i think marmol is broken, you guys

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I didn't see yesterday's outing, but his problem against Tampa was his slider. He hit his spot(or very close to it) with the majority of his fastballs(personally, I think he was getting squeezed a bit), but the sliders were all over the place.

[Jon]

there's some differences in the pitchspeed readings. pitchfx has marmol topping out at 94 for that outing.

Yeah, we talked about that in the game thread. Every fastball was between 92 and 94 mph.

 

WGN's radar gun isn't always accurate, Gordon.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Here's what they think they found with Marmol.

 

Link

 

Piniella said pitching coach Larry Rothschild and bullpen coach Les Strode watched video with Carlos Marmol on Sunday seeking an answer to his recent control issues.

 

"I think it's just a question of release points," Piniella said. "Plus I think he was too crouched in spinning out of his delivery, so I think you'll see him a little [more upright] so he can drive down as opposed to coming up."

[chuckywang]

Here's what they think they found with Marmol.

 

Link

 

Piniella said pitching coach Larry Rothschild and bullpen coach Les Strode watched video with Carlos Marmol on Sunday seeking an answer to his recent control issues.

 

"I think it's just a question of release points," Piniella said. "Plus I think he was too crouched in spinning out of his delivery, so I think you'll see him a little [more upright] so he can drive down as opposed to coming up."

 

Kudos to AceCubbie for noticing

[Soul]

I'm not ready to declare Marmol broken yet. He's always been a little wild, it's the extreme movement he gets on his pitches. I remember him struggling a little bit with control in years past, though certainly not this much.

 

I prefer to think of this as just a blip on the radar, until proven otherwise. I noticed he's changed a few things this year compared to before. For example, I don't remember him using that "Fetters" look when he comes set before the pitch until this year. He's still kind of a young guy, he's experiencing his first great success in the majors -- maybe that throws him off enough that he needs to go back to the drawing board a little bit.

 

Yes, I'm making up excuses, but I'm just not going to freak out about him after a couple wild performances. I want to see if he can get it back under control first before becoming really concerned.

[NCCubFan]

I think whatever was broken has been fixed.

[treebird]

yay fixed

[chuckywang]

Still under warranty!

[wvcbxl]

I think whatever was broken has been fixed.

 

Sure seems like it.

 

If that was his only "bad spell" of the season, the Cubs are set. 8-)

[CubbieBum]

Another bad outing. My worry level is at full alert now. His era is up to 3.59. He seems to start well and then start getting hit after an out or two.

[inari]

I didn't see the Marmol inning, did he look awful?

[CubbieBum]

I didn't see the Marmol inning, did he look awful?

 

struck out the first two then had a hit and walk followed by a homerun. Then came back and got a strike out. Like I said I think he's got a mental issue with doing well and then relaxing too soon or doing the same thing in each at bat and by the time the third batter comes up they've figured it out. I think its most likely the later.

[Sammy Sofa]

If he's "broken" already at this stage, he was never meant to be.

[Guest]

Why must it always be a mental problem when someone struggles?

[CubbieBum]

Why must it always be a mental problem when someone struggles?

 

Because in a sport like baseball when a guy has all the physical tools to succeed and isn't its something with his brain. Marmol's stuff is just as nasty as before so it's not like he just lost it. It would be like LeBron struggling next year. It wouldn't be because he all of sudden lost all his athletic ability.

[imb]

god, you're terrible at this

[imb]

this = posting btw

[Jon]

Was Marmol's hand okay last night?

[inari]

Why must it always be a mental problem when someone struggles?

 

Because in a sport like baseball when a guy has all the physical tools to succeed and isn't its something with his brain. Marmol's stuff is just as nasty as before so it's not like he just lost it. It would be like LeBron struggling next year. It wouldn't be because he all of sudden lost all his athletic ability.

 

 

His stuff isn't as nasty as before.

[TruffleShuffle]

that's why pedro martinez isn't that good any more, it's not like he has just magically lost his stuff. there's gotta be something mentally that isn't clicking with him.

[Banedon]

Why must it always be a mental problem when someone struggles?

 

Because in a sport like baseball when a guy has all the physical tools to succeed and isn't its something with his brain. Marmol's stuff is just as nasty as before so it's not like he just lost it. It would be like LeBron struggling next year. It wouldn't be because he all of sudden lost all his athletic ability.

