1) Tim Lincecum took the ball for the San Francisco Giants Sunday, and did what he does best: throw fastballs right by the best of hitters. The 23-year-old is quickly becoming the leader of Giants' pitching staff; certainly he shares the role with Matt Cain, who has the stuff of an ace as well. The problem is a universal one for the Giants; when they get good starting pitching, they can't score runs. Well, they can't score runs period, so the performance of their starting pitching apparently doesn't much matter.
Lincecum threw six innings against the Phillies Sunday allowing four runs, all unearned, along with five strikeouts and two walks. Lincecum has been the man for San Francisco in 2008, and on Sunday he lowered his season ERA to 1.49. Chase Utley was overmatched by the young righty, and Utley has been hitting everything in sight these days. Ryan Howard has been in an early season funk, and Lincecum sure didn't help his cause.
What is special about Lincecum is that he does not have to outthink hitters or try to fool them. His stuff is so good that he can come right at anybody, which he does. His fastball is so dominant that he doesn't need to nitpick on the corners. Even with a great fastball, he still wants to throw it as close to knee-high as possible, but that will come with maturity.
If Lincecum's fastball is his best pitch, his curveball is a devastating offspeed pitch that registers as his second offering. He throws the hammer in the low-80s and usually uses it to get the strikeout. He is capable of throwing it for strikes, but his MO is to pound the strike zone early and often with the fastball.
I saw a mixture of things from Lincecum on Sunday, two in particular. The first is the use of his change up. He rarely needs the pitch, and rarely may be an overstatement. There is no question that this kid can dominate any lineup with his fastball and curveball alone. But the develpment of the third pitch will render huge for the kid as he develops in his career and hitters start to face him multiple times over the course of many seasons. Lincecum used his change up to strike out Utley looking on Sunday.
The change up coincides with my second thought on Lincecum. For being so good and having such great stuff, Lincecum labors much too hard. He will often fall behind in counts because he leaves his fastball up at the letters, and he will walk some guys. His arsenal is almost a kiss of death because he knows that if people are on base, he can just go and strike out anybody. That leads him to expending a lot of pitches per inning, and before he knows it he is over 100 in the sixth inning. If he can incorporate his change up into his gameplan a little bit more, he should be able to cut down on the number of pitches he throws per inning, and therefore eat up more innings per start.
Lincecum is young and inconsistencies are expected. When he learns to harness his fastball, curveball, and change up, he will find himself being a horse that takes the ball into the eigth inning on any given night. He is too talented to throw balls and not attack the hitter. There really is no reason for him not to get to 0-2 counts often, and then he really has the hitter in his hands. But, again, these things come with innings and experience, and Lincecum has a great headstart on becoming the superstar that is inevitably in his future.
2) The New York Yankees sent rookie pitcher Ian Kennedy down to the minors after he has been shelled early in 2008. Kennedy is going to take his 8.37 ERA down and try to refine his pitches and his command. This is the right move by the front office. The Yankees need to get some stability in their rotation, and they cannot afford many more starts like the ones Phil Hughes and Kennedy have been responsible for. This is not to say that Kennedy will not play an important role in the success of the Yankees this season, because he most certainly will.
New York needs Kennedy to get straightened out and back up to the big leagues as quick as possible. This demotion really isn't a negative for Kennedy, or shouldn't be, at least. Kennedy has reached the major leagues in an unprecedented amount of time, absolutely flying through te minor league levels. By going back to Triple-A, there will be no pressure on Kennedy to win. He will be given the opportunity to improve and grow as a pitcher.
The problem with Kennedy was his fastball command. This is a guy who will rarely reach 91 mph with his fastball, working mostly 87-89. He has always had pinpoint accuracy with his fastball, and that is what has made him so succesful through his young career. But so far this season, his fastball has been up and catching way too much of the plate. As a result, hitters have simply been feasting on his fastball and laying off his offspeed. His change up and curveball need to be thrown for strikes to keep the hitters honest.
The cold truth is that Kennedy really has zero room for error. If he can't get ahead with his offspeed pitches early in the count and his fastball is not at the knees and on the corners, he is going to get hammered. That is just the way it is; the nature of the beast, if you will. And, to be fair, there is nothing Kennedy can do about that. That is simply the type of stuff that he brings to the table. He can still be very good, but he has to accept that as a challenge and face reality. But this kid will be back once he starts locating that fastball again. Just a matter of time.
3) How good is Roy Halladay? He takes the ball into the eighth inning on a day when you really get the sense that he wasn't that sharp. Halladay gave up three runs over 7 1/3 innings on Sunday, but the Blue Jays hung on to beat the Chicago White Sox 4-3 in Toronto.
Halladay ran his sinker up to 95 mph, his cutter up to 92, and threw a great slider around 78-80. I wasn't aware of the power in Halladay's cutter, which is a great pitch. He has heavy sink on his fastball that simply eats up bats and induces plenty of weak swings and weaker groundballs. He used his cutter inside on left handed hitters, snapping bats and devouring confidence simultaneously.
Halladay is a bit of a "kitchen sink" guy; he will complement the aformentioned arsenal with a big beaking curveball and a change up as well. This guy is some sort of freak of nature. The package he brings to a rotation is unique in the sense that he can do a bit of everything. What I see from Halladay is part dominant, part efficient. He is the protoypical starting pitcher. Halladay has the ability to use his power stuff to go get a strikeout when he needs it, or jam a hitter and get him to pop it up in the infield.
But for the most part, he is on cruse control, mixing and matching different speeds to get quick, easy outs. His performances are effortless. I watch him and see him operate in a distinct mantra, almost like he knws he is going to throw a complete game. He is a big guy with a physical frame, one who will eat up tons of innings. He can do it all, and there is no question about it. I can see Halladay throwing 250-275 innings and being fine physically. He is an old school type of pitcher who understands his role and pitches accordingly.
Halladay knows he has to be the rock of the rotation and he knows, as an ace, it is his job to throw as many innings as possible to keep the bullpen fresh. He exhibits extreme professionalism in his diligence to prepare and plan for an opponent; he knows he could strike out 10-12 a night, but that would require more effort, more pitches, and result in less outs. So instead of rearing back and looking for the no-hitter, Halladay understands the most efficient way to pitch and win ballgames. Put this guy on, say, a team like Detroit who has a great lineup, and he wins 25 games a year, easily. He is something else to watch.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment