| Christopher Reina. 13th April, 2009 - 2:10 pm
 Putting aside the worst fears of how to spend $160M, CC Sabathia fared 180 degrees better in Kansas City in his second start than he did on Opening Day in Baltimore.
The lines here don't lie at all.
BAL, 4/6
4.1 innings
96 pitches
0 strikeouts
5 walks
8 hits
6 earned runs
36% fly balls
KC, 4/11
7.2 innings
108 pitches
6 strikeouts
0 walks
6 hits
0 earned runs
30% fly balls
The average vertical break on his fastball was just 7.91 against the Orioles, compared to 10.47 against the Royals. For a pitcher that relies heavily on his height, the Baltimore outing was really an aberration and represented a breakdown in his mechanics as he allowed his right foot to plant too late. This turns a 6'7" pitcher into a 6'2" pitcher and negates the effectiveness of his fastball.
Like clockwork, most of Sabathia's bad starts are when his average vertical break is in the sevens or eights. He had a 7.28 when he was roughed up by Oakland for nine earned runs April 11th of 2008 and 8.35 in his next start against Detroit when he gave up nine earned runs again. In his next start against Kansas City, they were a slump buster the way they were this year, as he gave up zero earned runs, striking out 11 in six innings of work while having an average vertical break of 10.61.
Along with attacking the bottom of the zone in this year's first start against the Royals, Sabathia increased the average velocity of his fastball from 93 MPH to 94 MPH, while showing a high speed of 96.9.
Sabathia also did a much better job of coming from a consistent release point, as well as locating his slider and change, with a strike percentage of 71% and 75% respectively, up from each being just 54%.
Strike Zone Plot versus Baltimore
Strike Zone Plot versus Kansas City
Data from BrooksBaseball.net. |
