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BaseballHQ, Dept.

(A) Coming into 2013, Ron Shandler predicted E-Ram for a sky-high Base Performance Value of 85 - meaning that Ron expected about the same component skills from him as from Lincecum, Fister, Sanchez, and Matt Moore.  In Ron's view, Ramirez' "calling-card" skill is the super-low BB rate.

(B) SSI has explored this idea from ninety different angles -- what kinds of pitchers run 1+ walk rates, and where do they go, what things do they do, what people do they meet.  The current MLB pitchers similar to Ramirez are Doug Fister, Kris Medlen and Hisashi Iwakuma.

(C) Ramirez is a 1+ BB (* - I know, I know) pitcher who has very live stuff and Greg Maddux-like stillness in his motion (up until release, when he explodes a bit too violently, or "overthrows" as the scouts say).

1 + 2 + 3 = 6.

And for Ramirez, A + B + C means that he is a pitcher who will improve, and quickly, and a lot.  Like Doug Fister did.  Erasmo is as close as you can get to SSI Best Bet turf as you can get without being on it.  The only question left is his durability.  That's the classic question with short righties, too.

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8.3.13 vs Balmer

Doogie came up with two things ... command of a fastball, and a live changeup.  His other pitches just kept improving and improving until he spiralled up into Vintage Hershiser Territory.

hat was unique  well, distinctive about August 3rd's game was that Ramirez' third and fourth pitches emerged as putaway pitches.  Well, that's what the CF camera said.  The stats after the game confirmed:

He threw all pitches between 13 and 28 times, mixing them like ... ::taps chin:: ... like Felix Hernandez does.  It was impossible to predict what was coming next; he threw about 40% fastballs and 60% the offspeed arsenal.  Offspeed could be anything.

The best pitch was 78 curve -- in this particular game, it was getting pretty close to an A.J. Burnett yakker, one that blew righties down embarrassingly, and that was unpleasant even for lefties.  That pitch and his fastball would have been plenty.

The slow curve was absolutely his #4 pitch going into last winter.  Here it is today, showing up as a feature pitch.  I'd like to be Erasmo's agent.

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Ray Miller "Throw Strikez, Change Speedz, Change Locationz" Dept.

It sounds like a cliche:  You're two different pitchers, when ahead or behind in the count, right?  Wrong.  Felix is the same guy 1-0 or 0-1.  Some pitchers are more sensitive to their need to be ahead in the count.  Right now Ramirez is one of them.  Hisashi Iwakuma, if he's 0-1 or 1-2 ... the batter is completely disorganized.  Ramirez and Iwakuma are sadistic when up 1-2.

Erasmo's fastball command was still not there.  When he is routinely getting ahead 0-1, it's game over, as with Hisasahi Iwakuma.  He wasn't.

It's odd to watch a Greg Maddux-style pitcher see his stuff improve while his execution wobbles.  But that's what's going on with Ramirez right now.  

Hey, he's 23 years old.  Gordon says he's looking forward to a rotation in which Ramirez is the worst pitcher in it.  That'll do for us too.