Or arrogance, if you prefer. He has Cha Seung Baek's "forget you, I'm throwing that meatball again, you can't stop me" with some sort of deception that Baek didn't have on a mediocre straight fastball.
The Rangers' announcers agreed with me all night. "Man, some guys throw 91 and it FEELS 95. They're a fastball hitting lineup and they're juuuust a little late on all these fastballs."
They were talking about how Beavan said when he was drafted (by the Rangers) that he was ready to help the big league club right then. It jibes with some of the comments he's made here. Of course I'm ready to compete. Of course I'm a plus major league pitcher. Of course I deserve to take the mound every 5th day.
He REALLY believes in himself. And so far, despite my belief that he has zero weapons capable of sustaining this, he simply refuses to believe - or act - otherwise. DaddyO was talking about how self-doubt makes everything harder, and self-belief can be self-fulfilling. Beavan is big on speaking into existence his major league career. This was the 6th 1-0 game in the HISTORY of the Rangers at that stadium. He threw 8 shutout innings down there last year.
If I could put his head on Noesi's shoulders....yeesh.
As it is, please make that breaker an out pitch so we can get a couple more K/9, please.
~G
PS - I hate Feliz, and I REALLY hate the Rangers this year. I haven't hated them in a while, but we haven't had a team I wanted to believe in for a while either. These last two games have SUCKED.
.............
=== Pre-Game ===
Lemme keep it short and sweet so that my bleacher bum's road rage -- inflamed by the train-wrecked rally in the 7th -- won't get all over yer :- /
The good news: The M's are still 3-3, .500. The lineup and Blake Beavan look good. So does Capt. Insano. SSI had three questions before the game:
- Would the new-look hitters give Neftali Feliz any tougher a time?
- Would Blake Beavan avoid mistakes and be solid?
- Would Blake Beavan induce swings out in front, showing offspeed arm action, and leap a plateau?
That's what I was watchin' for. The answers:
................
.
Q. Did the new-look hitters give Feliz a better struggle?
A. They did, yes. He struck out only four; the M's were 4-for-26 on balls in play and many of them were sharply-struck balls that hit leather.
I was hoping Feliz' closer's rhythm, and lack of endurance, would catch up to him. In the 1st inning, I was hopeful. But no such luck. If Neftali Feliz executed these pitches for the whole 2012 season, he would be a top-15 starter and would replace C.J. Wilson just fine.
Feliz threw 55 fastballs, and they were tough sledding.
He threw 25 changeups -- that's a Felix, not Feliz, ratio -- and you could see the frisbee action on them from the cheap seats. The changeups were tremendous, both for arm action and movement, and he threw them at will to the catcher's mitt (19 of 25 strikes). Here are the stats, if you don't believe Dr. D.
The slider was a little wild, but it bit hard, and for a #3 pitch it was a factor. Never mind the slider. That changeup was Pedro Martinez-class, the fastball was Neftali Feliz, and if he sustains those pitches he's a TOR. This year's Ogando.
.
Q. Did Blake Beavan avoid mistakes?
A. Throwing 90-92 fastballs all day long, the hitters will be timing him nicely. It's on him to make MANY, MANY fewer mistakes even than other big league starters do.
Beavan, though rusty, did that. He threw 46 of 69 fastballs for strikes, exactly 2/3 -- major league average is 60%. So Beavan stayed ahead in the count all day, gave up only 1 walk, and nothing that was even close to a home run. Quality start ratio, career: 12 yes, 5 no.
Not so many big league starters can routinely throw strike one every time, and yet miss the red zones for each batter.
The fastball location was, in fact, so good that he got all* of his swinging strikes on Catfish Hunter straight fastballs just off the plate. It's tough to throw a 91 fastball by a hitter who is looking fastball. Blake Beavan did.
.
Q. Did Beavan show arm action on the change, or maybe the new curve we've heard so much about?
A. No changeup. Literally he threw only 2 pitches all night that weren't fastballs or 12-6 curves. That is functionally the same as throwing zero. Blake Beavan threw two (2) pitches Tuesday, a 75 change curve and a 89-92 fastball, and he'd have shut out the Rangers except for a single wild pitch.
