Jenks Velocity (Redux)

[Gregory Pratt]

“I don’t think (Bobby is) out of whack (mechanically) nearly as much as he thinks he is,” Coop said. “For him to throw strikes, it’s the amount of strikes that he’s throwing and commanding pretty well, for the most part. Now, has he had a game or two that he has been out of whack a little bit? Yeah. But command and executing pitches is no accident. You got to do things right. The things that he’s not using in the delivery, we want to try incorporate using his back leg to ride, drive, use that going laterally going towards home plate. Use that -- he’s got a strong pair of legs -- to help his arm. What we’re not seeing from Bobby yet is the velocity, but there are a lot of guys that are down velocity-wise.

 

“We’re optimistic we’re going to come back and I think if and when it does come back, combined with the amount of strikes he’s throwing – would you guys agree he’s throwing more strikes than he ever has (Sure), yeah, so he’s giving us what we asked for in spring training which was strikes. Now we’re going to try and see if we can get more and more of his stuff back and how we’re going to do that is working our (butts) off conditioning, long tossing and trying to incorporate using his back leg to ride to home plate and help the arm more.

 

“Pitching isn’t only with the arm, it’s using your whole body and what he’s not using is his lower half. From time to time he’ll swing open, but it’s not every time. The pitches tell you what you’ve done, good and bad, and he’s thrown a lot of good, quality pitches. He’s pitching well. The only day they got him was the day in Oakland and it wasn’t like he was knocked around. The only ball that was hit real good was the one Ellis hit. With that being said, Bobby is our closer, Bobby is going to get the ball a lot more and we’re looking to climb like we are with everybody else. I think if you look at the velocity stuff, not only our team, but a lot of teams we’re playing, they’re still down. Hell it’s not that easy to go out there and throw the hell out of the ball in 30-degree weather. No excuse being made, we expect more. Want more from everybody.”

 

Uh, what? I thought he was supposed to be in great shape to start this season?

 

Something seems off to me. I don't think Jenks velocity is coming back.

[fathom]

I have more confidence he'll regain his velocity than I did with Koch when similar things were being said. I really have to question the strength/condition program these guys are on, as they all have velocity issuues when season begins. I know a lot of guys have that issue, but it seems like more than half of our guys deal with that.

[Gregory Pratt]

I like seeing you take the optimistic view on Jenks.

[witesoxfan]

Koch did get back up to 95-97, he just had absolutely no command of it at all. I mean, the guy went to Florida and walked 20 guys in 25 innings. You wanna talk about no control at all, that's it.

 

Jenks scares me because I don't remember him ever being this slow. I think it will improve, I just don't know if it'll get in the 97-100 range again, which is where he needs to be to remain a dominant closer.

[WhiteSoxfan1986]

I have more confidence he'll regain his velocity than I did with Koch when similar things were being said. I really have to question the strength/condition program these guys are on, as they all have velocity issuues when season begins. I know a lot of guys have that issue, but it seems like more than half of our guys deal with that.

 

Yep

 

Masset's stuff hasn't been as good as advertised as well

[The Ginger Kid]

I kind of like what I'm seeing out of Aardsma. Lots of K's which is great for a closer.

 

Yep

 

Masset's stuff hasn't been as good as advertised as well

 

really? I thought he's been doing pretty damn well with one exception.

[Balta1701]

really? I thought he's been doing pretty damn well with one exception.

Masset has been throwing pretty darn well, but his velociy hasn't been nearly where advertised. He was advertised in upper 90's, we've only seen low to mid 90's at best.

[witesoxfan]

Williams claimed Masset was a "tick" below Jenks in terms of velocity. As it stands right now, it doesn't seem like Williams was very far off....

 

haha

[RockRaines]

Yep

 

Masset's stuff hasn't been as good as advertised as well

say what? The guy has been nails for us so far. His stuff is fantastic.

[Gregory Pratt]

He's talking velocity. Fair enough, but I love the results.

[StrangeSox]

He's talking velocity. Fair enough, but I love the results.

 

Yep, can't complain about the results. His velocity is just not as high as KW originally said.

Unless he was hinting at Jenks' big drop-off in velocity.

[SadChiSoxFanOptimist]

Didn't I hear that Jenks was coming this year in the best shape of his life -- like 25 pounds lighter, having moved from backwoods Oregon to the Chicago area -- or was that just another of my flashbacks from the 70's?

[SoxGovernment]

Didn't I hear that Jenks was coming this year in the best shape of his life -- like 25 pounds lighter, having moved from backwoods Oregon to the Chicago area -- or was that just another of my flashbacks from the 70's?

maybe he should gain the weight back

[WhiteSoxfan1986]

say what? The guy has been nails for us so far. His stuff is fantastic.

 

I said his stuff hasn't been as good, and he hasn't been "nails" for us.

 

4.66 9.2 IP 10 H 4 BB 6 Ks-These aren't great numbers

 

8. Nick Masset, rhp Born: May 17, 1982 • B-T: R-R • Ht: 6-4 • Wt: 190

Drafted: St. Petersburg (Fla.) CC, D/F 2000 (8th round) • Signed by: Ray Jackson

Background: Masset has possessed tantalizing stuff ever since his high school days, when Tommy John surgery as a senior hurt his draft stock. Signed as a draft-and-follow for $225,000, he appeared on the verge of big things after his breakout 2004 season, but got crushed in 2005 and was inconsistent in 2006. He finished the season in the majors before dominating as a closer in the Mexican Pacific League.

