5/1 Phillies (Velasquez) @ World Champion Chicago Cubs (Anderson) 705 CSN+

[mikeyt34]

WTF Grimm. Ah, screw it. One of those nights I guess.

[Aaron_Kennelly]

Grimm horsefeathering sucks this year.

[17 Seconds]

run differential plummeting

[SheffieldBoy]

Grimm horsefeathering sucks this year.

 

This year? Was he any good last year or in late 2015? :-k

[Cubswin11]

Grimm horsefeathering sucks this year.

Not watching the game, but he had a 1, 2, 3 6th. Maybe like Koji on back to back days, he just can't/shouldn't pitch multiple innings or be throwing nearly 40 pitches in an outing.

Edited May 2, 2017 by Cubswin11

[Schwarber Fan]

Welp, I hope these guys can figure this out soon.

[17 Seconds]

I'd appreciate it if Schwarber would start making Dave Cameron look stupid instead of prescient.

 

it's going to be really horsefeathering sad if he sucks

 

On the bright side even if he never gets another hit again he did help us win a World Series.

 

yeah, he's still a legend no matter what

[David]

i can't remember the last time i saw wrigley this empty (and a perfect storm of factors make it understandably so)

[mikeyt34]

I think Joe needs to give Schwarbs a couple days off to recalibrate, look at some film, maybe work in the cage with Mallee for a few days. He's way too good to look this lost.

[Aaron_Kennelly]

lol Willson to Miggy for the putout

[Bryants Disco Ball]

I think Joe needs to give Schwarbs a couple days off to recalibrate, look at some film, maybe work in the cage with Mallee for a few days. He's way too good to look this lost.

 

Or at least not have him get more plate appearances than everybody in the lineup. Have some fun. Hit the dude sixth or something.

[mikeyt34]

Duke, what are you seeing that is wrong with Schwarbs right now? Have pitchers made adjustments and he's yet to adjust back at them? i don't see anything wrong with his swing or his approach, he's just not making solid contact consistently.

[Aaron_Kennelly]

Duke, what are you seeing that is wrong with Schwarbs right now? Have pitchers made adjustments and he's yet to adjust back at them? i don't see anything wrong with his swing or his approach, he's just not making solid contact consistently.

 

I don't have a clue. He's just not hitting the ball hard. I can't tell what the deal is.

[mikeyt34]

I think Joe needs to give Schwarbs a couple days off to recalibrate, look at some film, maybe work in the cage with Mallee for a few days. He's way too good to look this lost.

 

Or at least not have him get more plate appearances than everybody in the lineup. Have some fun. Hit the dude sixth or something.

 

I kind of like this idea, the thought process to him leading off is sound with his high OBP, but maybe sliding him down for a few games might change his approach at the plate and get him going. Zo, Jay, or Almora would all be good candidates to take over lead off for a time.

[Aaron_Kennelly]

Yeah, I'm clueless as to what's going on with Schwarber. It looks like his funk has been going on since about April 23rd. On the 22nd, he went 0-3, but he walked twice and the two balls he put in play were line drives hit at least 104 mph. He had an .818 OPS after that game.

 

Since the next day, he's not really changed his approach too much. He's swinging a little bit more and chasing a few more pitches out of the zone. But it's nothing too bad. It's not like he's went Javy. Probably just some SSS noise. Very minimal differences. He's also made contact on 73% of his swings since then. Again, only minimal differences. It's not his approach.

 

And here is how pitchers were attacking him before that date:

http://www.fangraphs.com/zonegrid.aspx?playerid=16478&position=OF&ss=2017-04-02&se=2017-04-22&type=0&hand=all&count=all&blur=1&grid=10&view=bat&pitch=&season=all

 

And since then:

http://www.fangraphs.com/zonegrid.aspx?playerid=16478&position=OF&ss=2017-04-23&se=2017-04-30&type=0&hand=all&count=all&blur=1&grid=10&view=bat&pitch=&season=all

 

Not much different. And looking at what kind of pitches he's being thrown, it looks really similar, too. It's a little complicated because we faced the knuckler during that period, but I don't notice any changes in how he's being pitched.

 

 

Here is his average exit velocity before that date, though:

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/statcast_search?hfPT=&hfAB=&hfBBT=&hfPR=&hfZ=&stadium=&hfBBL=&hfNewZones=&hfGT=R%7C&hfC=&hfSea=2017%7C&hfSit=&player_type=batter&hfOuts=&opponent=&pitcher_throws=&batter_stands=&hfSA=&game_date_gt=2017-04-01&game_date_lt=2017-04-22&player_lookup%5B%5D=656941&team=&position=&hfRO=&home_road=&hfFlag=&metric_1=&hfInn=&min_pitches=0&min_results=0&group_by=name&sort_col=launch_speed&player_event_sort=h_launch_speed&sort_order=desc&min_abs=0#results

