For A.J. Burnett, no curve, no problem

Here’s Jay from Fack Youk discussing A.J. Burnett’s approach this year (and last night):
About 3/4 of the pitches Burnett has thrown in 2010 have been fastballs, a proportion that he hasn’t approached since his days with the Marlins – and back then he was a different kind of pitcher…
Why the increase in fastballs this season? [...]

Javy’s lack of horizontal movement

Here’s some pitchFX data, via FanGraphs, on Javier Vazquez, detailing the horizontal movement on his pitches.

The peach colored rows represent league averages. Though Vazquez is largely above average (not to a great degree, but above average nonetheless) with each pitch, except for his slider, notice the degree to which Vazquez’s horizontal movement is lacking relative [...]

Checking in on Burnett’s changeup

During Spring Training, we heard much about A.J. Burnett’s desire to employ his changeup more this year. “Whether I throw it or not, I don’t know, but I’ve been working on it,” noted Burnett. Well, on the 2010 season, across 3 starts, A.J. Burnett has thrown a total of 297 pitches (and Jorge Posada has [...]

Hughes’ changeup a worthwhile work-in-progress

Although he is entrenched in the much-discussed competition for the fifth rotation spot this spring, right-hander, Phil Hughes, will continue to experiment with his changeup, in the hopes that it will become a reliable fixture in his pitch repertoire. “I’m trying to get my changeup down to where it can be a useful pitch for [...]

A.J. exits early, but there are positives to be had

Today, against his former team, A.J. Burnett tossed 1 2/3 innings, giving up 2 earned runs off of 5 hits and 1 walk (the Yankees lost, 1-9). Though he was chased early due to a high pitch count – the result of an inefficient performance – according to Joe Girardi, the abbreviated outing was positive [...]

Quick Bits: Joba, Mariano, Burnett

Here are a few quick news items on the evening:

Brian Cashman says that the Yankees have “invested a lot” in using Joba Chamberlain as a starter.
Mariano Rivera threw his first bullpen session today—21 pitches to backup catcher, Francisco Cervelli.
A.J. Burnett is serious about using his changeup more in 2010. “It’s going to be a big [...]

Hughes changes his changeup

Today, George King of the NY Post writes about the fifth starter competition between Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes, and, included in King’s article is an interesting tidbit regarding Hughes’ changeup, which he has been developing this spring. Apparently, Hughes has altered his grip of the pitch, going from a split-grip change – which, I [...]

Burnett working on his changeup this spring

According to the Star-Ledger’s Marc Carig, right-hander, A.J. Burnett, is refining his changeup this spring and hopes to overcome a fear he has of getting beat by the pitch in order to employ it more often in 2010. “I think it’s a big key,” noted Burnett when discussing the pitch, which he used only 3.1% [...]

Morning Bits: Stadium, Hughes, Hechevarria

Here are a few quick items on the morning:

SG at Replacement Level Yankee breaks down the “Yankee Stadium is a hitter’s park!!!” narrative.
Phil Hughes is working on his changeup this spring, as it was a pitch he rarely threw last year in relief.
By Saturday, Adeiny Hechevarria could be “unblocked” by the Office of Foreign Assets [...]

Fixing A.J. Burnett’s fastball

Despite being the proud of owner of a fastball that could often challenge radar guns for accurate readings, for much of his career, A.J. Burnett has been surprisingly ineffective with his seemingly impressive mid to upper-90s heat. For instance, while with the Blue Jays from 2006-2008, Burnett’s fastball was, in total, 1.8 runs below average [...]

How did pitchers attack the Yankees?

Using pitch type data for 2009, we can determine how opponents pitched to the Yankees (individually):
The Yankee thrown the highest percentage of fastballs was:
Johnny Damon with 64.8% (Derek Jeter was 2nd with 64.1%)
The Yankee thrown the highest percentage of sliders was:
Alex Rodriguez with 18.0% (Derek Jeter was 2nd with 15.7%)
The Yankee thrown the highest percentage [...]

Mark Teixeira is missing

Thus far, what has been a memorable postseason, to say the least, has not been kind to Yankees slugger, Mark Teixeira. Though he has often dazzled with his golden glove, causing the always insightful Tim McCarver to continuously refer to him as a Hoover—like the vacuum, Teixeira has struggled mightily to produce offensively, as his [...]

Hamels’ changeup, who can hit it?

Cole Hamels’ best pitch this year is, once again, his changeup. The pitch, which generally clocks in around 78-81 mph, on average, was thrown just over 30% of the time in 2009. It serves as Hamels’ main strikeout offering and, according to pitch value data, was 11.7 runs above average, the second best changeup value [...]

CC’s changeup explained

A few weeks ago, I wrote the following about CC Sabathia’s changeup:
According to pitch value data, CC’s changeup is 22.5 runs above average. That’s the best in the American League for any starting pitchers with 150+ innings. In fact, across both leagues, CC’s changeup value is second only to Tim Lincecum’s, which is 33.5 runs [...]

CC Sabathia has the best changeup in the AL

Yup, true story.
According to pitch value data, CC’s changeup is 22.5 runs above average. That’s the best in the American League for any starting pitchers with 150+ innings. In fact, across both leagues, CC’s changeup value is second only to Tim Lincecum’s, which is 33.5 runs above average.
CC also had the best changeup in the [...]

Next Page »