Kuzul

The basic premise of a changeup is to change speeds on a hitter making him believe that a fastball is coming, but also to change a hitter’s eye level as well. A great changeup usually is thrown 7-to-10 mph slower than a pitcher’s average fastball and dips down in the zone.

When a pitcher’s changeup is ineffective is when there isn’t much variance in speeds between his fastball and changeup and when it is left up in the zone. That is exactly what happened to Colorado Rockies’ pitcher Jeff Francis yesterday against the San Diego Padres.

Francis was rocked for eight runs on seven hits in three innings of work. He also walked three and struck out nobody in his 80 pitch effort. So what was Francis’ downfall on Wednesday? His rather pedestrian changeup.

Out of the 80 pitches Francis threw against the Padres, 47 percent of them were changeups. Only twice did a batter swing and miss at those changeups. It was pretty clear Francis wasn’t fooling anyone on the mound.

There were two main reasons why the Padres pounded Francis’ changeup…

1. Velocity. Going into yesterday’s game, Francis averaged 87.1 mph on his fastball and 79.2 mph on his changeup. That is a solid eight mph difference.

On Wednesday, Francis averaged around 87 mph on his fastball, which is par for the course, but his changeup was coming in at around 82 mph. A five mph difference between a fastball and changeup is not enough to fool major league hitters.

I don’t know if Francis was loosening his grip on his change or he was over compensating for being hit on the arm on a comebacker by Chase Headley in the first, but his change was faster than normal and it hurt him.

2. Up in the zone. Francis could have gotten away with a mediocre changeup if the majority of his pitches were down in the zone. Sadly for Francis, this was not the case against San Diego.

Look at Francis’ strike zone plot courtesy of PitchFX…

His changeups are in yellow. If you click on the chart you will see how many of his 38 changeups were up in the zone. I am counting 26 out of 38 changeups were technically up in the zone.

No pitcher can survive with mediocre stuff up in the zone against good major league hitters.

I am guessing this was just one poor outing by Francis and that his changeup will come back to form in his next start. But man, Wednesday was a rough one for the native of British Columbia.

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*Please note this article was written before Matt Kemp was inserted into the Dodgers’ lineup last night. However, the only reason Kemp was inserted into the lineup was because Manny Ramirez had an injury, so the basis of my article hasn’t changed.

Benching a star player one game I can understand. Two games I could still somewhat comprehend. But three games? That seems a little extreme to me.

However, I am not the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the manager of the Dodgers feels that three games is the right amount of games to bench a star player. For a third straight game, Joe Torre has not penciled star CF Matt Kemp into the lineup.

I understand that Kemp is hitting .196 in June and I understand that Torre is a little peeved that Kemp got picked off second base last Wednesday in a game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, but this is just silly. If Kemp is ready to go, then you insert him into the lineup.

Here is where Torre has reached Phil Jackson and Bill Belichick status. This happens when a manager or coach has had so much success in the past that no matter what they do, no matter what they say, or what move they make — even if it is completely absurd — it is somehow considered a stroke of genius.

Torre has clearly reached this status. He reached it in New York when he dropped Alex Rodriguez to eighth in the order in Game 4 of the ALDS against the Detroit Tigers. It was such a stupid move, but it was hailed as a motivational tactic by Torre.

The bottom line is even the Teflon wears off on the great managers, coaches or GM’s and they make mistakes. Torre is making a mistake with Kemp.

He belongs in the lineup.

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Ever since Joel Zumaya burst on the scene in 2006 for the Detroit Tigers, it has been one injury after another for the 25-year-old righty. Zumaya appeared in 62 games for the Tigers in 2006, but since then he has appeared in 78 games total over the last three years.

Zumaya was off to a good, and more importantly, healthy start for the Tigers in 2010. He had a 2.58 ERA, his WHIP was the lowest of his career at 1.12, he led the Tigers in holds with 11, and his fastball was back at around 99 mph.

Unfortunately, all the good that Zumaya has done this year was erased in the bottom of the eighth inning of last night’s game against the Minnesota Twins.

In a scene that reminded me of Dave Dravecky’s injury back in 1989, Zumaya blew out his elbow in that eighth inning and for all intents and purposes, his season is over.

Zumaya’s injury isn’t as severe as Dravecky’s, but my arm hurt just watching Zumaya after he attempted to throw his final pitch.

Now the question for the Tigers is: How do they replace Zumaya in the ‘pen?