 

And since then:

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/statcast_search?hfPT=&hfAB=&hfBBT=&hfPR=&hfZ=&stadium=&hfBBL=&hfNewZones=&hfGT=R%7C&hfC=&hfSea=2017%7C&hfSit=&player_type=batter&hfOuts=&opponent=&pitcher_throws=&batter_stands=&hfSA=&game_date_gt=2017-04-23&game_date_lt=&player_lookup%5B%5D=656941&team=&position=&hfRO=&home_road=&hfFlag=&metric_1=&hfInn=&min_pitches=0&min_results=0&group_by=name&sort_col=launch_speed&player_event_sort=h_launch_speed&sort_order=desc&min_abs=0#results

 

He's been putting up shitty exit velocities in every game:

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/statcast_search?hfPT=&hfAB=&hfBBT=&hfPR=&hfZ=&stadium=&hfBBL=&hfNewZones=&hfGT=R%7C&hfC=&hfSea=2017%7C&hfSit=&player_type=batter&hfOuts=&opponent=&pitcher_throws=&batter_stands=&hfSA=&game_date_gt=2017-04-23&game_date_lt=&player_lookup%5B%5D=656941&team=&position=&hfRO=&home_road=&hfFlag=&metric_1=&hfInn=&min_pitches=0&min_results=0&group_by=name-date&sort_col=launch_speed&player_event_sort=h_launch_speed&sort_order=desc&min_abs=0#results

 

And his average launch angle is lower than it was:

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/statcast_search?hfPT=&hfAB=&hfBBT=&hfPR=&hfZ=&stadium=&hfBBL=&hfNewZones=&hfGT=R%7C&hfC=&hfSea=2017%7C&hfSit=&player_type=batter&hfOuts=&opponent=&pitcher_throws=&batter_stands=&hfSA=&game_date_gt=2017-04-01&game_date_lt=2017-04-22&player_lookup%5B%5D=656941&team=&position=&hfRO=&home_road=&hfFlag=&metric_1=&hfInn=&min_pitches=0&min_results=0&group_by=name&sort_col=launch_angle&player_event_sort=h_launch_speed&sort_order=desc&min_abs=0#results

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/statcast_search?hfPT=&hfAB=&hfBBT=&hfPR=&hfZ=&stadium=&hfBBL=&hfNewZones=&hfGT=R%7C&hfC=&hfSea=2017%7C&hfSit=&player_type=batter&hfOuts=&opponent=&pitcher_throws=&batter_stands=&hfSA=&game_date_gt=2017-04-23&game_date_lt=&player_lookup%5B%5D=656941&team=&position=&hfRO=&home_road=&hfFlag=&metric_1=&hfInn=&min_pitches=0&min_results=0&group_by=name&sort_col=launch_angle&player_event_sort=h_launch_speed&sort_order=desc&min_abs=0#results

 

He's just in a funk. I'm not sure why, and I can't point to any reason. The evidence is becoming clearer that my article killed him.

[davell]

 

If his pitching catches up to his Twittering, he'll be OK.

[Cubswin11]

Yeah, I'm clueless as to what's going on with Schwarber. It looks like his funk has been going on since about April 23rd. On the 22nd, he went 0-3, but he walked twice and the two balls he put in play were line drives hit at least 104 mph. He had an .818 OPS after that game.

 

Since the next day, he's not really changed his approach too much. He's swinging a little bit more and chasing a few more pitches out of the zone. But it's nothing too bad. It's not like he's went Javy. Probably just some SSS noise. Very minimal differences. He's also made contact on 73% of his swings since then. Again, only minimal differences. It's not his approach.

 

And here is how pitchers were attacking him before that date:

http://www.fangraphs.com/zonegrid.aspx?playerid=16478&position=OF&ss=2017-04-02&se=2017-04-22&type=0&hand=all&count=all&blur=1&grid=10&view=bat&pitch=&season=all

 

And since then:

http://www.fangraphs.com/zonegrid.aspx?playerid=16478&position=OF&ss=2017-04-23&se=2017-04-30&type=0&hand=all&count=all&blur=1&grid=10&view=bat&pitch=&season=all

 

Not much different. And looking at what kind of pitches he's being thrown, it looks really similar, too. It's a little complicated because we faced the knuckler during that period, but I don't notice any changes in how he's being pitched.

