The new Schilling
Apr 15th, 2007 by Rob Bradford
Am getting ready to hit the hay in anticipation of running 26.2 miles in a washing machine tomorrow, but wanted to weigh in on Curt Schilling’s outing yesterday.
If anybody wanted to see how Schilling’s attempt at morphing into a 40-something starter, just take a look at yesterday’s outing. Sure, it was easy to see he is throwing more change-ups and off-speed stuff, but what jumps out to me is the result of the approach.
Here are some of the conclusions I came to, which are displayed in my latest piece of shameless cross-promotion, Schilling was the man with the plan.
- He threw 103 pitches (his most this season), but averaged just 3.55 pitches per at-bat. Through his first three starts last season he averaged 4.23. There, my friends, is the first sign of pitch efficiency. Actually, he didn’t throw under 100 pitches last season until June 10.
- He is actually getting more swings and misses, averaging 8.16 per game this season compared to the first three starts of ‘06 (6.9) and ‘04 (5.58). Part of the reason for this is that he is able to set up hitters more effectively and getting the swing and miss when it counts the most. For example, all four of his strikeouts Saturday came on swings and misses, and 12 of his 15 K’s this year have been of the same variety.
- Because he is willing to throw his change-up now in any count, it allows for a much more effective fastball. The 11-pitch Jose Molina at-bat was a perfect example, with Schilling finishing off the catcher with a 93 mph heater. The offspeed stuff might have also led to fewer first-pitch swings from the usually free-swinging Angels, who chose to not swing at the initial pitch in 15 of their first 18 at-bats.
Got to go (that sleep thing is kind of important the night before the marathon), but will be back tomorrow night. I’m sorry I haven’t got to some of the questions, such as where is the Dayton Moore interview (to come shortly), or Devern Hansack (they want to see a bit more, but I have a feeling he will be making his presence felt in Boston before Sept.), or Jonathan Papelbon’s role (warning for you fantasy baseball players, Papelbon could be getting a few more holds than you would like). I will eventually get back in full question and answer mode.
Look for me on the course Monday … I’m the one the Kenyans are using as a shield against the rain and wind.
12 reader comments to “The new Schilling”
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1stephen o'grady said:
best of luck, Rob - i’ll be pulling for you while i sit shivering at the park waiting in vain for the tarp to come off and the dugouts to drain
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2Anonymous said:
I enjoy your writing, and would like to offer one suggestion. It would be easier to spot the links to your cross-promoted articles if the link color were something other than dark blue. Dark blue just doesn’t make a very good contrast against the black body text.
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3Anonymous said:
Good luck.
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4Anonymous said:
I agree with the link color change comment, I can never see them unless the context of the link is “Click here to see such and such…”
Anyways, I’m really glad to hear that Devern Hansack could be coming to the bigs relatively soon, he has really performed everywhere the sox have put him so far: last season as a starter in the majors, this season in spring training, and now in triple A. It’d be great to hear more about this fella.
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5Anonymous said:
Keep up the good work. You’re the best read currently and I would love to read your cross links so please change the color, as previously suggested. Can’t wait.
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6Anonymous said:
what about the kittens?
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7Anonymous said:
Hope the marathon went well. Stop by some Thursday for a run and a beer: www.srr.org
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8Anonymous said:
Rob, WHERE ARE YOU??!?!?!?
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9Anonymous said:
Geez Rob - what are a bit sore or something?
I don’t deny the great likelihood of blisters on just about every part of your body - except your fingers.
Hope the recovery is progressing - we miss you out here
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10Jeff said:
Another greating outing by Wakefield. Another solid performance from the bullpen. It would be nice to add Todd Helton to the lineup. What do you think?
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11Anonymous said:
ROB!
What happened to the best Sox Blog out there?
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12deversm said:
Congratulations Rob! Well deserved! Start up a new blog as soon as you can.
