As you saw from the graph in the previous article, Felix' heater wasn't cutting and rising quite as much as it sometimes does.  However, it was still cutting hard, and this cutting motion has -- since he debut'ed it May 1 -- been the renaissance of his fastball.  

It was a well-kept secret that Felix' fastball had become his weakness.  Adrian Gonzalez spilled the beans a few weeks ago:  "Felix' fastball is usually straight."  (AGone shrugged with an obvious air of, his fastball ain't nothin'.)  "Today it was cutting."  Check the run value on his fastball last season.  You reaaalllllly want to understand Felix Hernandez, drop the hero worship and recognize that his fastball had become a pitch he had to work around.  (That meant he'd become one of the 6-8 best pitchers in the game, rather than the best.)

However, in May 2012 he transitioned, and his fastball became a weapon again.  For two reasons:  he started cutting it, and he started throwing it up in the zone.

Here you go.  Walk over to USSM's embedded video of the perfect-O.  Watch the fastballs just in the first 1:30, but all of them.  You decide for yourself whether Felix is still trying to pound the knees for groundball outs, or is now --- > elevating the ball to get over the hitter's bats for swingthroughs.  And elevating the fastball so that a diving changeup will alter the eye level.  He's attacking with the fastball.

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Matthew of Lookout Landing puts together a chart that captures the situation, um, perfectly.  Notice two things about the P-E-R-F-E-C-T game:

(1) Felix threw 66 breaking pitches.  Guess how many were put in play fair?  Four of them.  Lemme read that again.

(2) Felix threw only 47 fastballs all day.  That's five per inning.  Sometimes in the ninth he throws almost none.  

But when Felix threw the fastball, that's when he was risking a base hit.  11 of his 47 fastballs were put into play, four of them fairly briskly.  Felix is back to having a fastball that he can attack with, but the fact is that The Coin Of The Realm is always going to be Felix' weakest pitch.  He throws it with Rivera cutting action.  He commands it beautifully.  He's back to throwing it 92-95.  And guess what:  the hitters are praying he'll throw it.

In 2006-08, SSI used to whine that "Felix doesn't need to establish his fastball.  Anybody with a 95 fastball has established it during the National Anthem.  They'll always be afraid of it.  They'll always be starting the bats early."

Jose Cruz Jr. said exactly this on ESPN.  The anchor said, what's up with all the soft stuff.  Cruz explained, he throws you one of those 95 fastballs, the seed is in your mind and you can't get it out...

The good news is, the last 13 games Felix has well-and-truly bought in to the idea of 60% breaking pitches.  Used to be he over-challenged with the 94 fastball.  Now, like Mussina, like Pedro, he wants to get you out with his glorious breaking pitches.

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Who else throws a 93 cutter with fine-tooth command?  Jered Weaver makes a living doing that at 88.

Will Felix sustain his velo increase?  He was back up to a full 93.2 MPH on Wednesday.  The evidence keeps coming in on Dr. Grumpy's side, that he weakened himself this offseason losing the weight.  For sure he's not suffering chronic wear and tear.  Looks like he's got a baaaad fastball again and it's here to stay.

Felix' fastball is a weapon again, a fearsome one.  The hitters' only safe haven has been rousted by the cops.

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