Kevin Hart, Jose Ascanio and Josh Harrision were dealt to Pittsburgh for left-handed pitchers Tom Gorzelanny and John Grabow. Grabow will join Sean Marshall as the second lefty in the Cubs bullpen. Gorzelanny could be off to Iowa, no word yet.
I took a look at Grabow yesterday, and figured he's not much different than George Sherrill or Joe Beimel. Gorzelanny has also been covered here before, most recently before a game against Sean Gallagher.
To expedite my re-introduction of Gorzelanny, I didn't bother to split his fastballs into two- and four-seamers. His fastball, as shown below, will have a lot of movement. In your mind's eye, think of two fastballs, one with a little more movement (tail and sink) than shown, one with less.
Type#vs LHHvs RHHMPHPFX_XPFX_ZDEGRPM
Change6312460783.89.44.9117.92,014.6
Curveball2683823074.8-3.2-2.6288.7764.9
Fastball1837328150990.48.39.0137.52,516.1
Slider30812218681.4-0.51.5196.2545.5
Gorzelanny will throw a little harder (94) when he's working in relief. His slider and curve can be tough to split apart some times, and, as I mentioned above, he throws both a four-seam and a two-seam fastball, blended together here.
Notice the more over-the-top release point on the fastball.
All said, Gorzelanny is a little below average. Maybe a better emergency starter than Casey Fossum, but a slight step down from Grabow as a LOOGY. My main concern, or concerns, are his lack of command, a tendency to pitch up in the zone, and, along with that, a high fly-ball rate. Not my kind of pitcher, maybe more of a San Diego guy. Perhaps they have a lefty outfielder the Cubs can flip Gorzelanny for.
Original Story:
http://www.cubsfx.com/2009/07/gorzela...
I took a look at Grabow yesterday, and figured he's not much different than George Sherrill or Joe Beimel. Gorzelanny has also been covered here before, most recently before a game against Sean Gallagher.
To expedite my re-introduction of Gorzelanny, I didn't bother to split his fastballs into two- and four-seamers. His fastball, as shown below, will have a lot of movement. In your mind's eye, think of two fastballs, one with a little more movement (tail and sink) than shown, one with less.
Type#vs LHHvs RHHMPHPFX_XPFX_ZDEGRPM
Change6312460783.89.44.9117.92,014.6
Curveball2683823074.8-3.2-2.6288.7764.9
Fastball1837328150990.48.39.0137.52,516.1
Slider30812218681.4-0.51.5196.2545.5
Gorzelanny will throw a little harder (94) when he's working in relief. His slider and curve can be tough to split apart some times, and, as I mentioned above, he throws both a four-seam and a two-seam fastball, blended together here.
Notice the more over-the-top release point on the fastball.
All said, Gorzelanny is a little below average. Maybe a better emergency starter than Casey Fossum, but a slight step down from Grabow as a LOOGY. My main concern, or concerns, are his lack of command, a tendency to pitch up in the zone, and, along with that, a high fly-ball rate. Not my kind of pitcher, maybe more of a San Diego guy. Perhaps they have a lefty outfielder the Cubs can flip Gorzelanny for.
Original Story:
http://www.cubsfx.com/2009/07/gorzela...
