Scott Kazmir 2010 Outlook

by Dewey Finn on Jan 25, 2010 7:17 PM PST

Hey guys,

I decided to venture onto this board and get some insight from actual Angels fans about what you guys thought of Scott Kazmir last season in the Halos uniform. The 6 regular season starts are impressive, no doubt. However, he seemed to struggle with his control in the playoffs. Was this a result of him falling into his old bad habits from earlier in the season with the Rays, or was he simply getting squeezed by the umps. Also how was his velocity towards the end of the season and in the playoffs? That was a major concern in Tampa.

Anyways, I would love to hear what you guys think on how Kazmir will do this season.

This Fan-Post is authored by an independent fan. Tell us what you think and how you feel.

Tweet Comment 36 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

No idea here...

To me, Kaz is the biggest unknown on a team that has a lot of wild-cards. I think this year will be a career-defining year for him, but could see it going either way.

by Spird on Jan 25, 2010 7:37 PM PST reply actions

Kazmir's velocity is my concern

In his September starts I was pleased that his fastball was hitting 93, 94 mph. His fastball had the zip necessary to get a sufficient number of Ks.
However it was alarming that his fastball was only coming in at 89, 90 mph and looked pretty flat in the playoffs (especially against the Yankees). I don’t know why his velocity was so off in the post-season.

by XYZ123 on Jan 25, 2010 8:19 PM PST reply actions

Ya, I'm not sure what his postseason was about.

I have to imagine part of Butcher’s assignments for this off-season is figuring out what was going on with Kaz in the postseason and working to fix it.

Kazmir has all the stuff to continue being the ace he was in 2007, I think he just needs some help here and there, and Butcher seems to be the perfect coach to offer it, considering Kazmir knows him.

by ~MMP~ on Jan 25, 2010 8:47 PM PST up reply actions

Pitching in Fenway and pitching to the best offensive team in the league...

MIGHT have had a tad bit to do with his struggles…

Let's make it "another halo victory" for Rory...

by BryanHarvey'sMoustache on Jan 26, 2010 11:51 PM PST up reply actions

When Kazmir first came up

He absolutely owned the Red Sox, well before Tampa had anything close to a competitive team you could expect a typical 3 game series to feature a pair of 15-2 RedSux blowout wins, but in between Kazmir would shut them down on 1 hit through 8 innings.

The Kaz we saw in the playoffs did not have enough velocity on his fastball to be effective when behind in the count. Not enough bite on his slider to fool anyone, no other pitch worth mentioning, and shaky control so he was often behind in the count. That is a disastrous combination. Add to that lack of confidence messing with his head, preventing him from doing the little things right (his game 6 relief appearance against the Yankees).

During the regular season for us he faced Seattle twice, Texas, Oakland, and the White Sox. No fearsome offenses there. He faced one good hitting team, the Yankees and pitched OK, 3 runs in 6 innings.

I think his 2010 will depend on his velocity. If he comes out of ST throwing mid 90’s we’ll have the Kazmir of old, but if he’s in the 89-91 range, I don’t think he’s ever learned how to pitch with that kind of stuff.

The HK-47 hitting droid is the finest line drive machine ever built

by RallyMonkey5 on Jan 27, 2010 10:44 AM PST up reply actions

right off the bat

2 points for you SN. nicely done, sir.

like XYZ123 said, his velocity will probably determine his outcome. If he’s hitting 94+ and hitting his spots, he’s awesome, and he’ll probably emerge as our ace, if not an extremely solid number 2.

however, he could revert back to pre-trade form and totally bomb. he could hit the DL with arm problems (as he has the last few years) and tank. who knows?

optimistically, i could see him going something like 16-9, 3.60 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 180 Ks.

