We have not gone to a location to do a household activity given that March, so Ill say up front that going to the pool together the other day for a couple hours was incredible. The kids had a blast, I felt human for a minute, and the setup there felt really safe.
– I found this remark from David Ross on Craig Kimbrels struggles to be * incredibly * interesting:
Ross said focus with Kimbrel is to get pitch qualities back to previous levels. That indicates limiting usage of changeup, which Kimbrel had discussed working in more.
” We found that changeup, at times, can drop his arm and truly get some things that can create bad habits.”
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) August 9, 2020
– As weve discussed, Kimbrel has been working on the changeup for several years, with obviously more focus this year in an attempt to take the tension off his fastballs decrease in speed (a great changeup, coupled with the curveball, would “accelerate” the batter a bit even if the fastball is 95-96 rather of 98-99). He has yet to actually release it in games. So, I suggest, if his work on the changeup is adversely impacting his arm slot on his other pitches, then get tf rid of it asap.
– Speaking of which, the more data we collect this year, the more we can see simply how off Kimbrel has actually been. His release point is so really off this year– far lower than usual * AND * more lateral– and much more worrying, hes releasing his fastball and curveball from two absolutely various spots:
– Not only is that suggestive of his mechanics being out-of-whack, as he and the Cubs have said, its also a pretty easy way for batters to understand whether theyre about to get a fastball or a curveball! No marvel batters have actually been so completely and quickly able to spit on the curveball and rest on the fastball. They can just diagnose the pitch at release while staying concentrated on just a specific zone. Hence, if its a fastball because zone, they swing (thus the OUTRAGEOUS exit velocities), and if it is anything else at all, they take. And since Kimbrels command has been bad, that process ends up effectively for them.
– This, obviously, is simpler kept in mind than fixed. Perhaps theres a physical reason for the issues here. Perhaps repairing the release point problem costs him much more velocity or movement. Perhaps fixing the release point issue suggests he cant toss strikes at all. Beats me. The next time he has a bad or excellent getaway, this is the stuff Ill be checking.
– Heads up: the Eero wi-fi system is on a big sale at Amazon today, so if youve been considering a mesh system, inspect it out. #ad
– If you missed out on the upgrade last night, the Cardinals did have an extra favorable test this weekend, outfielder Lane Thomas, who obviously did have direct exposure to one of the new positives from Friday:
Thomas shares a home with Ryan Helsley, who already checked favorable. https://t.co/Da1cqf6NwV
— Mark Saxon (@markasaxon) August 10, 2020
– Also keep in mind that second part in there: two of the members of the Cardinals were sick enough that they required to get some treatment at the health center (they werent admitted, however still).
– One intense area for the Cardinals is that they may soon get some players back from the break out, even before they missed out on any games:
” The delay in between games is currently enough time that some of the first players to test favorable for the infection will have missed the obligatory 8 days and may be qualified to begin the return process and its testing.” #stlcards @stltoday #MLB https://t.co/GeDWEU7Y5L
— Derrick S. Goold (@dgoold) August 9, 2020
– The Cubs bullpen has enhanced! I indicate, you understand that anecdotally from tracking the games, but its real by the numbers:
Update on the Reds bullpen ERA: 7.99 https://t.co/2zg36e2mGl
— Matt Clapp (@TheBlogfines) August 9, 2020
– … naturally, a 7.30 ERA is still comically bad, which underscores how rough things were in that very first week. Envision being 10-3 with a 7.30 bullpen ERA. Oh, and one of those three losses was a starting pitcher implosion. Pretty remarkable.
– Eep:
We have not gone to a location to do a family activity because March, so Ill say up front that going to the pool together yesterday for a couple hours was amazing. The kids had a blast, I felt human for a moment, and the setup there felt really safe. I imply, if his work on the changeup is adversely affecting his arm slot on his other pitches, then get tf rid of it asap.
No wonder batters have actually been so totally and quickly able to spit on the curveball and sit on the fastball. Therefore, if its a fastball in that zone, they swing (hence the OUTRAGEOUS exit speeds), and if it is anything else at all, they take.
Compassion for the Devil? Not in this town. pic.twitter.com/NBYvMzdW4d
— Paul Sullivan (@PWSullivan) August 9, 2020
