DRaysBay: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:


Pro Quality. Fan Perspective.
Login-facebook
New Blog: Cottagers Confidential for Fulham FC Fans!

One Pitch: James Shields Takes The Loss Vs. Felix Hernandez in 1-0 Duel

I hate wasting good starting pitching. I really hate wasting great starting pitching, and that's exactly what the Rays did tonight. Coming into this game James Shields said his arm was feeling much better after battling a "dead arm" for the first few weeks; he wasn't lying. While Shields does have a seven inning shutout victory against the Orioles, you could argue that tonight was the best James Shields we've seen in 2009.

Now, I could sit here and complain about the lack of offense, but that would be an injustice to Mr. Shields. Unlike previous starts where Shields worked off a four seam fastball around 50% of the time, he only used the fastball 31% tonight and did a masterful job of mixing in his changeup (22%) and a fantastic curveball (24%) which he actually threw more than his change.

Star-divide

Shields had magnificent break on his curveball. Overall, he has a swinging strike percentage of 11.7% on the night with over half of those swings and misses coming off the curveball. He threw 67% of his 102 pitches for strikes. Up until tonight, the curve has been the fourth pitch for him, but after the results from tonight we may see an increase in the amount of breaking balls for Shields.

Velocity wise he was around 91 mph on the fastball and even reached 93 at one point. For comparison, in his last start Shields averaged 89 mph on the fastball and maxed out at 91. This is a very good sign and hopefully the "dead arm" phase is over with and we can continue to get this type of effort from Shields. With his velocity up around 91-92, the separation in speed on his secondary pitches makes them much more effective. Tonight, Shields had about an eight mile different from four seam to changeup and a 15 mile difference on his curveball.

Unfortunately for Big Game James, it just wasn't his night. The Rays like the Mariners could only put four hits on the board and while the Mariners committed three errors in the field, the Rays could not capitalize off of Felix Hernandez. Hernandez ended up being just one pitch better than Shields and dominated the Rays lineup for seven innings of his own. On the night, Shields would be the loser even though his box score line reads like this:

Tampa Bay

IP

H

R

ER

BB

SO

HR

ERA

Shields (L, 2-2)

7.1

4

1

1

1

4

1

3.67

 

And one mistake.

0 recs  |  Comment 19 comments |

Story-email Email Printer Print

Around SB Nation

Saturday Bird Droppings

Mar 2010 from Camden Chat - 63 comments

Thursday's Frosty Mug

Mar 2010 from Brew Crew Ball - 60 comments

Tuesday's Frosty Mug

Mar 2010 from Brew Crew Ball - 71 comments

Thursday's Frosty Mug

Feb 2010 from Brew Crew Ball - 64 comments

Comments

Display:

Nice Summary

And I agree it is best to ignore the offensive woes for a day, this was a great pitching performance by a kid who needed it. Brian Anderson made a great point that Shields noticed how suceptible the Mariners hitters were to the breaking pitch during Sonnanstine’s start and that may have factored into the increased breaking pitches.

by Doyouseeit? on Apr 23, 2009 10:44 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Yep

BA has been nailing observations like that. Kind of analysis that a pitcher can bring to the booth that a position player can’t. You’d think catchers could as well but I can’t stand KK or McCarver.

by FreeZorilla on Apr 23, 2009 10:58 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

This is true. It sucks it was wasted.

PTB is ready to explode though…

"If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there are men on base."
~Dave Barry

by PriceMultiCyYoungs on Apr 24, 2009 8:07 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

BP

They were saying on Sun Sports last night that the Rays did pregame BP indoors to break out of the high flyball %, does anybody have a confirmation or denial of that?

Sunny day, unfamiliar background, dome team. Zero runs. Felix was great, but this seems a bit exrteme as a pregame change.

by Doyouseeit? on Apr 24, 2009 10:44 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

this game

pissed me off

"yesterdays a cancelled check, today is money on the line, tommarow is a promisary note" - unknown

"the trouble with me is that my ego just cant accept a loss" -Vince Lombardi

"i dont know any way to lead but by example" -Don Shula

"the only place that success comes before work is in the dictionary" -unknown

"the harder you work the harder it is for you to surrender" -vince lombardi

by dedman on Apr 24, 2009 1:24 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Was it really a masterpiece?

