OmarComing25 Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/chris-sale-new-and-improved/ I have to agree with the author that I prefer the high-strikeout Sale to the pitch to contact version, despite good early results so far. That big drop in swinging strike rate is concerning. I'm not as concerned about the drop in velocity, as his max velocity has remained unchanged, so that seems like it could be intentional by Sale in an effort to switch speeds more often. There's a lot of ball in play jargon in the article, but I thought it was an interesting read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaconOnAStick Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 Early-career Dwight Gooden consciously pitched to contact after his early breakthrough seasons, and was never Dwight Gooden again. (There were other factors, obviously, but I digress.) I really, really hate the writers at Fangraphs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YouCanPutItOnTheBoardYES! Posted May 10, 2016 Share Posted May 10, 2016 I'm sorry, but that article is stupid. His K/9 so far this year is 8.4, and it's steadily climbing with every start. It's not like he's John Danks who could barely strike someone out to save his life. His stuff is just as dominant as it's always been, but he's choosing to use it less this year to get deeper in games. Who cares how he's getting outs as long as he's getting the job done? He can strike anyone out whenever he needs to, but he's finally learned that being efficient is more important than having ridiculous K numbers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OmarComing25 Posted May 10, 2016 Author Share Posted May 10, 2016 I don't see what's so controversial about what the author said, the pitch to contact version of Sale is still a very good pitcher, I just think the high strikeout one is more elite. Sale got some bad luck on balls in play last year, and he's got some good luck this year. Yes, the defense is improved, but I still don't expect that .206 BABIP to last. He's getting fewer swings on pitches out of the strike zone this year by a significant amount, and overall hitters are making a lot more contact. That to me is a bit concerning. I know it's due to a shift in strategy and Sale still can go back to using his stuff when he wants to, I'd just prefer he do it more, I think it's a more sustainable strategy going forward. Yeah the ridiculous K numbers didn't lead to such a great ERA last year, but people seem to forget his K numbers were almost just as ridiculous in 2014, and that worked about as well as it could have. I'm not complaining about the results so far, they've been excellent, and if Sale sticks to pitching to contact I think he'll be more than fine, but I just think the high-K version is better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilMonkey Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 Buehrle pitched to contact and enjoyed much success. If Sale goes 24-6, I don't think Cy voters are going to worry that he didn't have as many strikeouts as previous years. Just win, baby! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowand44 Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 Ya, the article isn't stupid at all. Whether you agree with the point or not, it's well researched with a lot of numbers thrown in to prove his point. The 'worry' of a lot of people about this version of Chris Sale is that eventually the extra contact that he's pitching to is going to turn into more hits for the opposition. For now, this version of Chris is phenomenal and if he can sustain this level of success with these contact numbers then we're all going to be super thrilled. That said, I'm sure at some point you'll see the older version of Chris come back as he's going to need to start striking out more batters again. Time will tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostfan Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 Sale could still strike out batters if he wanted to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heads22 Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 QUOTE (lostfan @ May 10, 2016 -> 08:30 PM) Sale could still strike out batters if he wanted to. I'd be way more concerned if I haven't seen him turn it up multiple times this season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quin Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 QUOTE (lostfan @ May 10, 2016 -> 08:30 PM) Sale could still strike out batters if he wanted to. QUOTE (Heads22 @ May 10, 2016 -> 11:04 PM) I'd be way more concerned if I haven't seen him turn it up multiple times this season. Exactly. Sale can still reach back and strike guys out if he needs to, but he's saving his arm to avoid a late season swoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quin Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 QUOTE (lostfan @ May 10, 2016 -> 08:30 PM) Sale could still strike out batters if he wanted to. QUOTE (Heads22 @ May 10, 2016 -> 11:04 PM) I'd be way more concerned if I haven't seen him turn it up multiple times this season. Exactly. Sale can still reach back and strike guys out if he needs to, but he's saving his arm to avoid a late season swoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glangon Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 I love watching people argue how good Sale is. Last Season he was outstanding but did tend to give up the odd long ball or have the odd elongated inning, that was mainly down to trying to strike everyone out which was mainly down to having a godawful defense behind him. This season, he recognises that he has a much better defense, so instead of trying to strike everyone out cause he doesn't trust the Fake smiling Alexei not to flub the ball, he chooses to use that defense and put himself in a situation where he goes longer in the game, the bullpen is getting more rest and hitters are seeing less pitches which as a result isn't tiring him out and is giving him a better chance of not leaving fat pitches in the zone and not having too many extended innings. It's not that he's changing the way he pitches, last season he had to pitch a certain way due to how awful the defense is, this season, he has more freedom to pitch the way he wants to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Real Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 Sale's slider has just been filthy this year, especially that backdoor slider vs righties I'd like to see him use it less though and maybe use the changeup outside to righties in the right situations just worried about his health and knowing that the slider is one of the more dangerous pitches to throw when it comes to arm health Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.