Is something wrong with Harden?

[Tracer Bullet]

"The last couple years, I've kind of learned to pace myself a little more," he said. "Velocity's not the most important thing; it's location, change of speeds. Yeah, it's nice to put up that big number (oh, around 100 mph, I think) once in awhile. It'll be there. I'm happy with low-90s in spring training. That's good for me."

 

http://blogs.dailyherald.com/node/1695

[17 Seconds]

He would throw fastballs anywhere from the high 80s to the high 90s and I'm pretty sure his average fastball velocity when we looked it up was right around 92.

 

It would vary from start to start, too. From what I remember, he wasn't touching 90 as much in his last few starts but when he was really dominant (around when we picked him up) he was all over the map. He'd sit around 89-91 and then dial it right up to 97 for some pitches.

 

No for the first couple of months he was with the Cubs he was touching mid 90's on a regular basis. Then toward the end of the season he wasn't hitting any higher than 91-92. That's when he started walking a ton of guys and wasn't missing as many bats.

[YearofDaCubs]

He would throw fastballs anywhere from the high 80s to the high 90s and I'm pretty sure his average fastball velocity when we looked it up was right around 92.

 

It would vary from start to start, too. From what I remember, he wasn't touching 90 as much in his last few starts but when he was really dominant (around when we picked him up) he was all over the map. He'd sit around 89-91 and then dial it right up to 97 for some pitches.

 

No for the first couple of months he was with the Cubs he was touching mid 90's on a regular basis. Then toward the end of the season he wasn't hitting any higher than 91-92. That's when he started walking a ton of guys and wasn't missing as many bats.

There's definitely cause for concern. His last 3 games (including playoffs) as you said he walked a lot of guys and wasn't getting as many K's as before. I'm sure it's as simple as making adjustment but I'm not expecting ace type stuff like in the past any more. If it happens nice but we'll see how it plays out when the season begins.

[KingCubsFan]

He would throw fastballs anywhere from the high 80s to the high 90s and I'm pretty sure his average fastball velocity when we looked it up was right around 92.

 

It would vary from start to start, too. From what I remember, he wasn't touching 90 as much in his last few starts but when he was really dominant (around when we picked him up) he was all over the map. He'd sit around 89-91 and then dial it right up to 97 for some pitches.

 

No for the first couple of months he was with the Cubs he was touching mid 90's on a regular basis. Then toward the end of the season he wasn't hitting any higher than 91-92. That's when he started walking a ton of guys and wasn't missing as many bats.

There's definitely cause for concern. His last 3 games (including playoffs) as you said he walked a lot of guys and wasn't getting as many K's as before. I'm sure it's as simple as making adjustment but I'm not expecting ace type stuff like in the past any more. If it happens nice but we'll see how it plays out when the season begins.

Not that I'm expecting much from him this year, but he really hasn't thrown much in spring training and he just came off a pretty bad stomach flu so he's probably still a little weak. This isn't like the playoffs when he was 87-89 with little control (although I'm sure that will happen at various points during the season).

[David]

He would throw fastballs anywhere from the high 80s to the high 90s and I'm pretty sure his average fastball velocity when we looked it up was right around 92.

 

It would vary from start to start, too. From what I remember, he wasn't touching 90 as much in his last few starts but when he was really dominant (around when we picked him up) he was all over the map. He'd sit around 89-91 and then dial it right up to 97 for some pitches.

 

No for the first couple of months he was with the Cubs he was touching mid 90's on a regular basis. Then toward the end of the season he wasn't hitting any higher than 91-92. That's when he started walking a ton of guys and wasn't missing as many bats.

 

If you look at the data, I'm pretty sure you'll find that his average fastball was somewhere around 92, even during his dominant first several starts with the Cubs.

[17 Seconds]

I don't know about that. All I know is that when he came to the Cubs he was hitting 95 on a regular basis, and in the last few weeks of the season he was never getting past 92

[David]

I don't know about that. All I know is that when he came to the Cubs he was hitting 95 on a regular basis, and in the last few weeks of the season he was never getting past 92

 

 

Really depends on what you mean by regular basis, but, then again, I don't see how what you're saying contradicts anything that I said.

 

If you're trying to suggest that he was averaging anywhere near 95, you're way off base.

[17 Seconds]

I don't know about that. All I know is that when he came to the Cubs he was hitting 95 on a regular basis, and in the last few weeks of the season he was never getting past 92

 

 

Really depends on what you mean by regular basis, but, then again, I don't see how what you're saying contradicts anything that I said.

 

If you're trying to suggest that he was averaging anywhere near 95, you're way off base.

 

I'm saying that his velocity was down, which it was. Averaging 95? I don't know, but I do know he was hitting it several times a start, and at the end of the season he was never touching it.

[CubColtPacer]

I don't know about that. All I know is that when he came to the Cubs he was hitting 95 on a regular basis, and in the last few weeks of the season he was never getting past 92

 

 

Really depends on what you mean by regular basis, but, then again, I don't see how what you're saying contradicts anything that I said.

 

If you're trying to suggest that he was averaging anywhere near 95, you're way off base.

 

Yeah, I looked at the graphs and according to those, Harden threw at least 5 95+ pitches only once in a Cub uniform.

 

He did lose velocity towards the end of the year though. When he came to the Cubs he was averaging 92-93 on his fastball and touching 95-97 3-4 times a game. By the last month of the season (other than on 9/18 where he seemed to be pushing what he had left) his average fastball was down around 89-90 and frequently his best recorded fastball of the day was at 93-94.