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Matusz Tonight

OFFNY

By OFFNY
in Orioles Talk

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Moose Milligan Hangout Grand Counsel

Moose Milligan

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Dude, he walked as many as he struck out. You can't spin that. That sucks.

Per Schmuck's homeristic article...this is something Tom Davis would write...

He continues to struggle some with his command, but he looks like he’s gotten some things figured out.
He again had to fight the tendency to overthrow, his fastball sailing up and out of the strike zone when he tried to reach back for more velocity.
Instead, he got ahead of Rajai Davis on the count with two outs and then walked him and bring Buck Showalter to the mound.

Got ahead of the imposing Rajai Davis and couldn't put him away. Walked him.

4k's, 4 walks...again, not good.

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Sports Guy Hangout Grand Counsel

Sports Guy

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Dude, you're the Anthony Young of posting.

Anthony Young looks like a dot to him because his so far out in front of him.

I was encouraged by his use of the off speed stuff today and that he commanded that well.

The fastball command still needs to be improved. Palmer talked a lot today about how much better he is getting his front side closed compared to last year but it obviously still isn't there on a consistent basis.

I think it will get there though.

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clapdiddy Hangout Grand Counsel

clapdiddy

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His problem, as Palmer pointed out during the game, is that he was overthrowing his fastball. He had a 3-0 count where he overthrew three fastballs, clocked at 90, and then threw his 3-0 pitch nice an easy and hit 92 on the gun. His mechanics on his fastball seem all screwed up right now.

I realize some of this is likely due to him pressing a bit, but he needs to settle down and let the fastball come naturally.

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Moose Milligan Hangout Grand Counsel

Moose Milligan

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Anthony Young looks like a dot to him because his so far out in front of him.

I was encouraged by his use of the off speed stuff today and that he commanded that well.

The fastball command still needs to be improved. Palmer talked a lot today about how much better he is getting his front side closed compared to last year but it obviously still isn't there on a consistent basis.

I think it will get there though.

These are good notes. By all accounts he looks better than he did in the first game of the season and that's good. Still, the fastball command really worries me.

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Lucky Jim Hangout Grand Counsel

Lucky Jim

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These are good notes. By all accounts he looks better than he did in the first game of the season and that's good. Still, the fastball command really worries me.

Palmer was encouraged, too. For me, that's an opinion that matters.

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Sports Guy Hangout Grand Counsel

Sports Guy

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Positives:

1) Maintained velocity again.

2) Had a 13.4% swinging strike %. Would like that to be a tad higher but that is basically where you want to be as a starter. He has been in the 15-17% range in the past.

3) 63% strike %...LEague average. Good to see.

4) Changed speeds well and kept the hitters off balance.

5) Was able to keep the ball down in some key situations and get some DPs. The more groundballs he can start enducing, the better.

6) Threw 106 pitches...Definitely is healthy.

Negatives:

1) Threw too many pitches for the time he was in there.

2) His inability to put away guys ahead in the count wasn't good.

3) Ben Francisco and Davis were 2 guys that he struggled to throw strikes to for some reason. Gotta get guys like that out.

4) Fastball command, overall, was below average at best. He showed signs but nothing consistent.

5) Too many walks....Gets back to FB command.

6) Giving up too many homers...Still needs to get the ball down more.

7) Came out of his delivery too much today and was overthrowing. He has to break that habit.

Overall, it was a mixed bag. Heading into the 6th inning, he was looking very solid but he couldn't put hitters away in that inning when he was ahead in the count(had 3 1-2 counts where the batter got on base.)

I would say I am more encouraged than discouraged today simply because I think he can go back and look at this tape and see positives and build off of that. He has always been a good command/control guy and has proven that in the majors, so I think if he can get everything else right, he will be fine. The good news is it doesn't appear that he is mentally down on himself right now and that is encouraging because if that happens, he may be done.

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Sports Guy Hangout Grand Counsel

Sports Guy

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These are good notes. By all accounts he looks better than he did in the first game of the season and that's good. Still, the fastball command really worries me.

It will come with more consistent mechanics. Now, I am not in favor at all of sending him down BUT if he is still struggling with the consistency of the mechanics after his next few starts, then I would be ok with him going down and having Peterson work with him. I don't think he would be down long but it still may be a good thing for him to continue to work with a mechanics expert.

But let's see what happens with him over his next few starts and re-evaluate.

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Sports Guy Hangout Grand Counsel

Sports Guy

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Watched the game.

Believe it or not, the fastball command was actually a bit better today which is more a commentary on how bad it was the against the Yanks. He threw a lot of good fastballs down in the zone today, but was still up and away entirely too much.

The change up was much better today and looked like the Matusz of old at times. However, he left it up several times and got hammered on it.

The curveball was dominant at times today but more inconsistent than against the Yanks.

The slider was similar to the curve. Dominant at times, flat a couple times, not controlled a couple times.

Overall a better start, but not good enough. The biggest issue by far today was that he didn't come inside more than a couple times to the right hand power hitters. That single issue led them to cover the outside corner by the mid-innings and was the direct reason for the double and homer in the sixth. Many of the power guys were set up for balls on their fists yet I only saw two balls on the fists all day. Bad approach and again I worry about confidence being the issue.

I would advise everyone to watch this interview:

http://www.masnsports.com/index_medialounge.php?show_id=942547&p=

Matusz is as down in that interview as you'll ever see a professional athlete. He doesn't look beaten though. He looks perplexed. One thing is for certain at this point. This guy no longer has an ego problem if he ever did.

Yea, I hadn't seen that.

I wouldn't say that he is a guy that has lost confidence though. I think perplexed is a good word to use.

One thing I took from that interview is that if he does end up getting sent down in a few weeks, that he will understand it and continue to work hard.

In other words, he won't get down on himself about going to the minors. He seems to understand what he is doing wrong and the one that I would say is that this isn't a stuff thing.

His stuff today was fine. Its the command of that stuff that has to be improved and its just consistent because his mechanics still aren't consistent.

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