Looking over Jonathon Papelbon's numbers so far this year he has obviously had troubles with walks. While looking for answers I can across this article at Fire Brand of the American League. Evan takes a look at Papelbon and his changes made this season to put more of the work on his legs and less strain on his arm. The change has also resulted in more sliders and the removal of his split-finger.
The results have not been good so far although his luck has maintained a very low ERA. His K/9 is down to 9.47, which is his lowest since 2005 when he spent part of the year as a starter. He also has a spike in BB/9 to a level not seen since 2005. Perhaps there is another explanation, but I have to agree with Evan:
This isn't the first time we have come to a Red Sox player who struggled while there was a discussion of his pitching mechanics. Last Season myself and Corey did a series on what was wrong with Clay Buchholz(stats and pitch F/x). You can read about a quick discussion in the Patriot Ledger about his arm angle change here. Looking at Corey's final analysis though we need to raise this question:
Without knowing if Buchholz has returned to his initial slot it's tough to tell what is going on this year, but his strikeout rate is still down from the elite levels he showed in 2007. His K/BB is still at 2.97, but would it be better if he went back to the old angle(if he is still in the new angle).
Perhaps there is more examples we don't know of that have been more successful, but based on these two examples the Red Sox have chose to aim on the side of potential long term health instead of optimum performance. Is this the right choice and would you make the opposite choice?
The results have not been good so far although his luck has maintained a very low ERA. His K/9 is down to 9.47, which is his lowest since 2005 when he spent part of the year as a starter. He also has a spike in BB/9 to a level not seen since 2005. Perhaps there is another explanation, but I have to agree with Evan:
I'm prepared to give Papelbon a couple months more to work the kinks out,
especially since he's still being effective -- just not as effective. If August
rolls around and he's still giving up walks and hits at a higher clip, though,
I'll be calling for either a return to his old mechanics or more reliance on his
split-fingered fastball.
This isn't the first time we have come to a Red Sox player who struggled while there was a discussion of his pitching mechanics. Last Season myself and Corey did a series on what was wrong with Clay Buchholz(stats and pitch F/x). You can read about a quick discussion in the Patriot Ledger about his arm angle change here. Looking at Corey's final analysis though we need to raise this question:
This is why I strongly believe that once a player reaches this level, his
body and arm basically only knows how to pitch one way and it can only be
changed over a long period of time, usually at least an off-season. I really
feel that all of his issues are a result of the changing of the arm angles and
possibly not trusting his stuff right now.
Without knowing if Buchholz has returned to his initial slot it's tough to tell what is going on this year, but his strikeout rate is still down from the elite levels he showed in 2007. His K/BB is still at 2.97, but would it be better if he went back to the old angle(if he is still in the new angle).
Perhaps there is more examples we don't know of that have been more successful, but based on these two examples the Red Sox have chose to aim on the side of potential long term health instead of optimum performance. Is this the right choice and would you make the opposite choice?
