BASEBALL: Rutherford calms Tornadoes

are u kidding me with this pitch count shenanigans?? Rutherford is a kid;he is 16 years old. believe it or not his arm can take it. look around the area at aces and look at the batters faced and innings pitched.....he isn't even in the upper third of either. a player is allotted 10 innings of work in a calendar week, the most he has thrown is 7. and with the pitch calling....please. so what you want him to do is to throw all fastballs in hitters counts?? well then watch his above average stats quickly fall. the coaches are doing a terrific job and I am looking forward to watching this season progress because i can see the players growing together as a team and are going to be a force to be reckoned with in the playoffs.

You parents need to buy a clue. It'll never change at AHS, even when I played there, we had those parents who thought they knew more then Meiers about the game. You guys will never be satisfied.. Let the coach be he's doing an outstanding job with the limited pool of talent he has!!! Let the kids play, quit your whining and enjoy the game.

Innings pitched - Dearth 27 2/3, Rutherford 29 1/3.Batters faced Dearth 117, Rutherford 116.Plus Dearth pitches today. These
are the stats Anonymous. To Mike G. high school baseball is not little league. Bryce is so good because he mixes pitches, which means you throw a curve, fastball or whatever to get the batter out.

Hey gm I have been to games and heard his dad complaine about the pitch count.. Especially last year when he was throwing well over 100 pitches per game.. You are right about not counting warm up pitches but when you think about it doesn't it make less sence to throw him over 100 pitches now he is at what 160+ thrown pitches per game?

Rutherford is definitely the real deal and deserves every accolade given to him. On the other hand, shame on the Arcadia coaching staff for relying on his arm continuously. There is plenty of other pitching talent at Arcadia. What happened to the sophmore this year? He has one bad start this season and now he's done? The coaching staff should be grooming and showcasing all their pitchers and not injure Rutherford before he becomes a senior.

As a parent of a 14 year old pitcher who lives in the Arcadia are, I have concerns about having my son play at Arcadia high school. I've watched Rutherford throw twice (Burbank and Hoover)and in both instances he throw alot of pitches but more concerning to me was the amount of curve-balls he was asked to throw. 2/2 count...curve-ball, 3/2 count...curve-ball, 2/1 count...curve-ball. Not to mention conventional counts that call for the curve-ball. I don't know what these coaches are thinking. I don't blame Rutherford, he is a great young pitcher who wants to throw...he doesn't know any better...his coaches should!

To Anonymous, You don't count the warmup pitches in the pitch count. Rutherford has NEVER throw 130 pitches. Bryce is the real deal and throws harder as the game progresses. Have you kept a pitch count on him? Look for Rutherford vs Dearth in the Apache Invitational final April 9.

When are the Arcadia coaches going to find other arms to save games so Bryce isn't done before he is a senior. I have seen them throw him up to and beyond 130 pitches.. It's a joke if all they do is count on him. Whats that say about that coaching staff..Not to mention that Bryce pitches all summer for different travel teams.

This kid is the real deal....i saw him pitch against Alhambra which was his only loss and he definetly should have won that ball game. He out pitched Noe and only lossed on an bloop 2 out hit that should have been caught. The matchup that i would really like to see is Rutherford vs. Dearth from TC

Its not a question of how much better can he get? Its how much more can his arm take? I've watched him throw well over 100 pitches in all but one of his five starts. He is a gifted kid, with a good arm, who wins ball games...but at what cost?