Phillies: Pitching decisions magnified
Long before a starter toes the rubber for his first home game at the Bank, the higher-ups have studied him and reviewed evaluations charting his progress in the pipeline of the Philadelphia Phillies.
Present arms:
Costly expenses equal additional scrutiny for even the slightest advantage to achieve the best outcome.
Watching the moundsman in a major league venue, even the most ardent fan can’t catch the subtle differences. On the other hand, baseball lifers observe nuances even veteran broadcasters miss. But providing more than bits and pieces of information is nearly impossible for the play-by-play announcer and the color analyst due to time limitations. In other words, only a writer has this particular opportunity during the offseason.
Judging by Internet comments, pitching decisions by management perplexed the faithful last summer. They didn’t understand the logic for Vince Velasquez being in the rotation instead of the bullpen. And why was Nick Pivetta receiving so many chances to lose games in the majors? Surely, Ben Lively was a better starter, no?
In today’s terminology, a fastball isn’t what it used to be. The radar gun now measures the speed as it leaves the pitcher’s hand, but the previous method was the velocity recorded at home plate. Yeah, the new 100 mph. Three types of starters fire smoke: The mid-90’s hurler like Velasquez and two low-90’s pitchers: One can reach back to 94-95 mph for a big out, and the other can’t. Aaron Nola and Jerad Eickhoff respectively.
Regarding one baseball similarity, a moundsman’s average for accuracy in the Show is 70 percent, while an accomplished hitter produces a .300 average: 30 percent. A successful hurler is dead-on with 70 pitches out of 100. And missing the target in the strike zone is a so-named mistake: The speed and the movement of the throw are mostly irrelevant.
Firing mid-90’s smoke is a “door-opener” for a rotation slot because batters might not connect on a pitch right down the middle at 95 mph. In other words, a flamethrower can make two or three mistakes per game with his heater. And clubs, for this reason, prefer electric arms, who also must have decent secondary pitches in their arsenal. Keeping the hitter off-balance is the goal.
THE VOICE OF EXPERIENCE: “There are more teams looking for pitchers than there are pitchers. That’s why it’s pricey.” – Brian Cashman
As for finesse pitchers, baseball men consider them inconsistent if they fall short of the necessary 70 percent. And hanging a curve or a slider, for instance, spells trouble, but a 91-mph fastball off by an inch or two over the plate isn’t good either.
In other words, general managers like Matt Klentak realize they need many control-dependent hurlers with average stuff to develop two for their five-man staff. But only Zach Eflin of the command-reliant moundsmen can fire a 95-mph sinker if he’s in a jam, and the other right-handers Jake Thompson, Mark Leiter and Thomas Eshelman can’t.
Since baseball fans became aware of the preference by MLB teams for hard throwers, one recurring conclusion is that Greg Maddux wouldn’t have a chance today at a starting gig. Wrong! If a pitcher has 80 percent accuracy, he like Maddux would be a front-of-the-rotation arm. And the Professor did it because he pushed himself to strive for 100 percent.
IN OTHER WORDS: “Consistency is something you can always improve on. You can be more consistent with your mental approach, the things you do physically on the mound. Instead of doing 5 good pitches an inning, try to make six. You can always do more of what you are doing well and try to be as consistent as you can be.” – Greg Maddux “The reason I think I’m a good pitcher is I locate my fastball and I change speeds. Period. That’s what you do to pitch. That’s what pitchers have to do to win games.” – Greg Maddux
Next: Phillies: Unexpected possibilities
In Nola’s second season with the Phillies, former manager Pete Mackanin in 2016 saw Maddux-like potential. Yes, Nola can accomplish 80 percent accuracy. And the coaches also taught Nola to use his legs to drive to the plate. But if he needed something extra, what did that change achieve? A 94-mph fastball!