Game Thread: 6/26 Cubs at Birdsong

[calsnowskier]

maybe we have enough lively arms in the minors who can kick back a start or two on adrenalin .... ? gap strategy until starters come off the I/L

Kudos to son of Fidrych... bring back the Bird!

Does the kid have a reliable eephus?

 

[LHG]

Has anyone mentioned yet that vogel means bird in German?

Vogelsong/Birdsong

So you are saying Birdsong will struggle in a few starts, get traded to the Pirates, struggle there, disappear from the big leagues and then get a 2nd chance with the Giants and help them start another dynasty run, this time in odd years? Is that what you are trying to say?

 

[LHG]

three in a row with me in Wyoming (the Tetons).

maybe I should stay a while longer?

I think @calsnowskier would be willing to make sure you get back home after the World Series. After all, he does have that helicopter pad . . .

 

[msgkings322]

So you are saying Birdsong will struggle in a few starts, get traded to the Pirates, struggle there, disappear from the big leagues and then get a 2nd chance with the Giants and help them start another dynasty run, this time in odd years? Is that what you are trying to say?

There’s really no other way to see it

 

[stanford the manford]

Does the kid have a reliable eephus?

pretty nasty one - not quite Bird-esque yet (and I had to look it up)

 

[calsnowskier]

pretty nasty one - not quite Bird-esque yet (and I had to look it up)

This actually got me going on researching the eephus, and when it has recently been used.

Ignoring position players, who obviously throw it because it is, well, the only pitch they CAN throw…

There are actually a few current pitchers who have thrown it at least once in their MLB career. Kershaw (who has since said it was a mistake pitch, not technically an eephus), Rich Hill, Yu Darvish and Zach Greinke. I couldnt find dates or any further info outside of the fact that they have actually thrown it.

It looks like only 2 pitchers who have pitched for the Giants ever used it (Livan Hernandez and Fernando Abad).

 

[tzill]

Vogelsong II had a nice debut. Too many pitches probably but had good stuff, made 4 pitches work effectively, 5 Ks. Maybe will be a useful kid.

He a young kid without a lot of control. That said, his 98 heater is legit and he rarely serves up meatballs. Expect a lot of walks and long innings, but he could go 4-5 innings on a regular basis.

 

[msgkings322]

This actually got me going on researching the eephus, and when it has recently been used.

Ignoring position players, who obviously throw it because it is, well, the only pitch they CAN throw…

There are actually a few current pitchers who have thrown it at least once in their MLB career. Kershaw (who has since said it was a mistake pitch, not technically an eephus), Rich Hill, Yu Darvish and Zach Greinke. I couldnt find dates or any further info outside of the fact that they have actually thrown it.

It looks like only 2 pitchers who have pitched for the Giants ever used it (Livan Hernandez and Fernando Abad).

Are there stats on the effectiveness of the pitch? They show batting averages for curves, sliders etc thrown by each pitcher, anyone keep track of that tiny sample size?

 

[tzill]

Matos hitting .385 since his recall

 

[calsnowskier]

Are there stats on the effectiveness of the pitch? They show batting averages for curves, sliders etc thrown by each pitcher, anyone keep track of that tiny sample size?

I only found “stories” about the pitch, not any analytics. And I don’t think it has been used nearly enough since that kind of data has been collected for any analytics to actually help.

But to directly answer your question…

No. Not that I found.

 

[msgkings322]

I only found “stories” about the pitch, not any analytics. And I don’t think it has been used nearly enough since that kind of data has been collected for any analytics to actually help.

But to directly answer your question…

No. Not that I found.

Probably no way to get that data but it would be fun. I suspect it "works" pretty well but only because it happens so rarely.

 

[calsnowskier]

Probably no way to get that data but it would be fun. I suspect it "works" pretty well but only because it happens so rarely.

That would be my guess. Assuming it is effective (I have no idea), it has to be because the hitter just isn’t expecting it when it comes.

Look at position players, who almost exclusively throw it. Their overall numbers are not MLB quality. But some hitters strike out embarrassingly in those situations because they because school kids swinging out of their shoes when they see it.

 

[LHG]

This actually got me going on researching the eephus, and when it has recently been used.

Ignoring position players, who obviously throw it because it is, well, the only pitch they CAN throw…

There are actually a few current pitchers who have thrown it at least once in their MLB career. Kershaw (who has since said it was a mistake pitch, not technically an eephus), Rich Hill, Yu Darvish and Zach Greinke. I couldnt find dates or any further info outside of the fact that they have actually thrown it.

It looks like only 2 pitchers who have pitched for the Giants ever used it (Livan Hernandez and Fernando Abad).

Well, we know that at least one of them threw abad pitch!

 

[stanford the manford]

This actually got me going on researching the eephus, and when it has recently been used.

Ignoring position players, who obviously throw it because it is, well, the only pitch they CAN throw…

There are actually a few current pitchers who have thrown it at least once in their MLB career. Kershaw (who has since said it was a mistake pitch, not technically an eephus), Rich Hill, Yu Darvish and Zach Greinke. I couldnt find dates or any further info outside of the fact that they have actually thrown it.

It looks like only 2 pitchers who have pitched for the Giants ever used it (Livan Hernandez and Fernando Abad).

j/c - does the 'moon ball' in slow pitch softball qualify as an eephus?

 

[calsnowskier]

Well, we know that at least one of them threw abad pitch!

 

[calsnowskier]

j/c - does the 'moon ball' in slow pitch softball qualify as an eephus?

LOL

When I was writing that post, I literally kept thinking of slow pitch softball.

 

[tzill]

Watching afternoon baseball...always a shitshowy treat.

We started Slater, Flores, Chapman, Soler, Estrada, Ahmed and Casali.

All hitting below .250

It's going as expected...B6 and 2 hits.

Hicks imploded in the third and gave up three...and that's how winning streaks get snapped.

Oh, and Soler is a useless piece of shit.

 

[tzill]

Soler actually did something good.

Now, Walker is in to phuk up my afternoon.

 

[tzill]

Walker escapes.

One phuking run guys. One phuking run.

 

[calsnowskier]

Watching afternoon baseball...always a shitshowy treat.

We started Slater, Flores, Chapman, Soler, Estrada, Ahmed and Casali.

All hitting below .250

It's going as expected...B6 and 2 hits.

Hicks imploded in the third and gave up three...and that's how winning streaks get snapped.

Oh, and Soler is a useless piece of shit.

LOL

I legit thought we had an off day today. Oh well, the current score has been spoiled for me, so I might as well start watching live…