January 8, 20215 yr https://theathletic.com/2309736/2021/01/08/new-white-sox-pitching-coach-ethan-katz-is-in-constant-contact-with-his-starters/?source=emp_shared_article We have had good discussion on the Crochet part, but thought some would like to get some info on what was said on the rest of the pitchers on the staff: Cease - Katz has been working with Cease to eliminate the cutting action on his fastball that was causing decreased command and ineffectiveness. Katz showed Cease he was opening up too early and is having him ride on his back leg longer before starting. Good line: "But Cease noted to Katz that his delivery feels like that of Josh Hader, Milwaukee’s All-Star closer with a distinct cross-firing throwing motion. Cease is not cross-firing at all in Katz’s estimation, but it’s just that after two seasons of flying open, that’s how unfamiliar having a consistently straight line felt." Lopez - Katz thought Lopez' arm was getting too far from his body causing the velocity decrease. He's had him throw more compact and keeping his arm closer to a straight line. He is reintroducing his curveball now that the changes were made. Kopech - Kopech is going to be a Fastball, Slider, Curveball pitcher, his changeup is no longer the primary focus of the 3rd pitch. Giolito - They are refocusing on the Curveball. It won't be the same as it was in high school, and they are going for a "strike getting" pitch, but they aren't dismissing it becoming an out pitch. They also have focused on trying to keep his slider consistency to match how good itw as at end of last year. Lynn - Talked about Lynn's 3 fastball approach, but he's been working on two offspeed pitches and hoping to add those to his arsenal this year. Keuchel - Basically Keuchel is perfect and knows what to do on his own lol. The rest of the crochet stuff is mostly in the other thread. Thanks fegan.
January 8, 20215 yr Amazing article. I posted this in another thread, but it definitely supports the notion of Cease missing glove side with his 4 seamer.
January 8, 20215 yr I’m sure I will get pushback on this, but what exactly was Cooper doing with these guys the last few years
January 8, 20215 yr 2 minutes ago, fathom said: I’m sure I will get pushback on this, but what exactly was Cooper doing with these guys the last few years Adding Cutters.
January 8, 20215 yr Author 10 minutes ago, fathom said: I’m sure I will get pushback on this, but what exactly was Cooper doing with these guys the last few years Seems like just repeating "stay tall" may not work with everyone.
January 8, 20215 yr If Cease is such a simple fix...the stuff is there. And honestly...the need for overspending in FA is basically gone as they have to put faith in Kopech being a long term piece as well. The Lynn trade makes much more sense if they expect results from those two now and going forward. I am skeptical but everything shown here seems reasonable and repeatable. If Lopez gets 2 more MPH on that fastball...long reliever is solved as well for 2021. Edited January 8, 20215 yr by EloyJenkins
January 8, 20215 yr 13 minutes ago, fathom said: I’m sure I will get pushback on this, but what exactly was Cooper doing with these guys the last few years Coop wasn't exactly media friendly so we never got this kind of communication with the press so we may never know.
January 8, 20215 yr 15 minutes ago, fathom said: I’m sure I will get pushback on this, but what exactly was Cooper doing with these guys the last few years Honestly, I really don’t think much. And that’s fantastic news because Katz doesn’t have to be God’s gift to pitching to greatly improve these guys. I truly believe small changes will have big payoffs. Edited January 8, 20215 yr by Chicago White Sox
January 8, 20215 yr 1 minute ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said: Coop wasn't exactly media friendly so we never got this kind of communication with the press so we may never know. The way they went about announcing his exit was very telling. The front office clearly wanted to move in a new direction due a lack of development from our young arm and most likely fundamentally different views on pitching. Edited January 8, 20215 yr by Chicago White Sox
January 8, 20215 yr 19 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said: Amazing article. I posted this in another thread, but it definitely supports the notion of Cease missing glove side with his 4 seamer. Glove side and high also. You don't see a heckuva lot of strikes low in the zone or on the outside edge either. If you are only throwing strikes down the middle or up and in you aren't going to be effective.
January 8, 20215 yr Interesting to see that Kopech will be ditching the changeup. It looked nasty at times, but also had a ton of movement. Maybe it was a struggle for him to throw strikes with. How many great starters don't throw changeups? Kershaw, Lance Lynn? Edited January 8, 20215 yr by ron883
January 8, 20215 yr Just now, ron883 said: Interesting to see that Kopech will be ditching the changeup. It looked nasty at times, but also had a ton of movement. Maybe it was a struggle for him to throw strikes with. If you actually read the article, he's not ditching it completely, but now it's more of a "show me" pitch.
