Following a split it what turned into a 1.67 game series against the Giants, the Cubs are starting another short series tonight This two game set is as-scheduled against the Reds in Cincinnati. Same plan in Florida, two games and out the door. From there it's off to Fenway for interleague play.
Carlos Zambrano's tilt with Tim Lincecum was washed-out, moving Big Z into tonight's match-up with Homer Bailey. Bailey is making his third start of the season, coming off the DL to join the rotation in May. The Cubs will look to change the lanky Texan's fortunes.
Bailey's two starts were outstanding, totaling 13 innings with 12 strike outs and just one walk. Opponents have managed just one run on nine hits over the two starts. He's also thrown a ton of sliders in the process.
The differences in Bailey's pitch mix over this two games and his total PITCHf/x history is easy to see (pitch classifications are my own).
The sliders have been plentiful and effective. The 515 Bailey threw before 2011 yielded a whiff rate of .23 -- a big jump, from a league relative "+" rate of 72 all the way to 125. That's where league average is 100 and each point away if 1% of the average above or below average. If you prefer the scouting scale and z-scores, where 50 is average and 10 points is one standard deviation, he went from 40 to 60 whiff.
So, replace your pitches-to-contact template with a bat-misser template before watching tonight's game.
Original Story:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cubsfx...
Carlos Zambrano's tilt with Tim Lincecum was washed-out, moving Big Z into tonight's match-up with Homer Bailey. Bailey is making his third start of the season, coming off the DL to join the rotation in May. The Cubs will look to change the lanky Texan's fortunes.
Bailey's two starts were outstanding, totaling 13 innings with 12 strike outs and just one walk. Opponents have managed just one run on nine hits over the two starts. He's also thrown a ton of sliders in the process.
The differences in Bailey's pitch mix over this two games and his total PITCHf/x history is easy to see (pitch classifications are my own).
The sliders have been plentiful and effective. The 515 Bailey threw before 2011 yielded a whiff rate of .23 -- a big jump, from a league relative "+" rate of 72 all the way to 125. That's where league average is 100 and each point away if 1% of the average above or below average. If you prefer the scouting scale and z-scores, where 50 is average and 10 points is one standard deviation, he went from 40 to 60 whiff.
So, replace your pitches-to-contact template with a bat-misser template before watching tonight's game.
Original Story:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Cubsfx...