 

 

Here is his average exit velocity before that date, though:

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/statcast_search?hfPT=&hfAB=&hfBBT=&hfPR=&hfZ=&stadium=&hfBBL=&hfNewZones=&hfGT=R%7C&hfC=&hfSea=2017%7C&hfSit=&player_type=batter&hfOuts=&opponent=&pitcher_throws=&batter_stands=&hfSA=&game_date_gt=2017-04-01&game_date_lt=2017-04-22&player_lookup%5B%5D=656941&team=&position=&hfRO=&home_road=&hfFlag=&metric_1=&hfInn=&min_pitches=0&min_results=0&group_by=name&sort_col=launch_speed&player_event_sort=h_launch_speed&sort_order=desc&min_abs=0#results

 

And since then:

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/statcast_search?hfPT=&hfAB=&hfBBT=&hfPR=&hfZ=&stadium=&hfBBL=&hfNewZones=&hfGT=R%7C&hfC=&hfSea=2017%7C&hfSit=&player_type=batter&hfOuts=&opponent=&pitcher_throws=&batter_stands=&hfSA=&game_date_gt=2017-04-23&game_date_lt=&player_lookup%5B%5D=656941&team=&position=&hfRO=&home_road=&hfFlag=&metric_1=&hfInn=&min_pitches=0&min_results=0&group_by=name&sort_col=launch_speed&player_event_sort=h_launch_speed&sort_order=desc&min_abs=0#results

 

He's been putting up horsefeathers exit velocities in every game:

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/statcast_search?hfPT=&hfAB=&hfBBT=&hfPR=&hfZ=&stadium=&hfBBL=&hfNewZones=&hfGT=R%7C&hfC=&hfSea=2017%7C&hfSit=&player_type=batter&hfOuts=&opponent=&pitcher_throws=&batter_stands=&hfSA=&game_date_gt=2017-04-23&game_date_lt=&player_lookup%5B%5D=656941&team=&position=&hfRO=&home_road=&hfFlag=&metric_1=&hfInn=&min_pitches=0&min_results=0&group_by=name-date&sort_col=launch_speed&player_event_sort=h_launch_speed&sort_order=desc&min_abs=0#results

 

And his average launch angle is lower than it was:

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/statcast_search?hfPT=&hfAB=&hfBBT=&hfPR=&hfZ=&stadium=&hfBBL=&hfNewZones=&hfGT=R%7C&hfC=&hfSea=2017%7C&hfSit=&player_type=batter&hfOuts=&opponent=&pitcher_throws=&batter_stands=&hfSA=&game_date_gt=2017-04-01&game_date_lt=2017-04-22&player_lookup%5B%5D=656941&team=&position=&hfRO=&home_road=&hfFlag=&metric_1=&hfInn=&min_pitches=0&min_results=0&group_by=name&sort_col=launch_angle&player_event_sort=h_launch_speed&sort_order=desc&min_abs=0#results

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/statcast_search?hfPT=&hfAB=&hfBBT=&hfPR=&hfZ=&stadium=&hfBBL=&hfNewZones=&hfGT=R%7C&hfC=&hfSea=2017%7C&hfSit=&player_type=batter&hfOuts=&opponent=&pitcher_throws=&batter_stands=&hfSA=&game_date_gt=2017-04-23&game_date_lt=&player_lookup%5B%5D=656941&team=&position=&hfRO=&home_road=&hfFlag=&metric_1=&hfInn=&min_pitches=0&min_results=0&group_by=name&sort_col=launch_angle&player_event_sort=h_launch_speed&sort_order=desc&min_abs=0#results

 

He's just in a funk. I'm not sure why, and I can't point to any reason. The evidence is becoming clearer that my article killed him.

Good work Duke, this does seem to point to more of a funk than some underlying thing or change. Has he/have we faced more LHPs in the time frame since his sucking started? Just off the top of my head it may seem like he's/we have faced more LHP recently (while being attacked the same maybe it coming from LHP is something to look at for a cause?).

 

Edit: After looking at it (I think I sorted things right) it looks like he has faced more pitches from LHP recently. 87 pitches in the first 20 day set (25% of pitches seen), then 62 pitches in the next 7 day set (43% of pitches seen) where things went south.

 

He's going to need to face LHP for his long-term development of the dong monster he can be, but it may be time he gets a little bit of a caddy vs LHP.

[We Got The Whole 9]

Those exit velo's are what you would expect from pitchers. Holy horsefeathers.

 

It almost seems like he's injured and not telling anyone. Shoulder strain, or maybe something with the wrists. That is a dramatic drop-off that deserves some attention.

 

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[Liam Neeson]

I fell asleep some time around the 5th and woke up to Willson fielding a grounder at 3rd and had an immediate panic attack that Kris was hurt.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

It is a long season, and players slump. Like Duke mentioned, Schwarber was doing just fine until about a week and a half ago, and as a high K LH hitter with a platoon split he'll probably have deeper valleys than average. If that continues until Memorial Day then that's naturally a cause for concern, but otherwise I don't see any reason to worry too much. I sure wouldn't be upset if he got a day off(especially against a LHP or two), but I get that one of his best characteristics is his grinding work ethic so he might be a guy who does better by working his way out of it by playing.

[UMFan83]

Just PM'ed soccer10k asking him to start today's thread. If we don't get one by 6PM, its up for grabs