The Giants stranded 10 runners in the first 4 innings to squander another terrific start by Chris Heston as well as lose their home opener. Key Lines:
Norichika Aoki- 2 for 4, BB, SB(1). BA= .412. Aoki continues to be the Giants hottest hitter.
Chris Heston- 7 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K's, GO/AO= 9/2. ERA= 0.69. Very similar line as his first start in Arizona and very similar to what we've been seeing for years in the minor leagues. This guy could well be for real! If he keeps this up, I'm guessing he is not going to be the odd man out when Matt Cain comes back.
The Loss dropped the Giants further behind the NL West leading Rockie who improved their record to 5-2 while the last place Giants dropped to 3-5, 2.5 games off the pace. The Dodgers are trailing the Seattle Mariners 5-3 in the 5'th inning while the D'Backs are leading the Padres 4-2 in the 4'th inning as of this writing.
Rafael Betancourt got the Save in this one confounding fantasy baseball managers who had snapped up Adam Ottavino.
I looked up some team stats. The Giants are 12'th in Team OPS so far, but just 17'th in Runs indicating that they have been somewhat unlucky in the sequencing of their hits and walks. You might say it is because of a lack of HR's but their 5 dingers ranks them 17'th and with just 1 more they would move up several notches.
Tim Hudson takes the mound tomorrow facing Christian Bergman.
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heston takes over for cain, and promptly gets cained
ReplyDeletecraw went into a slump pretty quick
aoki looks great in the leadoff role...but at times looks a bit lost in the of...guess it will take a bit of a learning curve to get used to the nl parks
if heston is to stay in the rotation...who gets dumped?
bacci
My vote- Machi. But when Ishi and Pence make their respective '15 debuts, more tough decisions await.
DeleteEdit- I realize Machi isn't a starter, so there's that...
DeleteVogelsong or Petit. Put Heston into long-relief and spot starting.
DeleteHave to think Peavy is the frontrunner for a DL stint to make room for lightning in a bottle Heston. But all it takes for Heston to lose his "spot" is one slip-up.
ReplyDeleteHeston looks surprisingly solid out there. But does anyone else find it a little curious that he seems to have picked up not only 10-15 lbs over the winter but also some 3 mph on his fastball? Doesn't seem to come from just a few extra Quarter Pounders and Fries. Is there really a 90-day weights program that would do that for a pitcher? If so, I would think his trainer is to be commended and emulated.
ReplyDeleteWeight and velocity are a complex subject. Every pitcher has an ideal weight range to maximize his velocity, go over or under it and you'll loose speed. So the fact that a guy who was, frankly, a bean pole put on some weight and gained velolcity isn't surprising to me.
DeleteBecause my wife is a scientist, I can read stuff on PubMed. The abstract is free though and if you can slog through it (even the abstract is dull) you see that they addressing the weight-velocity issue in the paper:
Abstract
Although ball speed is considered a measure of success in baseball pitching, little is known about the relationship between ball velocity and pitching mechanics. Investigation of this relationship has been limited, and the studies carried out have varied in methodology. Three-dimensional, high-speed (240 Hz) video data were collected on fastballs from 54 collegiate baseball pitchers. Kinematic parameters related to pitching mechanics and resultant kinetics on the throwing shoulder and elbow were calculated. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to relate ball velocity and pitching mechanics. Ball velocity averaged 35 m/sec (79 mph) for the 54 college pitchers. Nearly 70% of the variability in ball speed can be explained by a combination of 10 parameters related to pitching mechanics. Body mass and 9 temporal and kinematic parameters related to pitching mechanics combine to account for 68% of the variance in ball velocity for a collegiate population of athletes. These variables can be manipulated via mechanical changes and sport-specific training to affect ball velocity. The results of the study can be used to increase ball velocity while at the same time minimizing stresses on the throwing arm elbow and shoulder. Improved training programs can begin to be developed based on these data.
I think many of Lincecum's problems come from his dropping to 170lbs. I know the 200lbs was bothering his plant knee, but 170 seems to be too low. I think he should get up to 185lbs and see how that works. I suspect if he did it, he'd get his velocity back-up to the 92/93 range.
But I'm not going to try to tell him this like some crazy stalker-fan. He's a man and he's responsible for his athletic performance.
That article sounds pretty legit. Thanks for finding it and sharing.
DeleteVery interesting indeed ~ thanks!
DeleteWell, Heston is making things tough by playing so well. I can see a number of options:
ReplyDelete1. Someone to the DL. Peavy with his back, tired arm, etc. might be the best candidate, but I suspect he's probably not injured enough to put on the DL.
2. Someone gets released. That's tough to pick, though we do have a number of candidates for the axe.
3. We carry 14 pitchers and Duffy will have to be Super Duper Utility man and, possibly, play two positions simultaneously,