Ryan Feierabend Is Confusing Me

by Jeff Sullivan on Sep 24, 2008 12:17 AM PDT in The More You Know Comment 12 comments

Look Ryan, I get it. Letting opposing hitters pound the crap out of your pitches is kind of your thing. You do it better than almost anyone I've ever seen, and the consistency with which you go out there and allow hard hit after hard hit really speaks volumes about your mental toughness. You've carved out a role, and it suits you. You're the guy we send to the mound when we want to get lit up.

But here's the deal. Lately you've been doing this thing where you sort of miss a lot of bats. I know, I know, your ERA would strongly suggest otherwise, but stay with me. The Angels swung and missed against you ten times tonight out of 84 pitches. On the season your swinging strike rate is up to 8.5%. 8.5%! That's above the league average, tied with Andy Pettitte, and only a hair behind King freaking Felix of all people. You. You, Ryan Feierabend, have missed bats nearly as often as the designated savior of the franchise.

Do you understand why these two things are difficult for me to reconcile? You can't be fooling guys one second and letting them beat the snot out of you the next. That doesn't make sense. You either throw really hittable pitches or you don't, which means that, as far as I'm concerned, something's got to give. Right? This can't be sustainable. That doesn't pass the smell test.

Here's what's going to happen, Ryan: either you're going to start missing fewer bats, thereby earning your suck, or you're going to start allowing weaker contact, thereby making yourself look much much better. I'm telling you this not because you really have a choice, but because I think it's important to make sure you're prepared. Whichever way it goes. Whatever you do, try not to be taken by surprise. Act like it's happened before, even if - in the event that you become good - it hasn't. Trust me, it'll reflect better on you if you do.

Godspeed, Ryan. No matter which path you end up following, I wish you the best of luck. You may not be one of the best Mariner pitchers I've ever seen, and there's a chance you may actually be one of the worst, but in a season this bad, you've managed to capture my interest, and for that I am eternally thankful. Ride that slop as far as it can go.

0 recs | Comment 12 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Swinging Strikes

I am wondering if Swinging Strikes can be misleading for certain pitchers- it is simply possible that the Angels are swinging from the heels trying to beat the shit out of Feierabend and swung at some bad guesses?

by batura on Sep 24, 2008 12:31 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

It's possible, but I don't think it's very likely

That doesn’t strike me as something Major League lineups would do (and Feierabend has now accumulated his 8.5% over a span of eight starts).

I think we may be seeing the stats reflect some actual ability on Feierabend’s part. The question now is trying to determine whether or not that 8.5% represents his true talent level, or if it’s a small sample mirage. Because if he sustains this many missed bats, then the trouble on balls in play pretty much has to regress.

by Jeff Sullivan on Sep 24, 2008 12:39 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

And if it does, hey, useful.

J.K.L.

by acblue on Sep 24, 2008 12:43 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hmm....

I’m still thinking this is a situation that won’t play out nicely. An 87.5 MPH Four Seam fastball just seems way too hittable. Of course, he could always flip out and be Jamie Moyer, but he hasn’t demonstrated that kind of control.

by batura on Sep 24, 2008 1:34 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

He has better stuff than Jarrod Washburn

by Jeff Sullivan on Sep 24, 2008 1:58 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Funny

When I was doing a little googling to support my argument, I ran across this THT article from matthew.

by batura on Sep 24, 2008 2:17 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Feierabend's one of the guys I've always had an awful feeling about.

Meaning that no matter what his AAA stats (or even positive MLB stats), I just don’t believe. There is a lot of logic behind the argument that you don’t pitch that well in AAA without some real skills, but my brain just doesn’t care. I expect him to get rocked every time he takes the mound.

by Teej on Sep 24, 2008 12:55 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs