Quotebook: What’s the big deal?
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- March
- 11
“Can somebody please explain to me what is so important about my velocity?” – Pedro Martinez this afternoon when asked how hard he threw in the simulated game.
It was 87, which is fine for his second appearance. He’ll be at 90 by the end of spring training.
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on Tuesday, March 11th, 2008 at 5:28 pm by John Delcos.
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If Pedro can throw 90 consitently, his shoulder is fine
Pedro has already cashed his velocity check.
He only pitched 86 to 88 last the year before and knows how to change speeds. He is no longer a power pitcher. But like most things, Americans only like power. Finesse is something as a culture we do not grasp.
Pedro sitting at 90 could be dominant. Heck, if glavine with his 2 pitches and 83 mph top speed can be effective (mostly!), imagine what Pedro can do if he feels good? Think Maddux in his heyday.
The stat people are afraid his Ks will go down and he won’t be a fantasy star.
Well, I would just say that his velocity comes up as an important topic because of his change. If he can get his fastball up to around 90 then his change becomes that much more devastating.
But Pedro has proven he is more than capable of getting outs without breaking 90, so I don’t think this is a major concern. Frankly, I’d rather Pedro be more cautious. Rearing back and letting loose is what screwed up his shoulder in the first place (when he started that AS game at Fenway.)
I would disagree and say Pedro can get it done with a below 90’s fastball, in fact, i anticipate him changing speeds on his fastball quite often, and using his cutter a lot. You forget he can change speeds on his change up as well. However, I do expect Pedro to beable to sit at 90 or higher consistently, but velocity will not determine how well he does. In addition, judging form his 5 starts last year, you shouldn’t have to worry about strikeouts, he was over a K an inning.
Velocity in a simulated game>>>> I’m sure the adrenalin doesn’t flow one iota… Its a glorified bullpen session. Anyway if speed is all that makes the pitcher how did Phil Niekro win 300 games? Maddox and that traitor Glavine 640 or so wins between them on no heat….....
sloppy – excellent point. Pedro’s stuff at this time is as good, or perhaps better, than Glavine’s and Maddux’s stuff in their prime. And those two guys were dominant. I see no reason why, if he stays healthy and if we have a good bullpen, Pedro can’t win 15-18 games with a sub 3.5 era.