Zumaya was the bridge to closer Jose Valverde and now the Tigers need a new bridge— especially from the right side. Eddie Bonine has been good this season (with a 2.50 ERA), but walks way too many batters and doesn’t strike out enough.

Are the Tigers going to rely on Bonine to get a big out in the eighth against the Twins or Chicago White Sox?

Ryan Perry has the potential to be that guy, but hasn’t shown the consistency at the major league level that would give Jim Leyland confidence to put him in a game with the everything on the line. It looks like the Tigers are going to have to make a trade to fill Zumaya’s spot.

One guy I would keep an eye on would be Matt Capps.

The Nationals are slowly fading out of contention in the National League and Capps could be traded to make way for future closer Drew Storen.

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As a result of Carlos Zambrano’s tirade on Friday, the Chicago Cubs have placed Zambrano on the restricted list. So what exactly does that mean?

The restricted list is a list of players to whom certain teams have contractual obligations, but are currently not a part of the team and may not play in an MLB game. Players on the restricted list do not count towards a team’s 25-man or 40-man roster.

Beginning Tuesday, Zambrano will be paid and has agreed to go through a treatment program that will have him away from the team until at least July 15th. A team does not have to pay a player on the restricted list, but in this case the Cubs will pay Zambrano.

In layman’s terms, the Cubs are buying themselves time until they figure out what to do with Zambrano. By figuring out what to do, I mean releasing or trading him.

I doubt anyone would take Zambrano in a trade unless the Cubs pick up 90 percent of his remaining contract. I wrote yesterday that the Cubs should just release him, and that thought hasn’t changed today.

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Sunday was one of those days that Tampa Bay Rays’ OF B.J. Upton would rather soon forget. Not only did he go 0-for-3, but when he did get on base with a walk, he got picked off. Then he flew out to end the game. But the worst thing that happened to Upton, was that he and Evan Longoria got into a heated argument in the dugout.

In the top of the fifth inning, Arizona Diamondbacks’ first baseman, Rusty Ryal, hit a line drive into the left center field gap. In most cases it would have been your standard double, but Upton jogged after ball and allowed Ryal to stretch the double into a triple.

It was pretty obvious that Upton was loafing after the ball and worse, when he did eventually get the ball, he lobbed it back into the infield. It’s this type of lackluster play that has plagued Upton throughout his career.

When Upton got back to the dugout, Longoria said something to Upton about the play and Upton didn’t take too kindly to what Longoria had to say. Upton had to be restrained in the dugout by Willy Aybar.

I can’t say I disagree with what Longoria did. While Carl Crawford might be the oldest tenured Ray/Devil Ray, it’s Longoria who is the leader of the Rays. And as leader of the Rays, it’s his job to make sure everyone is hustling and is on the same page.

I hope this incident finally turns the light on for Upton. Upton has all the talent in the world, but has always seemed to just go through the motions. And I don’t want to hear the logic of “well he has so much talent things come easy to him, so it appears he is not hustling.”

That is nonsense. The guy is hitting .223 this season, so things don’t come easy to him.

After the game, Rays’ manager Joe Maddon said, “It’s just one of those moments that happened and now it’s up to me to handle it properly.”

If I were Maddon, I would bench Upton for a game. I doubt it will have an effect on Upton, but it is the right thing to do.

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The “Year of the Pitcher” continued Friday night as Arizona Diamondbacks’ pitcher Edwin Jackson threw the fourth no-hitter this year as he defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 1-0 in front of 18,918 at Tropicana Field. Jackson struck out six and walked eight in the 149-pitch effort.

This wasn’t your traditional no-hitter as Jackson walked eight and reminded me of AJ Burnett’s no-hitter against the San Diego Padres back in 2001. Burnett walked nine that game and struck out seven. Very similar to Jackson’s Friday night.

What was so interesting about this no-hitter was that Jackson was almost pulled for being so bad early on. Jackson walked the first three batters in the bottom of the third, which brought his walk total to seven at the time. If Matt Joyce or BJ Upton get a hit in that situation, Jackson might have been pulled.

But Jackson got out of the bases loaded and no-out jam and really settled down from there. He only allowed one walk from the fourth inning on and once the Rays let Jackson off the hook, he found his groove.

Of course, the other story of this game was his pitch count; the Diamondbacks let Jackson throw 149 pitches. The most he had thrown all year was 123 and that was June 2 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

I didn’t have a problem with Jackson throwing 149 pitches. I have always believed there is no difference for a pitcher who throws between 120 pitches and 149 pitches. I have also always believed there is no correlation between pitch counts and injuries.

