"Velocities are down all around baseball. It's the talk of scouts everywhere." -Jon Heyman

Not all Dan Warthen's fault that the velocities of Perez, Maine, and Santana are down?

about 2 years ago Preach19 17 comments 0 recs |

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Except for clients of Scott Boras

Those guys have all gained 4 mph on their fastballs and look primed for huge paydays this offseason.

by James Kannengieser on May 1, 2010 11:03 PM EDT reply actions

The only free agent starting pitchers next year

with Boras as an agent are Kevin Millwood and Rodrigo Lopez, according to MLBTR. Still, he could be giving his guys the testosto.

Trying to believe is my full-time occupation.

by Preach19 on May 1, 2010 11:34 PM EDT up reply actions

I was referencing Heyman's customary shilling for Boras

Baseball Analysts

by James Kannengieser on May 1, 2010 11:55 PM EDT up reply actions

I didn't know about that, haha

I’m not sure I really agree with the assessment that it’s Heyman in particular that Boras dupes. He’s a tricky fellow. And some guys just love Boras. Peter Gammons, for instance, raves about Boras’ intellect and savvy. I admire him, but he still seems a bit evil to me.

Trying to believe is my full-time occupation.

by Preach19 on May 2, 2010 3:49 AM EDT up reply actions

OR

Warthen is contagious

I wonder if Carl Everett believes Jamie Moyer exists.

by Gina on May 1, 2010 11:04 PM EDT reply actions

After reading this my first thought is

1. Are sports writers just told to randomely spam with adjectives and adverbs even if they don’t fit at all? Like what’s unusual about Kris Benson being injured?

I wonder if Carl Everett believes Jamie Moyer exists.

by Gina on May 1, 2010 11:08 PM EDT reply actions

Could it be that radar guns

are measuring from a new area, rather than when the ball comes out from the pitcher’s hand?

"We're investigating the investigative procedure of the investigation of Tony Bernazard"---Omar Minaya (he really didn't say it but he would"

by firejerrynow on May 2, 2010 6:23 AM EDT reply actions

That was my firstthought as well

there’s always seemed to be fluctuation park to park

Reyes, Thole, Wright, Beltran, Bay, Davis, Martinez, Tejada...

by Stephen Schmidt on May 2, 2010 1:00 PM EDT up reply actions

looks about right to me

http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=pit&lg=all&qual=y&type=4&season=2010&month=0

by Sam Page on May 2, 2010 1:08 PM EDT reply actions

Yeah

There’s over thirty starters whose fastball averages above 92mph, and another 40+ over 90mph. Doesn’t seem much down from previous years to have one/two flamethrowers per team.

by deadspy3 on May 2, 2010 2:09 PM EDT up reply actions

It would have been nice if Heyman was specific

Obviously the Verlanders and and Ubaldos of the world are still doing fine velocity-wise. I haven’t done much research, but Max Scherzer’s velocity is way down. From 93.6 to 91.8. Heyman’s got a point, but it would have been nice to see an example or two to back it up.

Trying to believe is my full-time occupation.

by Preach19 on May 2, 2010 3:07 PM EDT up reply actions

just from that fangraphs page

there’s about 70 guys at 90+ right now, where as only 50+ finished the season at 90+ last season, though I’d imagine it’s way too early to make any determinations about velocity. And maybe Scherzer’s velocity is down because they tweaked his motion? I know he was considered super high injury risk which is why Arizona basically gave him away.

I wonder if Carl Everett believes Jamie Moyer exists.

by Gina on May 2, 2010 3:49 PM EDT up reply actions

Another point from that page

that’s interesting is the differential in speed between fastballs and changeups. For example, Kyle Farnsworth’s change up does not really deserve the name, as it’s only 5mph-ish slower!

by deadspy3 on May 2, 2010 5:03 PM EDT up reply actions

I don't think that's that crazy

I think it depends on the movement, like King Felix’s change up is like 89-90, but it has more movement than most change ups. I can’t find any information on the movement of Farnsworth but I did found some articles about how he apparently tinkered with it over the off-season and the royals coaches were blown away, for whatever that’s worth.

Although according to pitch f/x so far this season his change up is drastically different from previous seasons, though i don’t know how reliable the data is.

I wonder if Carl Everett believes Jamie Moyer exists.

by Gina on May 2, 2010 5:10 PM EDT up reply actions

Ah yes, I'd completely ignored movement

Which would go a long way to compensating

by deadspy3 on May 2, 2010 7:21 PM EDT up reply actions

I don't know why Scherzer is considered such an injury risk

His arm slot is pretty low and close to his ear, so he’s more of a shover—the arm action seems pretty simple. A low elbow angle is less strenuous on the arm, isn’t it? I don’t know if the Tigers did anything to him, but you’re right, it’s too early to make judgments.

Trying to believe is my full-time occupation.

by Preach19 on May 2, 2010 5:22 PM EDT up reply actions

I don't know why either I know like 0 about pitching mechanics

i’ve tried to look for some articles about it but all I can find is articles stating he is an injury risk but never explaining why. The only thing I’ve found is a video from the guys at driveline mechanics, but it’s from 2 years ago so who knows what has or hasn’t changed since then, but apparently they had a big problem with his motion after the release/follow through, apparently his arm doesn’t come far enough back which makes them think he’s braking his arm when it’s traveling at 96 mph, could cause major stress in his shoulder?

I wonder if Carl Everett believes Jamie Moyer exists.

by Gina on May 2, 2010 5:53 PM EDT up reply actions