Thank you, Nick Adenhart. You will always be remembered. #34

by howiestheman on Jan 25, 2010 8:57 PM PST reply actions

He's stepping

up his offseason routine according to one of Olney’s reports. He’s building the strength he needs to repeat his delivery and be strong the whole season. This guy’s a competitor and he’s coming into his prime. The Angels are gonna catch lightning in a bottle over the next couple years with this guy. He’s motivated by being on a winning team and he’s got a chance to sign another big contract in a couple years at the age of 28. He’s gonna bring it.

by tolbs1010 on Jan 25, 2010 9:13 PM PST up reply actions

buster olney can lick my balls

"Precious in the sight of the Lord, is the death of His Saints." - Psalm 116:15 Rest In Peace, Nick.

by angels4adam on Jan 25, 2010 10:36 PM PST up reply actions

While I understand your desires

I’d prefer that he becomes too preoccupied with reporting outings by Scott Kazmir to fulfill them.

"You gotta have nuts." - Torii Hunter / Part-Time Nemesis of the HH Reply Function

by Commander_Nate on Jan 25, 2010 10:50 PM PST up reply actions

*amazing outings.

"You gotta have nuts." - Torii Hunter / Part-Time Nemesis of the HH Reply Function

by Commander_Nate on Jan 25, 2010 10:51 PM PST up reply actions

Anyone can lick my balls

if my eyes are closed.

Good thing my wife has no interest in this blog. :)

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer.

by Moondoggy on Jan 26, 2010 6:43 AM PST up reply actions 5 recs

LOL

FREE BRANDON WOOD!

by halofan4life on Jan 26, 2010 8:22 AM PST up reply actions

brilliant

"Precious in the sight of the Lord, is the death of His Saints." - Psalm 116:15 Rest In Peace, Nick.

by angels4adam on Jan 26, 2010 2:44 PM PST up reply actions

Dude

I could care less what you do with your jar of peanut butter.

It's Always Somethin'

by Funke5ive on Jan 27, 2010 1:03 AM PST up reply actions

wow

lol

Aybar is a nowhere man, Sitting in his Nowhere Land, Making all his nowhere plans for nobody.

by princeton11loveshalos on Jan 28, 2010 11:17 PM PST up reply actions

I reserve

ball-licking duties for twits like Neyer and Law. Then I would give them a Zone Rating for how well they did it.

by tolbs1010 on Jan 26, 2010 6:02 PM PST up reply actions

Everytime i see "buster olney"

i have to laugh that there is a grown white man out there that goes by the name buster olney.

What do you need a fancy suit for, Charlie, you ain't got no job to wear it to.

by clover_black on Jan 25, 2010 11:02 PM PST up reply actions

As bad as Buster Olney is

I think Buster Posey is worse.

by ~MMP~ on Jan 26, 2010 8:24 AM PST up reply actions

Kaz was great.

No run support in the season, pitched great. took a dump in the post season, probably got squeezed… nibbled a bit too much, but whatever. Look forward to seeing him every 5th in 2010

What do you need a fancy suit for, Charlie, you ain't got no job to wear it to.

by clover_black on Jan 25, 2010 11:05 PM PST reply actions

Kaz is as good as his slider.

If his slider is working he can be a dominate pitcher. If not, he has problems.

He’s one of the few pitchers that uses a single finger to throw the pitch. It’s very effective when it works, but it can be inconsistant at times. If you have them DVR’ed, watch the slider in the playoff games v. the regular season games or just check it out when MLB Network rebroadcasts the playoff games.

Anyway, there have been rumors that Butcher is going to change his grip to make the pitch more easily repeatable. If true, hopefully it doesn’t decrease its effectiveness.

by shields2seamer2lefthanders on Jan 26, 2010 5:35 AM PST reply actions

jesus, and i thought my screen name was long...

Let's make it "another halo victory" for Rory...

by BryanHarvey'sMoustache on Jan 26, 2010 11:52 PM PST up reply actions

Part of the problem with Kaz...

is that he nibbles too much which drives his pitch count and limits the depth of his starts especially if the home plate ump has a small strike zone that day.

The more he gets a reputation as a nibbler the more he’s going to get squeezed which exacerbates the problem.

