Stephen Strasburg

[Ambulance Chaser]

Look at this pitch move in two different directions:

 

[bcate3]

When I heard that he pitched 7 innings, I thought that was a bad sign. The Nats are going to run him into the ground. I was later told that he had a pitch count of 100 and only threw 94 pitches. 14Ks in 94 pitches. That's incredible. Let's hope that the Nats continue to put him on a hard pitch count and monitor his workload closely. He's still young and developing, and too much use could lead to career altering/ending injuries. I would hate to see the kid's career take a turn like Kerry Woods'.

Originally Posted by Douglas

The problem is, IMO, that he runs the team like a lawyer, and not like a businessman.

I was with you until this. What did you think of Ed Williams? The O's won their last WS during his time. On the flip side, what do you think of Dan Snyder? Bad owners come from all walks of life.

I haven't followed the O's closely in years, but I thought Angelos's hiring of GM Andy McPhail was a good sign that he was going to stop interfering with personnel and let a well regarded professional run the team. Some baseball writers even projected the team to be a reasonably competitive team this year given the presence of Adam Jones and Markasis. Doesn't seem they should be this bad.

 

[blofeld]

Originally Posted by bdeuce22

yeah. there is not a lot of people who can throw that hard deep into a game. verlander is the only other one i can think of. his last start he topped 99 in the 9th.

Ubaldo last night was probably sitting there saying "I;m young, I throw that hard and have a nasty curveball, have 11 wins, and Bob Costas doesn't announce my games. Why?" Because you are not a white kid.

Avg. Fastball (mph): Starters
Ubaldo Jimenez\t96.6
Justin Verlander\t95.8
Felipe Paulino\t 95.5
Josh Johnson\t 94.5
Felix Hernandez\t94.1

 

[Douglas]

Originally Posted by bcate3

I was with you until this. What did you think of Ed Williams? The O's won their last WS during his time. On the flip side, what do you think of Dan Snyder? Bad owners come from all walks of life.

I can't speak too intelligently about EBW or DS, as I don't know a lot about them, but my point wasn't that lawyers are bad owners and businesspeople are good ones. My point is specific to Peter Angelos, who hasn't run the team with an eye towards achieving long-term successes (and letting smaller things slide when necessary), but rather built around winning near-term battles, often in a way that can be nasty or alienating in the long term. I don't think it's a stretch to think that his background as a very successful class-action litigator might have something to do with that style.

 

[Bradford]

Keep an eye on Mike Leake of the Reds as well.

Not as hyped as Strasburg, but he's 5-0 so far this season and the first rookie pitcher to skip the minor leagues in 21-years.

 

[Slopho]

Originally Posted by Douglas

I don't disagree with you in the slightest on either Trembley or Miller. I think Trembley could have been successful somewhere, under the right circumstances, maybe, but my point isn't so much that they were fired. Of course they were fired - and everyone knew they would be fired from the day they took the job. Everyone knew they would fail. So you have to ask yourself why were they put there in the first place, or why was the environment around them so dismal that failure was inevitable?

As for the "Baltimore," I was not that guy. Like any site with public comments allowed, of course there is a lot of idiocy. But the jersey thing is a pretty nice microcosm of how/why Angelos runs the club the way he does.

The results of that speak for themselves.

Well, it looks like they're looking at Valentine and Wedge. I hope they go with Bobby V. Also, I just read they're closing down the ESPN Zone down in the Inner Harbor. Where will the O's hold Q & A sessions with Mark Hendrickson now??!!

 

[BDC2823]

I didn't buy the hype because almost every year the next big thing is on his way and it doesn't pan out.

I'm buying it now. His pitches were filthy and with 4 above average pitches and high velocity, he looks like a stud. What I was most impressed with was his command...zero walks. Wow.

 

[Douglas]

Damn, they're closing the Zone? It was the very first one! If I recall, they did a full season of MNF halftime shows from there. I went one time to see what it was like; it was nauseating, I left, I did not return. I don't know any local in their right mind who would go there, but it often appears relatively busy as I drive by on my way to Little Italy.

