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Remember when Jake Arrieta was clapping back at Pittsburgh Pirates fans before the 2015 NL Wild Card Game and then a few days later he killed the entire city? That was awesome. The 2015 Jake Arrieta was a badass, so cocky, but he backed it up every single time. Hell, I wish the Chicago Cubs had the 2016 version of Jake Arrieta because right now all we’re seeing is a bad pitcher. From the start of 2017, everyone acknowledged that the velocity was down and that was the reason for Arrieta’s struggles.
On Friday, Arrieta admitted the real reason for his awful 2017 season.
It hasn’t been pretty for Arrieta, who has mixed in a few good starts, but overall is being hit hard. In recent weeks, a blister has been to blame for his issues, however in a recent interview Arrieta said the workload has taken its toll on him.
Via Ken Rosenthal:
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“As much as we don’t want to say that it carries over from season to season, throwing almost 500 innings over the past two years, I think it did have some effect.”
“I’m not hurt or injured. It’s just that I think my body has reacted accordingly and it’s taken a little bit longer to regain the form that I would like to be in.”
(Jake Arrieta)
Before Arrieta was traded to the Cubs in 2013, he never pitched more than 119.1 innings in any of his three full years with the Baltimore Orioles. It wasn’t until 2014, when Arrieta eclipsed the 150-inning mark and then the inning totals shot up. From the start of the 2015 season through the 2016 World Series, Arrieta pitched 468.2 innings.
There’s only one other starter who’s pitched more innings than Arrieta since the beginning of 2015, and that’s Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals. Scherzer is almost two years old than Arrieta and in 2017, he’s been great for the Nationals, showing no signs of slowing down.
So, not great. Baseball can be so cruel sometimes. Before this season started most fans thought the Cubs rotation was going to be just fine. John Lackey was a concern and you never expect anything great from the fifth starter, but Jon Lester, Arrieta and Kyle Hendricks were supposed to be great. That trio has been everything but great and there’s no better poster child for the pitching struggles than Arrieta.
After Arrieta made those comments on Friday, he failed to get out of the fifth inning on Saturday against the Pirates. It was the second straight start Arrieta couldn’t get through five innings and the fourth time in 2017.
Who knows if Arrieta ever gets it back this year, but regardless of if he does or does not it’s becoming more evident that his time is coming to an end with the Cubs. If he can’t handle the workload from two consecutive postseasons, how is the team supposed to count on him in the future when they expect to continually play deep into October.
