A Brief Comparison

by R.J. Anderson on Oct 30, 2009 10:00 AM EDT

Player	Pitches	SwStr%	Foul%	K%	uBB%	FB Velo	xFIP
Pitcher A	2012	8.4	19.8	18.06	9.92	90.7	5.16
Pitcher B	516	7.8	30.8	18.97	6.9	92.5	5.06

Both of those are Scott Kazmir in 2009. A is his Rays season while B represents his Angels season. I'm not going to pretend to know what happened with his foul rate or velocity -- maybe Florida has a velocity tax I'm unaware of -- but for the most part, nothing changed. Fewer pitches were whiffed on, more were fouled off -- which raised his strike rate, but unintentionally so -- he struck out about a batter more per 100 faced, walked three less, and avoided the home run bug. The thing is, you can do this for just about any stretch for any player. Below are the numbers from Kazmir's last five Rays starts:

Player	Pitches	SwStr%	Foul%	K%	uBB%	FB Velo
Pitcher C	523	10.1	N/A	22.1	6.87	90.7

Those numbers are more comforting if I'm an Angels fan. Of course Kazmir promptly lost the strikeouts and whiffs while gaining velocity, which goes against expectations.

I guess what I'm saying is: Scott Kazmir is an odd bird.

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I don't think he gained velocity with the Angels vs. Post-Peterson rehab

I looked at same stadium comps for that period and he was within .5 MPH

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by FreeZorilla on Oct 30, 2009 10:43 AM EDT reply actions

Let's not forget a couple of those Angels opponents

I think his ALE dominance was about to end—see LDS and LCS

by sternfan1 on Oct 30, 2009 10:58 AM EDT reply actions

See Cliff Lee

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by FreeZorilla on Oct 30, 2009 11:11 AM EDT up reply actions

He's an arrogant punk

He’s got one more start i’d presume

by sternfan1 on Oct 30, 2009 12:19 PM EDT up reply actions

Lots of players are arrogant.

by R.J. Anderson on Oct 30, 2009 12:28 PM EDT up reply actions

I bet he got completely shit-faced in NYC after that big win

You don’t need to know how to read to order a drink, apparently.

You can either die the hero or live long enough to become the villain

by Andy Hellicksonstine on Oct 30, 2009 12:31 PM EDT up reply actions

Couple things...

I remember watching the Rays play the Angels in Anaheim, and all of the Rays pitchers velocities were up. If it is the same gun they show on tv, it is certainly juiced compared to the Rays gun.

Secondly, although some in the media would have you believe Kaz was “dominant” with the Angels, his peripherals were awful. Low K rate, and an extreme flyball rate. His HR rate dropped immensely. Looks like he started to regress to where he should be in the playoffs.

Finally, just watch him pitch. When he pitches very good, he throws 6 innings. When he is pitching great, maybe 7 innings. He typically throw 5+ innings, and throws a ton of pitches in the process. His slider is garbage now. His fastball command has always been poor and inconsistent. Without a slider Kaz is, AT BEST, a #3. He has only thrown 200+ innings one time, and is a constant injury risk.

On the plus side for Kaz, the Angels do get better attendance then the Rays.

by td32 on Oct 30, 2009 11:21 AM EDT reply actions