with.

The second aspect of that Saturday pitch count was that the book might be isolating that effort a bit too much.  In fact, that 181-pitch effort was done on two days rest.  He had thrown 112 pitches in his start before that.  In other words, over the course of four days, Dylan threw 293 official pitches over three games.  This does not include warm-ups or getting loose between innings.  Again, as this book indicates, we really do not know whether this was a smart or reasonable thing to do.  At the time, some folks in the Oklahoma baseball scene were aghast. 

That concern, again, was not mentioned all that often leading up to Baltimore drafting him.  Once in the Orioles' system, his workload looked drastically different.  He would go up to nine days without pitching in a game and was limited early on to 40 pitches in an outing.  Dan Duquette's response was that the club was implementing a regimen to get Dylan familiar to what would be expected of him as a major league pitcher.  Basically, the club was starting all over with him.  For better or worse, he ended up needing Tommy John surgery and lost about three years of development time.  It might be worthwhile to note that his brother Bobby has also had his career sidetracked by arm injuries.

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The Arm: Inside the Billion Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports
by Jeff Passan
368 pp