..............
Hey, gave up the big run on a WP like Hultzen and Taijuan... must be an epidemic...
.
Q. How was the curve?
A. Major league average. Average in the sense of "mediocre," not in the sense of "solid."
PRO: 7x6 inch break compared to vacuum: very decent break. Threw 17 of them, 10 for strikes. The Texas Rangers, in Arlington, hit none of them for home runs. Beavan threw it with reasonable confidence. That all means that Blake Beavan threw an ML serviceable curve ball.
CON: Only one swinging strike with it all night. The eye tells you that he's throwing it because he has to throw something.
OPTIMISM: Later in the game, he got it down, it bit hard, and it started to look like it could someday become a 2-strike putaway pitch.
No matter. Last year, it was a -2.00 runs pitch. This year, it's an 0.00 to -0.50 runs pitch. That's cool. Good on yer, Blake.
.
Q. Dr's Prognosis?
A. As fastball command pitchers go -- Catfish Hunter wannabes -- Beavan starts to look like he's got the goods. Really good mechanics, really good poise, a legit ability to bring it 92 mph located.
Poise? Give it up for this guy already. Did you see the game? The term "bear down" gets thrown around a lot, Homer. Beavan faced a coupla mini-rallies and he just kep' on pitchin' his game. The man is reliable.
If you want a young 100-ERA innings eater, he's that already. Nick Blackburn, Brian Moehler careers look well in reach already. Slap me silly, 12 quality starts in 17 games, this guy ain't James Paxton but he's liable to wind up banking some jack in this game.
The curve ball sharpens up much more, he could have a few Joe Blanton, Mark Clark, Jeff D'Amico type seasons.
.............
Not that Doug Fister is one of your top five pitchers going forward. I read it on the internet. But you could see Blake Beavan making 150 starts in the majors.
.
Q. Got an uplifting finish, after two 1/4 inch deep paper cuts in Texas?
A. The games were owies, but the M's talent is becoming obvious. :- ) Stick wit' it; it makes the winning more fun.
The great thing about baseball? There's a game tomorrow. Win on Wednesday and we're back on top o' the worl'.
Cheers,
Dr D
Comments
Could be that Beavan is another Vargas-type grab for Zduriencik, a grab based on makeup (as part of the package).
You saw that he was "queasy" pitching in front of his Texas friends and family. First game of the year, jittery anyway, that lineup, that park, wow.
Always liked Beavan. He was tough tonight.
Wilhelmsen's K of Cruz tonight was something special. Heater, blown by Cruz, on the outside half. Then a slider on the inside black. Then a nasty 95 mph pitch that is on the outside black AND at the bottom of the strike zone.
Something really special, that.
17 pitches, 14 strikes. Hit 97 (on a ball that really moved out of the zone low). Lived at 95-96.
Sunny beaches.....impressive.
moe
Was that the team basically gave the Rangers best hitters 5 outs to work with in that inning. The error that ate up Seager + the trickling nubber that only rolled about 60 feet. Wilhelmsen was dominant but could have given up some runs with those sorts of "unlucky bounces." Noesi certainly did the night before, as did the pen.
Tom was having none of that, and kept coming after the Rangers like a true fire-breather. I really do enjoy having him in the pen.
Give me 4 more like him and I can relax when we're turning the ball over to em with the lead.
~G
Watched the game, looked at the charts, at the f/x data and have no idea how Bleavan does it. His fastball isn't actually straight - it has a bit more than average armside movement - but, sheesh, it ain't that great. And hitters sitting red were BEHIND?
He must get some gain from his size - the guy is a beast of a man. He appears to have little deception but gains time from his size. So maybe that marks up his velocity a click or two, in which case you're looking at a located 94. Plenty of very good MLB pitchers have made a career with less.
I guess.
My favorite explanation is that Z and Elliott really do have a radioactive giraffe that bit Fister and Beavan.
I guess another possibility is that Beavan is so big that his bulk hides the ball so well that it adds to his deception?