Volstad and the Big Inning Blues

[OleMissCub]

Seems a common occurrence with him, so I checked into it and aside from his first start where he spread 3 runs over five innings, I came up with this when I looked at his other starts:

 

April 14th: 3 ER, FOUR run 4th inning

 

April 20th: 5 ER, FOUR run 1st inning

 

April 25th: 4 ER, THREE run 6th inning

 

April 30th: 4 ER, FOUR run 1st inning

 

May 5th: 4 ER, THREE run 2nd inning

 

May 12th: 6 ER, FIVE run 6th inning

 

So of his 30 earned runs given up in 39 innings so far this season, 23 have come in just six innings.

[Careless]

He's a Clementier Clement

[UMFan83]

This stat doesn't really mean anything, but that's a 34.50 ERA in his bad innings and a 1.90 ERA in all other innings.

[Guest]

1.90 ERA in all other innings.

or about what Z is putting up total.

 

Before the usual suspects go apoplectic Z probably had to go but Volstad has sucked ass for awhile.

[davell]

I'm starting to think Volstad could be a great fit in the pen. His arbour salary makes him a rather expensive bullpen piece, but it may be his real calling.

[A New Era]

His real calling is coming in in a tight game to get 3 important outs. But if someone gets on base, replace him :)

[CUBZ99]

Volstad is frustrating because without runners on he dominates (.491 OPS), but for some reason, when he pitches from the stretch or with runners on he completely falls apart. I knew nothing about him prior to the Cubs acquiring him. Are there makeup issues with him? Hard to believe that someone that has pitched as long as he has, would freak out with runners on.

[Clem Fandango]

Maybe he should pitch from the wind up all the time? Didn't Maddux do that because he said a runner who reaches first base has like a 30% chance of scoring, and he trusted his ability enough to beat those odds and get out of the inning?

 

A .491 OPS against with the bases empty is a pretty staggering number. Is it possible he really isn't comfortable pitching out of the stretch?

[davell]

Without looking back at his starts, I doubt he's ever had this bad of an issue with it before. It's not a bad idea though. I'm starting to think he's just a guy that can't put it all together and pitches down to what his peripherals say. But I do think we should give him a chance out of the pen. But I want Travis Wood in the rotation very soon.

[Guest]

It really is baffling. He's always been about league average at stranding runners, and this year he's been completely awful. Looking at his peripherals, I don't really see a cause. His pitch mix is identical, his batted ball numbers are better(career low LD%), and while his swing/contact numbers are down a touch, it's nothing that would cause a shift of this magnitude. This is a situation where Bosio needs to earn his money. I think it's clear there's something at the root of the problem, and Sveum mentioning his slider is probably a good place to look. The slider and cutter(which may have quite a bit of overlap in what's been called by the catcher considering Volstad throws a sinker) have had the biggest shift in pitch value, so maybe he's just losing something on the breaking pitch out of the stretch. Either way, it's really frustrating to watch, and Volstad's getting really fed up with it too, so hopefully they can pick that up quickly and he can at least put up a decent start or two to stem the tide.

[d_money]

Trade him to the Bulls. For what? Anything.

[Cubswin11]

It really is baffling. He's always been about league average at stranding runners, and this year he's been completely awful. Looking at his peripherals, I don't really see a cause. His pitch mix is identical, his batted ball numbers are better(career low LD%), and while his swing/contact numbers are down a touch, it's nothing that would cause a shift of this magnitude. This is a situation where Bosio needs to earn his money. I think it's clear there's something at the root of the problem, and Sveum mentioning his slider is probably a good place to look. The slider and cutter(which may have quite a bit of overlap in what's been called by the catcher considering Volstad throws a sinker) have had the biggest shift in pitch value, so maybe he's just losing something on the breaking pitch out of the stretch. Either way, it's really frustrating to watch, and Volstad's getting really fed up with it too, so hopefully they can pick that up quickly and he can at least put up a decent start or two to stem the tide.

I think that could be it, he just isn't able to get enough break/bite/speed on his pitches out of the break and they aren't as effective as they are out of the windup so it could be something mechanically. Also maybe have to look at maybe he's tipping pitches out of the stretch?

[CyHawk_Cub]

It really is baffling. He's always been about league average at stranding runners, and this year he's been completely awful. Looking at his peripherals, I don't really see a cause. His pitch mix is identical, his batted ball numbers are better(career low LD%), and while his swing/contact numbers are down a touch, it's nothing that would cause a shift of this magnitude. This is a situation where Bosio needs to earn his money. I think it's clear there's something at the root of the problem, and Sveum mentioning his slider is probably a good place to look. The slider and cutter(which may have quite a bit of overlap in what's been called by the catcher considering Volstad throws a sinker) have had the biggest shift in pitch value, so maybe he's just losing something on the breaking pitch out of the stretch. Either way, it's really frustrating to watch, and Volstad's getting really fed up with it too, so hopefully they can pick that up quickly and he can at least put up a decent start or two to stem the tide.

I think that could be it, he just isn't able to get enough break/bite/speed on his pitches out of the break and they aren't as effective as they are out of the windup so it could be something mechanically. Also maybe have to look at maybe he's tipping pitches out of the stretch?

 

I think it has to be that....makes the most sense anyway.

[Rizzo Smash]

I never like the Volstad/Zambrano trade from the beginning. I know we had to get rid of Zambrano but I think we could have brought him back and held out for a better deal. We traded a potential All Star pitcher for Chris Volstad AND we're paying basically all of his salary.

 

The two moves that Theo was basically held hostage to do (Signing Kerry Wood and trading Carlos Zambrano) has both looked pretty bad so far. Maybe we should let him do his job.

[Sammy Sofa]

He wasn't "held hostage" to do either deal.

 

Did Ricketts have a gun to his head when he signed Reed Johnson?

[KingCubsFan]

I never like the Volstad/Zambrano trade from the beginning. I know we had to get rid of Zambrano but I think we could have brought him back and held out for a better deal. We traded a potential All Star pitcher for Chris Volstad AND we're paying basically all of his salary.

 

The two moves that Theo was basically held hostage to do (Signing Kerry Wood and trading Carlos Zambrano) has both looked pretty bad so far. Maybe we should let him do his job.

Volstad: 5.08 K/9, 2.77 BB/9, 48.5 GB%, 18.7 LD%, 3.85 FIP

Zambrano: 7.31 K/9, 3.19 BB/9, 50.8 GB%, 18.9 LD%, 3.42 FIP

 

Zambrano has been better, but he hasn't been that much better. And we have to remember he's 30, is about to be a free agent, and hasn't had a full season in quite a while. I'm not ready to give up on Volstad yet, as he's shown flashes but for whatever reason has some sort of mental or mechanical block that causes him to give up runs in bunches.