 

Except that Marmol hasn't struggled for the whole season. He's in a bad stretch. Look at Kerry Wood. He had a bad stretch, but came out of it.

 

Lebron is a bad example, as he plays the entire game every night. Relief pitching doesn't translate very well to basketball.

[abuck1220]

no, no relief pitching is EXACTLY the same thing as shooting a basketball.

[CubbieBum]

Why must it always be a mental problem when someone struggles?

 

Because in a sport like baseball when a guy has all the physical tools to succeed and isn't its something with his brain. Marmol's stuff is just as nasty as before so it's not like he just lost it. It would be like LeBron struggling next year. It wouldn't be because he all of sudden lost all his athletic ability.

 

Except that Marmol hasn't struggled for the whole season. He's in a bad stretch. Look at Kerry Wood. He had a bad stretch, but came out of it.

 

Lebron is a bad example, as he plays the entire game every night. Relief pitching doesn't translate very well to basketball.

 

Try not to take things too literally. LeBron is a good example because he is a freak and has more ability than anyone other than maybe Kobe. Marmol is a freak as a pitcher and has as good of stuff as anyone. It has nothing to do with playing time and has nothing to do with a whole season. It's a simple example of someone else with ridiculous ability.

 

And Pedro is still effective when he is healthy he is just not healthy any more. He tried to pitch in a couple games this year while injured so his ERA is ridiculous but last year came bak from injury and had a 2.57 ERA.

[jersey cubs fan]

Why must it always be a mental problem when someone struggles?

 

Because in a sport like baseball when a guy has all the physical tools to succeed and isn't its something with his brain. Marmol's stuff is just as nasty as before so it's not like he just lost it. It would be like LeBron struggling next year. It wouldn't be because he all of sudden lost all his athletic ability.

 

Except that Marmol hasn't struggled for the whole season. He's in a bad stretch. Look at Kerry Wood. He had a bad stretch, but came out of it.

 

Lebron is a bad example, as he plays the entire game every night. Relief pitching doesn't translate very well to basketball.

 

Try not to take things too literally. LeBron is a good example because he is a freak and has more ability than anyone other than maybe Kobe. Marmol is a freak as a pitcher and has as good of stuff as anyone. It has nothing to do with playing time and has nothing to do with a whole season. It's a simple example of someone else with ridiculous ability.

 

And Pedro is still effective when he is healthy he is just not healthy any more. He tried to pitch in a couple games this year while injured so his ERA is ridiculous but last year came bak from injury and had a 2.57 ERA.

 

Lebron is a horrible example because he is a superstar baseball player. Marmol, like all relievers, is a specialist who does one thing very well. Relievers are inconsistent. They struggle from time to time. Marmol had a ridiculous streak, but he was never going to maintain that unprecedented level of superiority. Relievers simply do not appear in 80+ games with 100+ innings and perform flawlessly.

[soapy]

Why must it always be a mental problem when someone struggles?

 

Because in a sport like baseball when a guy has all the physical tools to succeed and isn't its something with his brain. Marmol's stuff is just as nasty as before so it's not like he just lost it. It would be like LeBron struggling next year. It wouldn't be because he all of sudden lost all his athletic ability.

 

Except that Marmol hasn't struggled for the whole season. He's in a bad stretch. Look at Kerry Wood. He had a bad stretch, but came out of it.

 

Lebron is a bad example, as he plays the entire game every night. Relief pitching doesn't translate very well to basketball.

 

Try not to take things too literally. LeBron is a good example because he is a freak and has more ability than anyone other than maybe Kobe. Marmol is a freak as a pitcher and has as good of stuff as anyone. It has nothing to do with playing time and has nothing to do with a whole season. It's a simple example of someone else with ridiculous ability.

 

And Pedro is still effective when he is healthy he is just not healthy any more. He tried to pitch in a couple games this year while injured so his ERA is ridiculous but last year came bak from injury and had a 2.57 ERA.

 

Lebron is a horrible example because he is a superstar baseball player. Marmol, like all relievers, is a specialist who does one thing very well. Relievers are inconsistent. They struggle from time to time. Marmol had a ridiculous streak, but he was never going to maintain that unprecedented level of superiority. Relievers simply do not appear in 80+ games with 100+ innings and perform flawlessly.

 

which, often, is why they are relievers in the first place.