 

Strengths: Masset throws his fastball at 89-95 mph as a starter but ran it up to 97-98 in bullpen in Texas and Mexico. His hard 85-86 mph curveball with sharp downward bite rates as a plus pitch. His changeup and cutter/slider are at least average and help him against lefthanders.

 

Weaknesses: Erratic command spoiled Masset's 2005 season and still makes him more hittable than he should be. Despite his impressive array of four pitches, he has yet to locate them well enough to be a reliable starter. He showed plenty of moxie to bounce back from 2005 but must prove he can sustain success.

 

The Future: Masset may have pitched his way into the big league bullpen role with his strong winter. He still has the stuff and frame to be a durable, effective starter if he can master his command.

Edited April 16, 2007 by WhiteSoxfan1986

[SoxGovernment]

I said his stuff hasn't been as good, and he hasn't been "nails" for us.

 

4.66 9.2 IP 10 H 4 BB 6 Ks-These aren't great numbers

wtf did he like sell oranges on the side of the highway seahorse

[elrockinMT]

He's talking velocity. Fair enough, but I love the results.

 

 

It doesn't seem right does it? You hear from other so called baseball exspurts that the Sox management is enamored with pitching speed and then everyone is about 5-7 MPH off where we were told they were capable. Bad or improper off season conditioning? Arizona baseball? The horrible weather conditions? I hope we see this improvement pretty soon especially from Jenks, but overall the bullpen has really been strong and that kind of surprises me in light of all the talk. I think if they are still in the mid to lower range at mid-season we might have some troubles.

[bardsroom attendant]

I'm not so worried about Bobby right now. He went through the same thing last year, and eventually cranked it up to the high nineties. I still feel confident he'll get there again. And to the guy who was talking about Koch...no doubt. Bobby >>>> Koch. Koch couldn't control a damn thing when he was with us and Koch only dreams about having the breaking stuff Bobby has.

[joeynach]

Why do we seem to have such a problem with our guys losing velocity, especially our hard throwers. Garcia velocity down, Jenks velocity down whos next. Why do the mid 90's guys like Papelbon, Wagner, Verlander not have a problem with losing their velocity from one year to the next, but we do. I dont get it.

[Balance]

Why do we seem to have such a problem with our guys losing velocity, especially our hard throwers. Garcia velocity down, Jenks velocity down whos next. Why do the mid 90's guys like Papelbon, Wagner, Verlander not have a problem with losing their velocity from one year to the next, but we do. I dont get it.

This is something I've noticed, too. I wish I knew the answer.

[Balta1701]

This is something I've noticed, too. I wish I knew the answer.

It has to be something in the coaching and workout plans. It just has to be, because there's no other commonality. We can't blame it on the innings the starters get...because we've seen velocity drops in the bullpen as well. Cooper may be an exceptional mechanical coach, but maybe it's possible he treats these guys with too many kid gloves in ST?

[witesoxfan]

Could be the strength and conditioning coach as well.

[DABearSoX]

I'm not so worried about Bobby right now. He went through the same thing last year, and eventually cranked it up to the high nineties.

 

Exactly, i bet a thread along these lines was started around this time last year. Though i believe he was still up 3-4 mph at this time last year. But then again the country wasnt engulfed in a cold spell. As soon as it warms up I have no doubt he'll be back up to 95-99mph

[Dick Allen]

Exactly, i bet a thread along these lines was started around this time last year. Though i believe he was still up 3-4 mph at this time last year. But then again the country wasnt engulfed in a cold spell. As soon as it warms up I have no doubt he'll be back up to 95-99mph

If the White Sox hope to go to the playoffs this year and win in the playoffs, they are going to need a better Bobby Jenks than the 2006 version. He was fine the first half. He wasn't very good the second half. Pretty brutal in September. Even Ozzie is concerned about his velocity, and Jenks and Cooper disagree on why its down. If its going to take him a month or 2 into the season to regain his velocity, he's going to need a new offseason program. I also think the odds are he dissappears from the spotlight about as quickly as he entered it. I really don't think he'll have a very long career. IMO he is a prime candidate for a devastating arm injury, and his lack of velocity is something that may make that more likely. If he's only capable of throwing 93 or 94 and he's out there trying to throw 100, something bad will probably happen. The good news is he seems to be the one right now least worried about it, decreasing the likelihood of that happening. If his job suddenly is on the line though..............BTW according to the Sun-Times, he will be working on his mechanics using the towel drill.

Edited April 17, 2007 by Dick Allen

[DABearSoX]

If the White Sox hope to go to the playoffs this year and win in the playoffs, they are going to need a better Bobby Jenks than the 2006 version.

 

I couldn't agree more...BUT our bullpen does have a few different members that are capable of stepping up and filling the roll...

 

I was just pointing out that his velocity followed the same curve last year (as it does with most power pitchers), wish we could have said the same about his stuff...

[SpringfieldFan]

I couldn't agree more...BUT our bullpen does have a few different members that are capable of stepping up and filling the roll...

 

I was just pointing out that his velocity followed the same curve last year (as it does with most power pitchers), wish we could have said the same about his stuff...

 

Seems to me he rebounded to a 97-98 range, which is great... but it seems in 2005 he was consistently in the 99-101 range. Maybe I just got used to watching him, but it didn't look like his fastball ever jumped last year like it had previously...

 

SFF