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Arrieta: Consider yourself lucky he lets you cheer for him

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A New Era Myrtle Beach Pelicans

A New Era

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God I hope we can somehow get Bundy in a Shark trade, I want Bosio working with him and that cutter

 

I think the chances the Orioles trade with us again right now are damn near zero.

 

You don't think "Hey you want one of our rental pitchers for another of your future aces" sounds pretty sexy?

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d_money First Round Pick

d_money

Old-Timey Member
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Any concern over pitch count of this past game affecting his next start? I guess well see his durability play out and that his shoulder issue to start the season is nothing to worry about
mul21 Myrtle Beach Pelicans

mul21

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Any concern over pitch count of this past game affecting his next start? I guess well see his durability play out and that his shoulder issue to start the season is nothing to worry about

 

He only threw 120 (6 more than his career high) and he's going to get an extra day of rest since they've got an off day this week. I'm not terribly worried about it. To be honest, as others said in the game thread, I was kind of glad they got a hit when they did so he didn't end up throwing 140.

TruffleShuffle Cooperstown

TruffleShuffle

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http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=24037

 

Command and control have historically been troublesome for Arrieta. He actually held opposing hitters to a .212 batting average in 2013—which was 11th-best among 157 starters who threw at least 70 innings—but his 12.7 percent walk rate was the second-highest in all of baseball. He wasn’t consistent with his mechanics. Thus, he issued too many free passes undermined his above-average stuff that was largely handcuffing hitters. He ended the 2013 season with a 4.78 ERA.

 

Are those struggles merely a thing of the past? Our own Doug Thorburn says certain mechanical adjustments this year have allowed Arrieta to be more consistent, leading to better control and improved results:

 

The most critical variable in pitching mechanics is timing, and a pitcher's ability to repeat his delivery is at the root of pitch command. The winding road of Jake Arrieta boils down to just this aspect. In seasons past, Arrieta has had an inconsistent pace to the plate with momentum that could be downright slow at times. The erratic timing wreaked havoc on his release point, and the issue was magnified by his volatile positioning. Arrieta has a very closed stride that actually lines up well with his personal signature, but his stride angle can fall off-track.

 

He added some burst to his stride this season, but with it came an imbalance in which the right-hander would lean back toward second base as he transitioned out of maximum leg lift (the “rock-n-roll” style). The issue was quite pronounced on May 13 against the Cardinals, a game in which Arrieta consistently missed targets with elevated pitches and finished with five walks on the day. He ironed out the issue over the past several weeks, working with pitching coach Chris Bosio to maintain balance while leading with the hip, executing a smoother transition during the lift phase. His balance has improved, and Arrieta has been using the quicker pace to the plate with much greater ease of repetition.

 

It bodes well for Arrieta's future that he has uncovered a repeatable timing pattern. Such discoveries can be fleeting, but the Cubs now have a template on which to anchor. At 95 mph, his fastball already has the raw velocity to beat MLB hitters, and the ability to command that level of heat can be devastating. Fastball command is an integral aspect of pitching, and the stakes are raised for those pitchers who sit on the right-tail of the velo curve.

 

Those mechanical adjustments were on display as he twirled a gem in Boston. They have helped him slash his walk rate in half to 6.3 percent this year and have also aided in his increased consistency when working through a batting order multiple times.

 

Strangely, though, as of Monday morning, the numbers suggest Arrieta hasn’t been throwing significantly more pitches in the strike zone. In fact, according to Brooks Baseball*, his zone percentage is down an infinitesimal amount from 39.87 percent in 2013 to 39.37 percent in 2014. He is getting more swings at pitches outside the zone (30.5 percent to 33.5 percent), but such an uptick is not enough to account for the stark decline in walks. Instead, he’s throwing more first-pitch strikes with his fastball and slider, which is allowing him to work outside the zone later in the at-bat when he’s searching for the punchout.

  • 2 months later...
sneakypower South Bend Cubs

sneakypower

Old-Timey Member
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thread title needs ? changed to a !

 

Luis M. ‏@lcm1986

Jake Arrieta since joining Cubs: 33 GS, 13-7 (Team: 19-14), 2.91 ERA, 2.98 FIP, 194 K, 1.04 WHIP, .199 BAA, 24.2 K%, 3.03 K/BB, 201.1 IP.

 

also, last calendar year:

http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=pit&lg=all&qual=0&type=8&season=2014&month=0&season1=2014&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0

 

note the 6 starts fewer than most names above him

Cubswin11 All-Star

Cubswin11

Old-Timey Member
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Arrieta's fWAR going into last night's start was 4.1, it's now up to 4.6. If he qualified he'd have the 10th highest fWAR in MLB and 2nd highest in the NL.
  • 8 months later...
jersey cubs fan GOAT

jersey cubs fan

Old-Timey Member
Posted
Posted
thread title needs ? changed to a !

 

http://40.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_luwlruPpZZ1r6i6pjo1_500.jpg

http://us-cms.jotservers.com/uploads/help/document/joey/88_facebook_like_button_big.jpeg

  • 1 month later...
Guest

Guest

Guests
Posted
Posted
hey, look at this absolutely dominant ace that we found in the garbage.
  • 1 month later...
ARCubsFan First Round Pick

ARCubsFan

Old-Timey Member
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Is Arrieta really a Bosio success story or was he just good to begin with and is finally reaching his potential? I mean Bosio is good at what he does but you also have guys like Edwin Jackson that have had careers head in the opposite direction under him.
Aaron_Kennelly South Bend Cubs

Aaron_Kennelly

Verified Member
Posted
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Is Arrieta really a Bosio success story or was he just good to begin with and is finally reaching his potential? I mean Bosio is good at what he does but you also have guys like Edwin Jackson that have had careers head in the opposite direction under him.

 

Have you read anything about Arrieta and his work with Bosio? Are you aware of his work to completely change his throwing motion and obtain a more repeatable delivery? Are you aware of how valuable his cutter (or super slider, or whatever you want to call it) has been to his success?

 

I mean, I agree, in the sense that Jake is just really good now and there isn't any voodoo magic that made him good. He just got a lot better. He had a lot of unfulfilled potential, and he finally fulfilled it. But, is it such a huge coincidence that he did so directly after working with Bosio? There has been a ton written about what Jake and Bosio did to improve him as a pitcher. How much of that credit goes to Bosio? Well, probably not too much, since it is Jake that is actually out there pitching. But, to completely write off Bosio's influence is pretty silly, as well.

Clem Fandango All-Star

Clem Fandango

Old-Timey Member
Posted
Posted
Are you aware of how valuable his cutter (or super slider, or whatever you want to call it) has been to his success?

 

A cutter that, under the Orioles management, he was forbidden to throw because they believe the cutter is the Devil's pitch and hitters eat it for breakfast.

  • 2 weeks later...

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