Jack Parkman

That pitch was exactly where he wanted it.

Fowler got a weak popup into no man's land on a pitch that wasn't a strike. That's just shit luck.

Neither were down the middle. The Fowler one wasn't a strike and he was late on the first two fastballs I agreed with that pitch selection.

If you really think about it Giolito got killed by the BABIP gods in the 1st inning. Neither the Fowler hit or the hit by their catcher were hit that hard. If the Fowler one is just a pop up like it's supposed to be he gets out of it with one run.

Looking at the weather around here in the far west burbs I'd be surprised if they got two in today.

Betts.

There is hope!

Yes, lets use +/- instead of Corsi and Fenwick to describe how players played. ? Using +/- is the hockey equivalent of using BA and RBI in baseball. Cat and Kampf were the only break even players on the damn team. https://www.naturalstattrick.com/game.php?season=20192020&game=30152&view=limited

All three. There were other players that were worse today. Murphy and Carlsson among them. I generally like Murphy but he had a bad game. The Toews line was getting dominated as well. Was nice of DeBrincat to finally show up after the 1st period.

I have no idea what some of you are watching.

I know about launch angle etc.

Not necessarily. If the hitter expects the ball to drop below the zone and it stays in the zone, it could be good for backwards ks at the bottom of the zone.

I honestly don't know but it seems like spin rate doesn't matter as much as carry. Giolito has average spin but elite carry and he generates tons of whiffs. Cease has elite spin but below average carry and he doesn't get nearly as many whiffs.

I'll disagree with you here. Cease doesn't miss bats with his fastball like you think he should at 97mph. Neither did Lopez when he was healthy. Both had below average carry. My point is 99 with bad carry is still very hittable. At the same time, Giolito lost 1 mph on his fastball this year but is still generating tons of whiffs. He has elite carry. Watch the games, and the eye test verifies this.

No argument. 6 of one 1/2 dozen of the other. Both are important. IMO they're 1A and 1B. Next time Giolito and Foster pitch watch where the ball is and watch the path of the bat from hitters when they throw their fastballs. It's huge. I honestly think that carry is more important than velocity to a certain degree. 93-94 with 10 inches of carry is better than 97-98 with 8.5 inches of carry.

I'm not arguing about command being important, because it is. But carry is really important too because it affects the swing plane of the hitter. If a pitcher's fastball has elite carry it's harder for the hitter to square up, and the pitcher is more likely to get away with mistakes via pop up, foul off, or even straight whiff than someone without it. It affects where the hitter thinks the ball is going to be. Giolito is a good example. His command isn't the greatest but he can get away with mistakes more often because his fastball carry is elite. Hitters foul pitches off or straight up miss them. Fastball carry might be more important than command.

It was better in 2018 than Cease's is right now. Cease has better breaking shit. I don't think Cease is ever going to throw enough strikes. I think his ceiling is Rich Harden.

I don't, Cease's command is worse than Lopez's. Carry seems to be more important than you give it credit for.

Idk how they track fastball carry, but that seems to be more important than velocity. Both Lopez and Cease have bad carry, and thus are more hittable.

I think you trade a couple of those guys. I've seen enough of Lopez and Rodon, Rodon is in Arb 3 and Lopez in Arb 1. Both are non-tender candidates. Without those two, Are you really going to give two rotation slots to kids? I'm not a huge fan of Cease these days as despite him throwing high 90s his fastball is very hittable. He's starting to remind me of Lopez. Too many walks, too hittable. I'd like to move him before his value craters.

Gives Moncada an extra day off.

Mazara....go get em. off a LHP too.

Panther Party!

That's why some people think it was dumb for them to win the round against Edmonton, but meh now. Knights are probably going to make quick work of the Hawks.

Throwing 88 now. Cishek is toast.