southsider2k5 Posted May 21, 2015 Author Share Posted May 21, 2015 Chicago White Sox @whitesox 6m6 minutes ago Robin says Danks changed up his delivery & is more confident. "He feels like he's got a little something extra to get people out with." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 21, 2015 -> 05:28 PM) Chicago White Sox @whitesox 6m6 minutes ago Robin says Danks changed up his delivery & is more confident. "He feels like he's got a little something extra to get people out with." Link Danks and pitching coach Don Cooper went to work and made some big adjustments. "I've pitched from every location on the rubber since I've been here," Danks said. "Last year I finished up right in the middle just to help me throw strikes. This season I felt like my angle of attack wasn't as good as it could have been in terms of making pitches look hittable when they aren't. "I moved all the way to third-base side. It gives me a better attack in on a lefty and the cutter's not as big. Rather than have to throw way in, I'm able to kind of throw straight and it'll run off the plate. That, and just some mechanical things, I was getting on my heels a little too much and that was causing me to spin off. "I focused on keeping my weight where it needs to be, my head where it needs to be." The positive results were immediate. "He had a great changeup working," manager Robin Ventura said. "The curveball, he was able to locate. I think when he's able to do that, he becomes tough. He was keeping everybody off balance." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chitownsportsfan Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 (edited) I went there hopeful, but Danks' Fangraphs page offers nothing exciting or encouraging. His velocity is the exact same it's been post injury, almost two full MPH lower on his heater, down to 88.4, his peripherals are slightly better than last year, but as he was bottom 5 in qualified starters last year in both xFIP and FIP, simply moving up to bottom 1/3 isn't very exciting. If anything he's now pitching like a decent 5th starter instead of an awful one. He is what he is. Edited May 21, 2015 by chitownsportsfan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lasttriptotulsa Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 I know the odds of it happening are slim to none, but how great would a 2008 era John Danks look in this rotation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balta1701 Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 Wondering if anyone has figured it out yet... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chisoxfn Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ May 21, 2015 -> 03:08 PM) I went there hopeful, but Danks' Fangraphs page offers nothing exciting or encouraging. His velocity is the exact same it's been post injury, almost two full MPH lower on his heater, down to 88.4, his peripherals are slightly better than last year, but as he was bottom 5 in qualified starters last year in both xFIP and FIP, simply moving up to bottom 1/3 isn't very exciting. If anything he's now pitching like a decent 5th starter instead of an awful one. He is what he is. I don't think any of the quotes above were about him throwing harder, rather he feels he has better command and is able to get some more of his pitches to the right spot. He also seems to indicate that he might have some different deception based upon the changes (so guys aren't picking up stuff as well). I am not saying whether that is actually true or not, just stating that looking at velocity from fangraphs won't be able to validate what JD is crediting for his improvement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chitownsportsfan Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 (edited) QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ May 21, 2015 -> 07:15 PM) I don't think any of the quotes above were about him throwing harder, rather he feels he has better command and is able to get some more of his pitches to the right spot. He also seems to indicate that he might have some different deception based upon the changes (so guys aren't picking up stuff as well). I am not saying whether that is actually true or not, just stating that looking at velocity from fangraphs won't be able to validate what JD is crediting for his improvement. I looked pretty hard at the numbers, squinted as hard as I could, and came up with this: his cutter has been better so far this year than the past two years. Using the pitch values on Fangraphs, you can't make a case that his fastball is better even though it's the same speed. It's been getting hit hard, as it has post surgery, but his 71% strand rate is keeping his ERA down. Every year struggling or oft injured players make up a mental story as to why this year will be different. I get that, but as a fan, I don't have to make up any story as to why he's going to perform better. Whatever John has to tell himself at night to get to sleep and in the morning to get out of bed -- more power to him. But I'm not seeing anything that correlates to "he's got more stuff". I see a re-arranging of deck chairs. Edited May 21, 2015 by chitownsportsfan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TitoMB345 Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 nope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyyle23 Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ May 17, 2015 -> 10:21 PM) Some times when you turn a corner you get hit by a bus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quin Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Jinx thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soxfest Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Close this thread he is garbage! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldsox Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 QUOTE (Soxfest @ May 21, 2015 -> 06:28 PM) Close this thread he is garbage! That's a little over the top. But the fact remains, he could not make the Colorado roster. Or any other. Sox aren't going to cut him; he probably has 20 or so starts ahead of him in next season and a half. A few will be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fathom Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 QUOTE (oldsox @ May 22, 2015 -> 01:56 AM) That's a little over the top. But the fact remains, he could not make the Colorado roster. Or any other. Sox aren't going to cut him; he probably has 20 or so starts ahead of him in next season and a half. A few will be good. He has to be one of, if not the worst, pitchers in the AL since he signed his extension Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldsox Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 QUOTE (fathom @ May 21, 2015 -> 06:58 PM) He has to be one of, if not the worst, pitchers in the AL since he signed his extension Agreed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chitownsportsfan Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 QUOTE (fathom @ May 21, 2015 -> 07:58 PM) He has to be one of, if not the worst, pitchers in the AL since he signed his extension Wow you have to pay for the finder on B-Ref? I was going to run a search for it. I'm sure he's right there and could possibly be the worst qualified FIP and xFIP. He's certainly close to the bottom in ERA and ERA+ as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harkness99 Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ May 21, 2015 -> 09:37 PM) Wow you have to pay for the finder on B-Ref? I was going to run a search for it. I'm sure he's right there and could possibly be the worst qualified FIP and xFIP. He's certainly close to the bottom in ERA and ERA+ as well. Danks wasn't great... but no winning many games with this offense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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