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BULLPEN
Steve Cishek is throwing the ball fairly well, taking more of the strike zone, and ... it wouldn't be fair to overstate his problems this year. To date, he's got 11+ strikeouts, 2+ walks, and 1.29 (which is 8 total homers on the year) might be a touch of gopheritis or it might be a bit of bad luck, in which a batter "accidentally" caught the ball on the right smidgeon of equator.
Cishek's 15.4% homer per fly rate is assumed to be a luck stat by sabes. If you agree, then you also assume that Steve Cishek is a legitimate midrange closer ... "closing" the 8th for a young superstar.
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Edwin Diaz has two versions. Well, three:
60% HI = Rested = Holocaust. 99 MPH would be enough, even if it weren't Strike One located, even if it weren't backed by a savage power slider. The minty-fresh Diaz is OVERKILL and needs to be in a higher league.
30% MID = Two Days In A Row = Top Closer. Many, many strikes ... explosive fastball even at 95-96 ... plus slider at the least. That's better than (say) Steve Cishek.
10% LO = Lost His Release Point = when he comes in with the 3-1 strike you better hope the ball misses a fielder's glove, 'cause it's your only chance.
The second AB of the 9th, Diaz came in on the hands at 95 for 0-1. Then he threw a sucker-pitch slider away for a garbage swing, 0-2. Then he spiked a slider badly. Then a 96 MPH fastball right down the pipe froze the Orc, who was mesmerized "in between" the two pitches.
When you got 96, and you throw it right down the middle with two strikes, and a major league hitter ain't ready for it, that is pure Funky McSkanky.
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Talking about MID and LO, and the verrrrrrry "high floor" in a Diaz outing, here is the last pitch of the game -- a baby-simple 96 MPH fastball on the black from a tired Diaz. Muncy could only hope to find a hole. It's just a different margin for error than a bat-planed sidearm 90 fastball.
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WBC-SAN
Was in vintage form Friday.
(1) Nipping the top of the zone. (2) Whipsawing the shuuto low to either side. (3) "Pitchability" getting him 90 MPH takes down the middle on two strikes. (4) etc.
Hey! Waitaminnit!, when did Hisashi Iwakuma start throwing a power cut fastball? The middle-high clump, catcher's POV:
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It is 86-87 MPH off his 89 MPH fastball. It cuts back gloveside and "hops" six inches up. This is very different from his 82 slider, which breaks way more down and out.
Baseball people divide fastballs into "sinkers" and "four-seamers," which I really don't, but even by my count that is 5 pitches. 5. He threw a good number of yakkers, too.
Says he wants to pitch to age 45, which, if he's going to improve slightly every season, leaves him entering Maddux range at 39 and leaving it at 42.
Enjoy,
Jeff
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