Alec Mills No-No

[AnotherAlias]

Does anyone care about these any more?

[CBeisbol]

Congrats to the Cubs defense, including Mills

[pgjocki]

As a personal achievement yes. However, with everyone swinging for a homerun instead of just making contact the stat has become less meaningful.

Personally I barely watch MLB anymore as I can't justify spending 3 hours in front of the tv when my little girls are awake. That and the inability to hit and run, move the runner over, steal a bag or put down a bunt has made the game boring.

All professional sports can go the way of the dodo though as they just don't pull me in as much as they used to when I was younger.

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[Curve Ball Dave]

Mills doesn't throw hard, he's a junkballer. I'm so sick of hearing about "v-lo". The vocation is pitching, not getting numbers on a radar gun.

[CBeisbol]

Originally Posted by Curve Ball Dave

Mills doesn't throw hard, he's a junkballer. I'm so sick of hearing about "v-lo". The vocation is pitching, not getting numbers on a radar gun.

Part of pitching is the velocity of the pitch

[Curve Ball Dave]

Originally Posted by CBeisbol

Part of pitching is the velocity of the pitch

Yes, and there is a point where a pitcher is too slow to be effective at the big league level. But velocity isn't the be all and end all. If it was Kyle Farnsworth would have a wing in the HOF and Greg Maddux would have been a nobody. Mark Buerhle no hit the Rangers without throwing a pitch over 90 mph. He backed that up by throwing a perfect game against the Rays.

Fastball usage is way down this season and why not? If a guy is swinging from his heals with an upper cut on every pitch, a good off speed pitch in a good location is your best weapon.

[CBeisbol]

Originally Posted by Curve Ball Dave

velocity isn't the be all and end all

No, but it certainly helps

Using 2019's data and charting fastball velocity vs FIP, xFIP and ERA we see that

There's about a .11 decrease in xFIP for every additional MPH of velocity
There's about a .12 decrease in FIP for every additional MPH of velocity
And about a .10 decrease in ERA for every additional MPH of velocity

So, if you want to knock a half a run off your opponents scoring per game, just have your pitchers throw 5 MPH faster.

[juangulo_]

it is sad because i've had Alec Mills on my OOTP team for five seasons and he never worked.

[GeoWar]

This is the old argument of "Pitcher vs Thrower" . Hoyt Wilhelm and Phil Niekro used movement (definitly not speed) . The Mets had Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, and Nolan Ryan -- they traded Ryan he had speed but did not have control.
In todays game control - movement - and speed are important .
Today's game is boring . Homeruns and strike outs do not excite me. Raise the pitching mounds -- call the plate (both the early breaking pitches and late breakers) - --- If a team shifts hit the ball where they are not ( they teams will not shift as much) -- steal , hit and run, ------ limit a team's pitching staff to 11 for a weeks period unless injury (or something) starters should be getting deeper in games or limit relievers to 3 appearances a week (I don't know the answer)

[CBeisbol]

Originally Posted by GeoWar

This is the old argument of "Pitcher vs Thrower" .

There's no need for an argument

As with many things, there's more than one way to achieve a goal.

Not everyone is Hoyt Wilhelm, nor is everyone Nolan Ryan.

[Déjà Bru]

This article:

https://www.mlb.com/news/every-mlb-t...ter-c276325568

reminded me that there is still one MLB team that has never had a no-hitter. Can you name the team without looking it up?

Anyway, that article begins with:

The no-hitter remains one of the rarest and most notable feats in baseball. Even if it seems like no-hitters are on the rise, there is an argument that isn't the case, and no matter how you slice it, it is one of the game's greatest achievements to get 27 or more outs without surrendering a single hit.

If you follow that embedded link to an ESPN article, you will read about three factors that make no-hitters more special than ever:

Factor 1: It takes more pitches to complete a no-hitter than ever before. This season, batters are making pitchers throw a record 3.93 pitches per plate appearance, up from 3.89 last year, 3.83 in 2015 and 3.74 in the early 2000s.

Factor 2: The occurrences of 120-pitch starts have gotten really rare. We all know that teams are more sensitive about pitch counts, and that on average pitchers get pulled from games earlier than ever.

Factor 3: Managers aren't extending those leashes when history is on the line anymore. Last year, five pitchers were pulled with a no-hitter intact in the fifth inning or later.

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by Déjà Bru

This article:

https://www.mlb.com/news/every-mlb-t...ter-c276325568

reminded me that there is still one MLB team that has never had a no-hitter. Can you name the team without looking it up?

Yes, but only because the Mets with all their all-time great pitching were the second-to-last team to scratch that one off the list. But company in misery's still company.

Edit: Who the heck is Bud Smith?

[Curve Ball Dave]

Originally Posted by Westheim

Edit: Who the heck is Bud Smith?

Finesse lefty, pitched for the Cardinals.

[Westheim]

Originally Posted by Curve Ball Dave

Finesse lefty, pitched for the Cardinals.

Yeah, the article introduced me to him. He's the only guy on the list of last-no-no-per-franchise that I never even once heard of before.