Master Index of Archived Threads


Throw your fuckin' slider

Centerfield Jun 17 2019 07:47 AM

Or don't. If it's 2019. I was thinking that a lot of the guys who are stumbling for us are the same ones who took a step forward when they learned the "Warthen Slider". deGrom, Noah, Jeurys Familia. The fact that all three are struggling leads me to believe that you can't throw the Warthen Slider with this new slick baseball. Edwin Diaz obviously didn't learn his slider from Warthen, but that's his only other pitch, and the reports are that it's been kinda crappy this year. So maybe it's just sliders in general. Meanwhile, curveball guys seem to be ok. Matz, Lugo. Both haven't been affected as much. Vargas has been pretty good and it's been attributed to the slow knuckle curve he's been throwing. I wonder if this is a trend around baseball, or if it's just a perceived trend I'm seeing on this team. Anyway, I don't know what, if anything, can be done about it. Maybe we just hope that the old ball comes back sometime during this season. I remember in 2015 the ball was dead, then suddenly juiced. Maybe the opposite can happen this year.

seawolf17 Jun 17 2019 08:00 AM Re: Throw your fuckin' slider

Wow. That's an interesting thought, and this is the first I've seen of it. I wonder if the slider thing is a trend; I don't really know repertoires around the league.

Edgy MD Jun 17 2019 08:13 AM Re: Throw your fuckin' slider

My eyeball scouting report says Diaz' slider has plenty of action, but not a lot of consistent location. Of course, his adventure was pitching in the monsoon may have created a disproportionate impression. As for Familia, I don't know if i've seen his splitter make an appearance yet. I loved that pitch. I suspect it's being shelved by a lot of pitchers because it's associated — with or without the data to back it up — with career-risking injury. It probably wouldn't take long to muster the data to suggest that a six ERA is also pretty risky to a career. The splitter is pretty outré now, isn't it?

Centerfield Jun 17 2019 12:22 PM Re: Throw your fuckin' slider

Yeah, not even the Japanese guys seem to be throwing it anymore, and that was kinda their thing. I was surprised Familia abandoned the splitter too. Even as his slider has abandoned him and he's lost control of the sinker. Is it too late to teach Jeurys the circle change? Seems the me the guys having success this year are the "change of pace" guys and not the "rely on late, sharp breaking action" guys.

kcmets Jun 17 2019 12:46 PM Re: Throw your fuckin' slider

Forget where I heard this recently but teams as a whole are maybe over- adjusting their pitching approach in response the new batting swing angles that many have bought into. Then again it could all be voo-doo hooey....