While Shields did have outstanding results, he still is not striking out hitters like he did last year. He was helped out by some outstanding defensive plays by Bartlett (that play in the hole on Ichiro was sick) and Longo. If Kapler was playing center there would have been a triple. Instead BJ tracked it down on the run for a flyout. I calculated his FIP yesterday as 4.29 <(13*1)+(3*1)-(2*4)/7.33 + 3.2)> While that is good, its not a masterpiece, its just the Mariners.

Sonny’s game the other night looked like this, (13*0 + 1*3 – 2*7)/6 +3.2 for a FIP of 1.32. As I stated before, if Sonny had BJ in the outfield we win that game and we praise his outing.

Felix had to overcome 3 errors for his 4 hit shutout. That is a masterpiece.

by FreeZorilla on Apr 24, 2009 4:10 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Compared to Shields' other starts, yeah.

And the Sonny game is hilarious, he really had two bad pitches, and if B.J. is playing — as you said — it’s pretty much irrelevant.

by R.J. Anderson on Apr 24, 2009 4:26 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Question on FIP

When a pitcher pitches well meaning he is at a negative # after factoring the home runs, adjusted walks and strikeouts, you are punishing him for pitching longer into the game by increasing the divisor. Is this something there is an explanation for?

by FreeZorilla on Apr 24, 2009 4:51 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Comments For This Post Are Closed


User Tools

Founded in 2005. DRaysBay is home to "Progressive statistical analysis and reasoned argument."
Start posting about the Rays »

Join SB Nation and dive into communities focused on all your favorite teams.

Connect_with_facebook

Cbs_fantasy_baseball_promo

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recommended FanPosts

Desmond_small
Upton hit me in the head and a racist(!) fan.
52376727_small
DRB First Annual Fantasy Baseball Keeper League (poll added)

Recent FanPosts

Small
SB Nation Survey + Chance to donate $500 to a charity of this community's choice
52376727_small
DRB Commissioner League Update
Saints_small
OTTOTD: The Voodoo 5
Mushroomray_small
Ron Washington also served as Josh Hamilton's life coach, I'm assuming.
Zorilla_small
Bulls vs/ Rays II
Small
I Need one fantasy player
Mushroomray_small
Self-Serving FanPost for the Hypothetical Baseball Classic
Dsci0639_small
CC #28 on active player list for career batting avg.
Favicon1_small
The Rays know How to Handle Young Pitchers

+ New FanPost All FanPosts >

FanShots

Quick hits of video, photos, quotes, chats, links and lists that you find around the web.

Recommended FanShots

It's a slow news day and there's no game, so enjoy this video put together by the people at 12 Angry Mascots.  Fernando Perez is the man.

Recent FanShots

"(Delmon) Young has actually performed below replacement-level the last...
The Show (PS3) Update - Patch
ESPN Fantasy Baseball League
HD radio game broadcasts
Morgan Ensberg's Baseball IQ Blog
Sidd Finch
Is Sonny on a one-time option where he can be sent down and brought down...
Interview with Chaz Scoggins. Red Sox Official Scorer
Christina Kahrl is not impressed with the Blalock...
Fox Sports Florida releases 2010 Rays Schedule

+ New FanShot All FanShots >

SBNation.com Recent Stories

Seattle Mariners pitcher Cliff Lee speaks during a baseball news conference at Safeco Field in Seattle on Friday, Jan. 22, 2010. Lee was acquired by the Mariners in a trade with the Philadelphia Phillies last December. (AP Photo/John Froschauer) link

Cliff Lee Out With Right Abdominal Strain

Detroit Tigers' Gerald Laird, left, is greeted by teammates Ryan Strieby, center, and Miguel Cabrera who were on base for his third-inning grand slam off New York Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain during a spring training baseball game in Lakeland, Fla., Wednesday, March 10, 2010.  (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

SB Nation's 2010 MLB Previews: Detroit Tigers, Sights Set On Success

Davey Johnson, center, a senior adviser for the Washington Nationals,  is shown in the dugout during a spring training baseball game against the New York Mets, Saturday, March 6, 2010, in Viera, Fla. (AP Photo/Rob Carr) +6 updates

Spring Training News and Notes, 3/19: Catching Up With Everyone

More from SBNation.com >


Baseball Operations

Big_pun--300x300_small Tommy Rancel

Zorilla_small FreeZorilla

Price_small Erik Hahmann

Pro Scouting

Rays_small Steve Slowinski

121271_rays_twins_spring_baseball_small Andy Hellicksonstine

Player Development

52376727_small rglass44

Picture-2_small RZ