Guys get hurt because of poor mechanics, not because they threw 120 pitches every game. I am sure Chicago Cubs fans feel differently because of Mark Prior and Kerry Wood, but those two got hurt because they had poor mechanics and it had very little to do with Dusty Baker letting them throw 115 pitches a game.

Do I think allowing a pitcher to throw 149 pitches every game is a smart move? No, I don’t. But allowing a pitcher to throw 110-120 pitches a game won’t hurt a pitcher’s career.

The Diamondbacks will be cautious with Jackson and move his next start back a day or two. He was supposed to start Wednesday against the Dodgers, but will have his start moved back to Thursday or Friday.

For the Rays, this was the second time they have been no hit this season.

The last team to be no hit twice in one season were the aforementioned 2001 Padres, who were no-hit by Burnett and St. Louis Cardinals’ legend Bud Smith.

You have to kind of wonder how a team as good as the Rays gets no-hit so often. Then you look at the lineup they threw out there Friday and you can see why. Look at the averages of the players in the Rays’ lineup Friday night:

1. Jason Jaso: .275

2. Ben Zobrist: .297

3. Evan Longoria: .301

4. Carlos Pena: .199

5. Matt Joyce: .000

6. B.J. Upton: .227

7. Hank Blalock: .246

8. Sean Rodriguez: .255

9. Jason Bartlett: .225

Once you get past Longoria, that is a pretty feeble lineup. But still, a lineup that has scored the fourth-most runs in baseball shouldn’t get no hit three times in the past year and a half.

Jackson joins Ubaldo Jimenez, Dallas Braden, and Roy Halladay as pitchers who have thrown no-hitters and perfect games this season.

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About a month ago, the Chicago White Sox looked as if they were going to be sellers at the trading deadline. Now, after a three game sweep of the Atlanta Braves, the White Sox now have a record of 37-34 and are only 2.5 games behind the first place Minnesota Twins in the AL Central. Once again, it looks like the White Sox will be buyers are the trade deadline.

Let’s see what is going on with the Pale Hose…

Beckham has really struggled in 2010

Gordon Beckham has really been a bust. After putting up a .270/.347/.460 hitting line last season with 14 home runs in 103 games, Beckham was supposed to have a breakout 2010 season. Well, that really hasn’t happened. It could be argued that Beckham has been the biggest bust in baseball this season.

Beckham is hitting a pedestrian .199 this season with a single home run and now he is in danger of losing his starting job. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen mentioned yesterday that Beckham could be sharing time with future Hall of Famer Omar Vizquel at second base.

I am not sure what the White Sox can do with Beckham at this point because sending down to Triple-A doesn’t seem to be an option. I am guessing that the White Sox will ride it out with Beckham until the All Star break and then hope he wakes up in the second half.

J.J. Putz was a great signing. The White Sox signed Putz in the offseason to a one-year, $3 million deal and it might go down as one of the best low-risk, high-reward signings of this winter. After another scoreless and hitless inning on Thursday, Putz now has a 2.03 ERA on the season and 33 Ks in 26.2 IP.

Putz is throwing his fastball around 93 mph, which it was last year, but he is throwing his slider (87.4 mph) and his splitter (86.4) harder than he has in years. It’s Putz’s improved splitter which has helped him turn things around in 2010.

Putz, Sergio Santos, and Matt Thornton have formed a lethal back-end of the bullpen for the White Sox.

The White Sox could use another bat. Mark Teahen should be back in a couple of weeks and one has to think Beckham will be better in the second half, but I still think they need another bat. I can’t take a team seriously that features Mark Kotsay on a regular basis.

I’ll throw a name out there — Adam LaRoche. Chicago could use another left-handed bat, LaRoche can DH or play first and move Paul Konerko to DH, and he will be available. I think he would work out in Chicago.

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I really don’t get some of the moves the Florida Marlins make sometimes. For instance, they just released LHP Renyel Pinto and signed Armando Benitez to a minor league contract. Really?

How could the Marlins possibly think Benitez is better for their organization than Pinto? I really can’t comprehend the thinking.

Pinto is a 27-year-old, serviceable left-handed reliever who has a fastball around 90 mph. This year he had a 2.70 ERA and struck out 16 in 16.2 IP. Does he walk too many batters? Sure he does. He has nine in those 16.2 IP.

