A Tale Of Two Marmols

Does Carlos Marmol walk the first batter every time he pitches, or does it just seem like it?If I blogged for ChicagoNOW, I would just state it as fact and then mock readers when they demonstrate how inaccurate my statements were (see Kaplan, Dave; Olsen, Matt).Instead, I combed through all of the box scores for the last month and a half to prove that Carlos Marmol walks the first batter every time he pitches. Turns out he doesn't, unless we're just talking about the last 12 days:Aug. 11 vs Philly - Walk (runner scores)Aug. 8 @ Colorado - StrikeoutAug. 3 @ Cincinnati - Walk (runner scores)Aug. 1 @ Florida - Walk (runner stranded)July 31 @ Florida - Walk (runner forced out on bases, subsequent runners score)Four out of the last five appearances: leadoff runner walks, leading to three runs. Nice.Before that, however, he came to work prepared. In fact, he didn't give up a walk or hit to the first batter he faced in the first four weeks of July (though he plunked two guys):July 27 vs Houston - StrikeoutJuly 25 vs Cincinnati - StrikeoutJuly 24 vs Cincinnati - StrikeoutJuly 21 @ Philly - StrikeoutJuly 18 @ DC - Hit batter (runner stranded)July 17 @ DC - StrikeoutJuly 16 @ DC - GroundoutJuly 12 vs St. Louis - FlyoutJuly 11 vs St. Louis - GroundoutJuly 6 vs Atlanta - StrikeoutJuly 5 vs Milwaukee - StrikeoutJuly 2 vs Milwaukee - FlyoutJuly 1 vs Pittsburgh - Hit batter (runner stranded)Let's hypnotize Carlos and convince him it's early July again, shall we? At least for the first batter of each inning.