Comments on: Jays Climb out of Basement, Media Swoons

By: halejon

halejon — Thu, 15 May 2008 00:47:17 +0000

I’d say very accurate. They’re calibrated every night and use three cameras to track the ball all the way to the plate. The end speed (at the plate) is a LOT lower though so that can’t be it. According to my database, this year Marcum has averaged 88-89 mph, going down to 84-85 when he throws his 2 seamer or cutter, and all the way up to 91.4 on a 4-seamer. He was down a couple of mph during his last start, averaging around 86-87.

By: zeppelinkm

zeppelinkm — Wed, 14 May 2008 19:52:05 +0000

I duno why I was posting under HJF, this be my name.

Hey John, over at Battersbox there is a little bit of debate going on about Shaun Marcum and how hard he can throw.

How accurate are the speeds from the pitch F/X data? Are they comparing apples to apples over at BB - ie: comparing speed of balls leaving his hand versus the speed of the ball crossing the plate? I know the pitch f/x data shows both so I’m wondering if this is where the vast differences in how fast people think Marcum can throw is arising from.

By: HalifaxJaysFan

HalifaxJaysFan — Fri, 09 May 2008 17:43:35 +0000

Hey Halejon, I was wondering if you looked at any pitch F/X data for Troy P from last night?

His splitter looked very flat, and his fastball very straight. He had good velocity but it seemed like movement on his pitches was all but non existant.

By: Kirin

Kirin — Thu, 08 May 2008 23:08:01 +0000

“Ok, so name half a dozen in the majors right now who are above-average pitchers…occasionally strike out 9 in a game…ever, ever, have no and one-hit bids…are we down to one yet?”

Well said. Marcum continues to impress me. There really is no comparison. Certainly there are other pitchers who have won due to smarts, but Marcum brings all that with a little more stuff too. To be honest, I enjoy watching him start more than Halladay.