from Amazon
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
What the heck is Loaiza throwing and why is he on a major league mound?
Maybe you pitch f/x guys can chime in. Remember when Loaiza was throwing a nasty 92 mph cut fastball? Anyway, as far as I can tell, he was throwing a 76-79 mph fastball tonight and a 73 mph changeup or some kind of breaking pitch. He looked like he was throwing underwater.
The slowest fastballs I recall ever seeing in my 30 years of watching baseball were all from left-handers. Jim Abbott at the end of his career could not break 80, and of course Moyer throws a fastball in the high 70’s and low 80’s I think. I don’t recall ever seeing a RHP throwing slow than around 82-83. I think Nagy was around 82 at the end of his career. My rule of thumb has always been that once a RHP dips below around 84-85, he is done. Maddux is of course an exception because he has pinpoint control that few pitchers have ever had. But even he throws at 85 now and he is not that good. Once he gets to 82-83, he will be done as well. What the heck is Loaiza doing? Or should I say what the heck is Ozzie and Kenny Williams doing?