I would love to see Bobby V, but I am not optimistic. Also, he may be washed up by now. But it would be fun to watch, at least.

We should do an SF baseball night in Baltimore. Good shoes, bad baseball, cheap tix, heavy drinking.

 

[Slopho]

Originally Posted by Douglas

Damn, they're closing the Zone? It was the very first one! If I recall, they did a full season of MNF halftime shows from there. I went one time to see what it was like; it was nauseating, I left, I did not return. I don't know any local in their right mind who would go there, but it often appears relatively busy as I drive by on my way to Little Italy.

I would love to see Bobby V, but I am not optimistic. Also, he may be washed up by now. But it would be fun to watch, at least.

We should do an SF baseball night in Baltimore. Good shoes, bad baseball, cheap tix, heavy drinking.

I will make it out for this!!

 

[Baron]

He was incredible - better than that hype. The movement on all of his pitches was astounding. His command is outstanding. Put it this way - he has as good a fastball as any seen in major league history, a slurve that's almost as good, an above average changeup, and he throws all of them for strikes at any point in the count. He's a top five pitcher today - he might be the second best pitcher in baseball after Halladay. That's not to say he won't get hurt or lose velocity or any of the things that happen to pitchers, but he been showing these exact skills all year in the minors so it's not like he got lucky. Just an example of how extraordinary it was, 94 pitches to reach 14 K's was the fewest pitches recorded in such a game ever.

 

[Douglas]

^ Lol

 

[Slopho]

Somewhat less hyped, Jake Arrieta will be making his debut this Thursday!

 

[BDC2823]

Originally Posted by Baron

He was incredible - better than that hype. The movement on all of his pitches was astounding. His command is outstanding. Put it this way - he has as good a fastball as any seen in major league history, a slurve that's almost as good, an above average changeup, and he throws all of them for strikes at any point in the count. He's a top five pitcher today - he might be the second best pitcher in baseball after Halladay. That's not to say he won't get hurt or lose velocity or any of the things that happen to pitchers, but he been showing these exact skills all year in the minors so it's not like he got lucky.

Just an example of how extraordinary it was, 94 pitches to reach 14 K's was the fewest pitches recorded in such a game ever.

He was impressive and looked great. I've got to admit that I am now looking forward to watching him pitch and think he's got the stuff and makeup to be Cy Young contender for years to come.

But he has only pitched one game and can't be compared to the likes of Halladay, Lincecum, Jimenez, Lee, Greinke, Oswalt, Carpenter, Wainwright, etc. yet. Give him some time and if he continues to put together a solid season(s) then his name can be added to those that have already established themselves.

 

[blofeld]

Originally Posted by Baron

He was incredible - better than that hype. The movement on all of his pitches was astounding. His command is outstanding. Put it this way - he has as good a fastball as any seen in major league history, a slurve that's almost as good, an above average changeup, and he throws all of them for strikes at any point in the count. He's a top five pitcher today - he might be the second best pitcher in baseball after Halladay. That's not to say he won't get hurt or lose velocity or any of the things that happen to pitchers, but he been showing these exact skills all year in the minors so it's not like he got lucky.

Just an example of how extraordinary it was, 94 pitches to reach 14 K's was the fewest pitches recorded in such a game ever.

in the words of winston wolf, let's not start sucking each others dicks just yet

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index...e-100-mph-man/

 

[Baron]

I read that fangraphs post earlier. Yes, Ubaldo has similar velocity. That's not really the point. The movement on his fastball is singular. Add in the quality of his breaking pitches and his command, and he's really as good as anyone right now. The only question mark is health. He's been showing this exact stuff for two years. He might regress, but pitchers are like that. Lincecum has hit a bad stretch recently, so has Greinke - would it be shocking if they never really came all the way back? Not really - happens all the time with pitchers.

edit - I should add that Ubaldo has been the best pitcher in baseball this year, so being compared to him (on his best night perhaps) doesn't diminish Strasburg, right?