Cubs f/x

A picture is worth a 1000 words, right? This picture plots over 6300 pitches thrown by Carlos Marmol since 2007. Notice the drop in velocity followed by an increase in his slider velocity only (lower clusters). While his fastball velocity has dropped, his slider has picked up speed and is back to as-fast-as-ever. One key for Marmol is having separation between his two pitches. Speed is just one aspect, movement is another.PITCHf/x gives us both vertical spin deflection (or movement, when gravity

Vance Worley Preview

On the hottest day Chicago has seen in a decade, rookie Vance Worley will take the ball for the Phillies against the Cubs. Worley was drafted after high school and again three years later, both times by Philadelphia, signing the second time around as a third round pick in 2008.Worley's big league debut was just about one year ago and this will be his 12th Major League start. He's a big guy, listed at 6'3" 230. He has two base hits this year but no successful sacrifice bunts. As a Sacramento pro

Next Challenge: The Resurgent Pirates

I was born in 1971 and went to my first Major League game in 1979. I graduated from college in 1993. By virtue of my age, the quality baseball being played by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2011 is not a shock to my system--I've seen it before.The Pirates of the 1970s were always first or second in the National League East, with the exception being the lone sub-.500 season of the decade in 1973. And that was the season following the tragic death of Roberto Clemente. Barry Bonds was a Giant by the ti

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