I’d really like to see him challenge the hitters a bit more low in the zone and allow a couple early count ground balls in the early innings. This makes the hitters more aggressive in their subsequent at bats so after he’s gone thru the line up he can try and pick his corners and miss some bats.

That said, he was a tremendous addition and his outings were fantastic in the regular season. I’m sure if the Rays had a crystal ball and knew he would pitch like he did they wouldn’t have pull the trigger on that deal.

If he can’t figure out how to get his pitch count down though, the bullpen is going to get a lot of work on days when he starts…

by Jietoh on Jan 26, 2010 7:27 AM PST reply actions

I wasnt impressed with Kaz this season. He only pitched a handful of games and it seems to me, he lost almost everyone of them.

by TSamn15 on Jan 26, 2010 9:44 AM PST reply actions

He pitched 6 games for the Angels.

And we won 4 of those.

by ~MMP~ on Jan 26, 2010 9:52 AM PST up reply actions

And his ERA was in the 2's I believe.

"You gotta have nuts." - Torii Hunter / Part-Time Nemesis of the HH Reply Function

by Commander_Nate on Jan 26, 2010 10:02 AM PST up reply actions

Oh yeah, he SUCKED for us.

I mean, come on. Who has only a 1.96 ERA in 6 starts? I expected .96, if that. And who goes for Pedro Martinez-like levels of ERA+ in his starts for one team?

I can’t believe Tony was so incredibly f—ing stupid to make this deal.

RIP Nick Adenhart.

"When the Babe tries to call his shot, I hope Nick puts one in his ear."
--RallyMonkey5

by Clutch on Jan 26, 2010 11:08 AM PST up reply actions

You are the picture of patience, Clutchy

That post was too ridiculous to even merit a response

Tape an aspirin on it

by Higz on Jan 26, 2010 11:40 AM PST up reply actions

Haha, true enough.

I just couldn’t resist!

RIP Nick Adenhart.

"When the Babe tries to call his shot, I hope Nick puts one in his ear."
--RallyMonkey5

by Clutch on Jan 26, 2010 1:04 PM PST up reply actions

JUUUUUST a bit outside...

IT COULD HAPPEN

by BigBangRobbDawgg on Jan 26, 2010 5:46 PM PST up reply actions

Yeah, Kazmir is a big question mark, but also the most exciting in our rotation, if you ask me. I like what he adds, he did great regular season, post-season he looked nervous before the games even started. I think he works well with Butcher and we’ll see a great year from him this year.

by firebird81 on Jan 26, 2010 10:03 AM PST reply actions

Ok, I stand corrected, Thank you so much, kind sirs.

by TSamn15 on Jan 26, 2010 1:43 PM PST reply actions

Holy crap, Dewey Finn is over here on my board now

I’m terrified.

by Caseys Kiss of Death on Jan 26, 2010 8:39 PM PST reply actions

LOL

I come in peace my friend.

JOSH THOLE > carlos santana

by Dewey Finn on Jan 26, 2010 9:52 PM PST up reply actions

Kaz will have swagger in 2010

Mark it down… Kaz will bethe top of the rotation guy this team needs. His projections from Bill James and the like are good and they didn’t factor in the work he’s doing this off season; in other words, stuff you can’t measure. The Olney report was very encouraging. Kaz will have that Texas swagger back. Count on it.

http://twitter.com/truegrich

by True Grich on Jan 26, 2010 9:46 PM PST reply actions

My prediction

Kaz will be average…nothing special.

It's Always Somethin'

by Funke5ive on Jan 27, 2010 1:17 AM PST reply actions

Kaz has started a new offseason workout regime under butcher

that is focusing on core strength. He said he is already noticing a difference. He says it is going to help him pitch deeper into games, repeat pitches better, and maintain the 94-96 mph velocity that makes him 269 strikeout Kaz and not knocked out by the 4th inning kaz.
If it really works like he says it is going to, he may keep up that 1.something ERA over the entire season.
check out the full article here

by Balls and Strikes on Jan 29, 2010 6:13 AM PST reply actions