Comments on: Felix Hernandez and Missing Velocity

By: Cozar

Cozar — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 23:45:49 +0000

No, I’m not suggesting he lost velocity because he got more run support, I’m suggesting it’s possible, because he had a huge lead, that he simply wasn’t trying as hard.

By: Cozar

Cozar — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 23:39:47 +0000

Not exactly, Circle. It’s a rational hypothesis that pitchers might not try as hard when the they have a large lead (or a huge deficit) in order to save their best stuff for another day when it matters more.

I’m wondering if 1) there is any truth to that and 2) if that is what happened to Felix.

Notably, he was pitching a 1 hitter until he had a 7-0 lead. With a 7-0 lead he wouldn’t be quite as worried about giving up a few hits or runs. That might have changed his mental approach which resulted in giving up more hits.

By: Luke M.

Luke M. — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 07:51:35 +0000

Add Tommy Hanson to the list. He’s coming back from injury right now so he’s working 87-91, but even at his best he tops out around 92-93 now.

By: Shaun Catron

Shaun Catron — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 07:48:54 +0000

Cozar saying that Felix might have struggled because the Mariners scored 6+ runs. Felix lost veloctiy because the Mariners hit some homers and gave him run support? what?

By: SAS

SAS — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 05:22:00 +0000

As the pitch f/x velocity data piles up over years, it will be interesting to see what we learn about a pitcher’s velocity of a career. It seems like a lot of pitchers come up throwing in the mid to high 90′s, but few seem to sustain that.

By: CircleChange11

CircleChange11 — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 03:57:41 +0000

Yeah, Halladay is notorious for April complete games … especially in Toronto.

By: CircleChange11

CircleChange11 — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 03:56:01 +0000

Okay, so Felix didn;t pitch that well the 2 times the mariners scored 6 runs or better. *grin*

Actually, if the mariners scored 6+ runs perhaps there was something in the environment (wind?) that was affecting the overall offensive production on the day.

If the M’s are scoring a bunch of runs and Felix is allowing a bunch of runs, my initial feeling would be there’s something going on with the environment … and not global warming.