But I am confident in saying that the Marlins could have worked with Pinto to correct his issues. At 27, there is still plenty of time to get better.

Benitez on the other hand can’t be helped. He is 37-years-old and hasn’t pitched in the majors since he was a member of the Toronto Blue Jays in 2008. He hasn’t posted an ERA under three since 2004 with these same Marlins.

I actually saw Benitez pitch last year as a member of the Newark Bears. He was making the glove pop that night, but I really don’t see it happening at the major league level.

I am sorry, but I just don’t see how the Marlins can view Benitez more valuable to their franchise than Pinto. It just doesn’t make sense.

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Yesterday, the Kansas City Royals gave phenom Stephen Strasburg his first loss in the major leagues as they defeated Strasburg’s Washington Nationals 1-0. The Royals did to Strasburg what they have tried to do to most teams in 2010—bludgeon them to death with singles.

The Royals mustered nine hits off of Strasburg yesterday and all of them were singles.

Believe it or not, the Royals lead all of baseball in team batting average with a .280 mark. However, they rank in the middle of the pack in baseball (14th) in runs scored with 325. The four other teams in the top-five in average all rank in the top-six in runs scored.

So why are the Royals different than those other four teams?

The reason the Royals don’t score as many runs as they should is because they are having the same problem this year that has seemed to plague this franchise for years. They don’t have a series of guys who can hit 30-40 home runs. It’s like the Royals bend the pitcher, but never break them.

The Royals have 708 hits as a team this season, which is tied for first with the Boston Red Sox for the most in baseball. However, an astounding 71 percent of those hits have been singles. The Royals have 507 singles this season. No other team has more than 477.

Billy Butler is a solid hitter, but he is more a line drive, gap-to-gap hitter than a guy who is going to hit 35 home runs in a season. The Royals need to pair Butler with a hitter like Adam Dunn. Jose Guillen can hit the long ball on occasion, but he is not feared.

Outside of Butler and Guillen, there is nobody in that lineup that has serious home run potential. No player strikes fear into an opposing manager or pitcher in their presently constructed lineup.

It’s hard to score runs when you have to string together two or three hits just to score one run. I would suggest that the Royals run more if they are going to play this singles game. They currently rank 14th in baseball in steals.

Maybe down the road Mike Moustakas or Eric Hosmer can be those power guys for the Royals. But until that comes, the Royals are going to try to single teams to death.

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On Tuesday night I sat down and turned on the beginning of the New York Mets vs Detroit Tigers game.

I did have some vesting interest in the game since I have Ike Davis and Brennan Boesch on my fantasy team, but I also had interest in the game due to the fact that Justin Verlander was on the mound for the Tigers.

I have always enjoyed watching Verlander pitch, mainly because he is one of the few pitchers in baseball who can throw a 100 mph fastball and also snap off a knee-buckling curve ball.

Verlander is having a good season so far with an 8-5 record and a 3.94 ERA; however, he might be having a better season if it weren’t for the first inning.

Verlander really struggles in the first inning and Tuesday night was no exception.

Verlander allowed two runs in the first inning against the Mets and now has an ERA of 9.00 in the first inning of games this year. That’s 15 runs in 15 innings for those of you scoring at home.

Hitters have a .333/.391/.567 hitting line with three home runs in the first inning off Verlander. Compare that to a .230/.291/.321 hitting for innings two to nine and you can see the difference.

So what is the reason for Verlander’s first inning struggles?

I have two answers. One scientific, the other—not so much.

The scientific answer is that hitters have a .386 BAbip (Batting Average on Ball in Play) off of Verlander in the first inning, which I don’t think is sustainable throughout the course of a 35-start season. That average is bound to go down, which in turn, will make Verlander more effective in the first.

The non-scientific answer is that Verlander is too jacked up coming out of the gate.

If you watched that game last night against the Mets, the majority of pitches to Jose Reyes, Angel Pagan, and David Wright were up in the zone. Usually when a pitcher consistently misses up in the zone early in the game, it means that there is too much adrenaline pumping and he is overthrowing.

Verlander’s struggles in the first are nothing new. Last year, Verlander had a 5.14 ERA in the first. I am surprised a pitcher of his caliber hasn’t been able to pinpoint the issue yet.

Perhaps Verlander will get better by simulating the first inning in his bullpen session before the game. What ever the reason for Verlander’s struggles in the first, one thing is clear — if his opponent doesn’t get to him early, then they might never get to him at all.

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