Angels Hit .500 In The Right Direction This Time
by Suboptimal on Aug 7, 2010 10:44 PM PDT
in Angels Postgame
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PrintFinal Score in Detroit: Angels 10, Tigers 1
Baseball is a weird game. With their best hitter serving the first game of a four-game suspension and the incendiary Scott Kazmir taking the mound, fresh off the "disabled list," you'd think tonight would have been a throwaway loss for the Angels. They ended up outplaying the Tigers in every possible way. Go figure.
The much maligned Angels offense pounded out 7 singles, 4 doubles, and a home run to go along with 7 walks (I know, 7 walks!). Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera had the biggest nights, splitting 4 hits and 5 RBI between themselves. Aybar, Callaspo, and Izturis also had multi-hit games. Jim Leyland kept bringing in different pitchers to try to stop the avalanche, but every one of them got mauled for at least one earned run. It was like watching one of those kung fu movies where the hero takes on the bad guys one mook at a time, and after handing each one his ass he turns to the army of mooks who are standing around watching and signals "who's next?" with a hand gesture.
At the other end of the blowout, Scott Kazmir turned in an encouraging performance in his first start back after a shoulder "injury." He threw 50 strikes out of 77 total pitches, striking out 3 in 5 innings while walking just one. His fastball velocity increased to 93-94 mph, and he seemed less hesitant to throw his once-famous slider. The coaching staff put a limit on his pitch count, so we'll see if the improvements holds up. Maybe he just needs a month to rest in between starts?
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Maybe Kaz really was injured or suffering from fatigue.
His pitching seemed really good tonight, but then I was listening to the game on the radio.
THIS… IS… ANAHEIM!!
He was good
Saw it in HD.
He had all those guys off balance, he looked un-hittable.
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
"I'm just like you, but 10 times better"
by SportsChicken on Aug 8, 2010 1:05 AM PDT up reply actions
Kazmir looked alright
He threw some decent sliders. The problem is, he’s still a 2 pitch pitcher right now. Austin Jackson swung at a pretty awful slider for the third strike. Any other hitter with a decent eye would’ve laid off that one.
The fastball velocity was good to see. His slider hit mid 80s, which was surprising. He had 14 first pitch strikes of the 18 batters he faced. Also, he only walked 1 batter. Definitely an improvement, especially because he was on pace to go 6-7 innings. However, we should watch his avg velocity over the next few starts. If he gets fatigued again, then we know it’s not that he’s lacking the stuff, but that his shoulder can’t handle even a half a season’s worth of starts.
"Just another Halo victory" - Rory Markas
He said he was gassed after a pitch count in the low 70s
And that’s OK. He’ll add a little stamina if he is watched closely for the balance of the season. If he can get that first-pitch strike over consistently, he can have innings of 10-12 pitches per inning, keep the hitters off balance and have some groundball/flyball outs. He doesn’t need to overpower the hitters and get 12 Ks per game. As long as they’re making poor contact because he has the pitcher’s count on them, he can keep his pitch count per inning low and consistently get to the 6th or 7th inning.
Over the offseason and into next Spring, he can work on adding a cutter to his repertoire and take even more strain off his need to be fine with his fastball and slider.
In essence, he can become the 5th starter, letting Haren, Weaver and Pineiro go deeper into games, and Santana can do the Jekyll/Hyde thing every 5th game. In total, though, it should save a lot of wear and tear on the bullpen, and I suspect that was Reagins’ plan in trading for Haren in the first place.
"I can't tell people what to think or not to think. Their perceptions are their perceptions. We just feel we've taken a step forward. At the end of the day, we have to play 162 games. Once that happens then we'll be able to evaluate the offseason moves."~Tony Reagins, on the Angels' offseason
by George Kaplan on Aug 8, 2010 8:37 AM PDT up reply actions
Velocity?
I didn’t see the game; what was he hitting? Keep in mind, the Detroit radar gun adds 2-3 m.p.h. – e.g., Joe Saunders often hit 95 on that gun.
Yeah I voted for Johnny Rivers.
"Ballplayers play baseball." -Jose Mota
Naps
I voted for Napoli. I’m one of the biggest Kazmir fans around… or, one of the last? but 5 innings 1 run… not good enough for panther. I call that doing his job. Lets give him another start before we give him the title.
0-5 looks like peter b still needs some seasoning offensively but I think he will come around
Now that Lackey has turned to the enemy lets kick his ass
by Angelsrthebest101 on Aug 8, 2010 12:48 AM PDT reply actions
along with many other angel fans who thinks he will come around
Now that Lackey has turned to the enemy lets kick his ass
by Angelsrthebest101 on Aug 8, 2010 12:49 AM PDT up reply actions
well he doesn't look horrible when he's at the plate
He’s hit the ball pretty well a few times this series.
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
"I'm just like you, but 10 times better"
by SportsChicken on Aug 8, 2010 1:06 AM PDT up reply actions
Pete seems to have patience at the plate and sees the ball well.
He is starting to hit the ball hard out to the warning track more and more, Way too small sample size to really tell yet but I think he is going to be a decent hitter. The youth he exudes is too refreshing.
I hate the Texas Rangers
Question
There is no way Scott Kazmir can learn to throw a new pitch?
Or at least improve his changeup?
I don’t know much about pitching in general so I don’t know if this is really possible.
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
"I'm just like you, but 10 times better"
Ideally
Scott tries to develop a cut fastball. Cutters really really help a pitcher because if you can throw one well, then your control improves and it adds a great pitch vs opposite handed batters to your repertoire.
Cliff Lee became the pitcher he is today because of improved control, but also because of the cut fastball. Cole Hamels, after coming off of his worst season, started using a cut fastball this season and he has improved his K rate significantly.
"Just another Halo victory" - Rory Markas
Happiest I have ever been to lose panther points
I didn’t have much confidence going in. Thought the game had disaster potential. Kaz got my vote, although Rivera was close.
Any reason they haven't moved Kazmir to the pen yet?
If fatigue is a major issue for him, as are pitch counts, why not convert him to reliever?
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