January 8, 20215 yr 2 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said: If you actually read the article, he's not ditching it completely, but now it's more of a "show me" pitch. Send me your login information for the athletic bro
January 8, 20215 yr 4 minutes ago, ron883 said: Send me your login information for the athletic bro nah
January 8, 20215 yr 1 hour ago, bmags said: https://theathletic.com/2309736/2021/01/08/new-white-sox-pitching-coach-ethan-katz-is-in-constant-contact-with-his-starters/?source=emp_shared_article We have had good discussion on the Crochet part, but thought some would like to get some info on what was said on the rest of the pitchers on the staff: Cease - Katz has been working with Cease to eliminate the cutting action on his fastball that was causing decreased command and ineffectiveness. Katz showed Cease he was opening up too early and is having him ride on his back leg longer before starting. Good line: "But Cease noted to Katz that his delivery feels like that of Josh Hader, Milwaukee’s All-Star closer with a distinct cross-firing throwing motion. Cease is not cross-firing at all in Katz’s estimation, but it’s just that after two seasons of flying open, that’s how unfamiliar having a consistently straight line felt." Lopez - Katz thought Lopez' arm was getting too far from his body causing the velocity decrease. He's had him throw more compact and keeping his arm closer to a straight line. He is reintroducing his curveball now that the changes were made. Kopech - Kopech is going to be a Fastball, Slider, Curveball pitcher, his changeup is no longer the primary focus of the 3rd pitch. Giolito - They are refocusing on the Curveball. It won't be the same as it was in high school, and they are going for a "strike getting" pitch, but they aren't dismissing it becoming an out pitch. They also have focused on trying to keep his slider consistency to match how good itw as at end of last year. Lynn - Talked about Lynn's 3 fastball approach, but he's been working on two offspeed pitches and hoping to add those to his arsenal this year. Keuchel - Basically Keuchel is perfect and knows what to do on his own lol. The rest of the crochet stuff is mostly in the other thread. Thanks fegan. Wow! First time I have seen a pitcher by pitcher plan of action. I think we are going to like this Katz guy.☺️
January 8, 20215 yr Was it a general Coop project to get guys to stop throwing curveballs, or is that just these guys specifically?
January 8, 20215 yr 28 minutes ago, bmags said: Seems like just repeating "stay tall" may not work with everyone. or "stay closed."
January 8, 20215 yr 1 hour ago, bmags said: https://theathletic.com/2309736/2021/01/08/new-white-sox-pitching-coach-ethan-katz-is-in-constant-contact-with-his-starters/?source=emp_shared_article We have had good discussion on the Crochet part, but thought some would like to get some info on what was said on the rest of the pitchers on the staff: Cease - Katz has been working with Cease to eliminate the cutting action on his fastball that was causing decreased command and ineffectiveness. Katz showed Cease he was opening up too early and is having him ride on his back leg longer before starting. Good line: "But Cease noted to Katz that his delivery feels like that of Josh Hader, Milwaukee’s All-Star closer with a distinct cross-firing throwing motion. Cease is not cross-firing at all in Katz’s estimation, but it’s just that after two seasons of flying open, that’s how unfamiliar having a consistently straight line felt." Lopez - Katz thought Lopez' arm was getting too far from his body causing the velocity decrease. He's had him throw more compact and keeping his arm closer to a straight line. He is reintroducing his curveball now that the changes were made. Kopech - Kopech is going to be a Fastball, Slider, Curveball pitcher, his changeup is no longer the primary focus of the 3rd pitch. Giolito - They are refocusing on the Curveball. It won't be the same as it was in high school, and they are going for a "strike getting" pitch, but they aren't dismissing it becoming an out pitch. They also have focused on trying to keep his slider consistency to match how good itw as at end of last year. Lynn - Talked about Lynn's 3 fastball approach, but he's been working on two offspeed pitches and hoping to add those to his arsenal this year. Keuchel - Basically Keuchel is perfect and knows what to do on his own lol. The rest of the crochet stuff is mostly in the other thread. Thanks fegan. Don't know if I like dropping the change for anyone let alone kopech. The only off speed being a curve will get read by the hitters very quickly
January 8, 20215 yr If he can get Cease and Lopez straightened out, he will be the best acquisition of this off season.
January 8, 20215 yr Did he mention anything about increasing the staffs spin rates? If you ain't cheatin you ain't tryin.
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