Tillman Tonight

[JayThomas]

Peterson was on 105.7 last week and had some really good things to say about Tillman. He said that Tillman was working on a few mechanical things that were discovered in his biomechanics work up. Peterson said Tillman would be making an impact in Baltimore this year. Sure would be nice if Tillman could provide the depth we'll most certainly need this season.

This is excellent news, and something that I'd touched upon a while back. Chris Tillman seems like exactly the kind of guy (control/repeatability issues) that Rick Peterson is here to help. It's great to hear upbeat comments about Chris from Rick, of all people. If Rick thinks Chris can contribute, I think Chris can contribute. Thanks for the info.

[OFFNY]

It was the second consecutive outing in which he walked only 1 batter over 6 innings.

Let's go for the hat trick tonight in the first game of a Tides-Knights doubleheader.

http://www.milb.com/index.jsp?sid=t568

[OFFNY]

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CHRIS TILLMAN O(MAY 16th)

IP:o 5.33

H:o. 8

R:O. 3

BB:. 3

SO:. 4

Pitches: 95 (60 Strikes, 35 Balls)

2012 ERA: 4.79

[Grt 2BA FL Gator]

.

CHRIS TILLMAN O(MAY 16th)

IP:o 5.33

H:o. 8

R:O. 3

BB:. 3

SO:. 4

Pitches: 95 (60 Strikes, 35 Balls)

2012 ERA: 4.79

Mr. Consistency!

[OFFNY]

Mr. Consistency!

Oddly enough, in one aspect, he was extremely consistent. He threw exactly 95 pitches in his last 2 starts. This time he threw 2 more strikes (60) than last time (58).

The only thing is, he only went 5.33 innings this time, and he gave up 3 runs.

[Roll Tide]

.

CHRIS TILLMAN O(MAY 16th)

IP:o 5.33

H:o. 8

R:O. 3

BB:. 3

SO:. 4

Pitches: 95 (60 Strikes, 35 Balls)

2012 ERA: 4.79

They should start to groom him as a RP. Maybe even just a one inning guy. Dude is just not a starter and may well need a change of system.

[baltfan]

They should start to groom him as a RP. Maybe even just a one inning guy. Dude is just not a starter and may well need a change of system.

Nah, let him just work on the mechanics changes. He can be converted to a reliever in the majors if necessary. Zero reason to do that in the minors.

[Lucky Jim]

Nah, let him just work on the mechanics changes. He can be converted to a reliever in the majors if necessary. Zero reason to do that in the minors.

Particularly if he's one of Peterson's projects, w/ direct instruction. Peterson's still up on him, it appears, and that's far more valuable than our remote pessimism.

[ccbird]

Nah, let him just work on the mechanics changes. He can be converted to a reliever in the majors if necessary. Zero reason to do that in the minors.

Except he is out of options next year so your looking at grooming him in ST next year. Tough to make that transition in one spring.I mean I guess if you plan on us being out of the race in September you can call him up and give him some innings out of the pen. Still, not really going to get much of a look. We need to find out if we can salvage something of him. It's not going to be as a SP. I mean he's behind Eveland and Pinero on the MLB depth chart. He's soon to be behind Britton(fingers crossed) and conceivably could be behind Steve Johnson. It really is quite baffling hy so many people continue to be so bullish on Tillman's chances as a ML SP.

Edit: I see Pinero just went on the DL.

[Lucky Jim]

Except he is out of options next year so your looking at grooming him in ST next year. Tough to make that transition in one spring.I mean I guess if you plan on us being out of the race in September you can call him up and give him some innings out of the pen. Still, not really going to get much of a look. We need to find out if we can salvage something of him. It's not going to be as a SP. I mean he's behind Pinero on the MLB depth chart. He's soon to be behind Britton(fingers crossed) and conceivably could be behind Steve Johnson. It really is quite baffling hy so many people continue to be so bullish on Tillman's chances as a ML SP.

I'm not convinced that any of this is true, save for the options. I don't mind sticking him in the pen, but if Peterson has him on a specific program fixing a specific problem, then I want him starting to keep working on those issues.

If Peterson is a fan, and believes that Tillman will provide MLB value this year (his quote) then I don't see any reason to change course.

I'm not even sure of this idea of "grooming" him for the bullpen. Just stick him there.

Peterson was on 105.7 last week and had some really good things to say about Tillman. He said that Tillman was working on a few mechanical things that were discovered in his biomechanics work up. Peterson said Tillman would be making an impact in Baltimore this year. Sure would be nice if Tillman could provide the depth we'll most certainly need this season.

It's far less baffling, btw, than those who clung to the idea of Bergesen as a starter. The fact is, most people have no idea what they're looking at when they think about Tillman. There were great reports all through ST, and now Peterson is echoing/building on those. Of course, maybe it's all fluff, and they're just trying to boost his value. But there's lots of things that don't show up in a stat-line that matter.

[ccbird]

I'm not convinced that any of this is true, save for the options. I don't mind sticking him in the pen, but if Peterson has him on a specific program fixing a specific problem, then I want him starting to keep working on those issues.

If Peterson is a fan, and believes that Tillman will provide MLB value this year (his quote) then I don't see any reason to change course.

I'm not even sure of this idea of "grooming" him for the bullpen. Just stick him there.

It's far less baffling, btw, than those who clung to the idea of Bergesen as a starter. The fact is, most people have no idea what they're looking at when they think about Tillman. There were great reports all through ST, and now Peterson is echoing/building on those. Of course, maybe it's all fluff, and they're just trying to boost his value. But there's lots of things that don't show up in a stat-line that matter.

I really didn't/don't care a whole lot about his AAA stat line. If he had a 3.00 ERA, good K/9 rate,etc down there but still was struggling to get through 6 innings against AAA hitters I know it's going to be more of the same up in the show. The biggest problem with Tillman has and continues to be is inability to limit his pitch count and pitch deep into games even when he pitches well. He hasn't thrown more than 6 innings in a start this year and there has only been 2 games where he has completed 6 innings. Look at his previous start on the 11th of May. He strikes out 9, he only walks 1, his WHip was 1.16. Its by far his best start of the year, and what do we see ,95 pitches thrown and out of the game after 6 innings. It's vintage Chris Tillman. Even when he is near his very best he still can't get deep. Tillman will never be a successful ML starter. I know it, you know it, Peterson knows it, Buck knows it, DD knows it, most everyone knows it.

[NewMarketSean]

He has until the end of July, IMO, but time is running out. I would like to see him get a legit shot as a RP before we're forced to put him on the 25 man or lose him next year.

[Araqnid]

I really didn't/don't care a whole lot about his AAA stat line. If he had a 3.00 ERA, good K/9 rate,etc down there but still was struggling to get through 6 innings against AAA hitters I know it's going to be more of the same up in the show. The biggest problem with Tillman has and continues to be is inability to limit his pitch count and pitch deep into games even when he pitches well. He hasn't thrown more than 6 innings in a start this year and there has only been 2 games where he has completed 6 innings. Look at his previous start on the 11th of May. He strikes out 9, he only walks 1, his WHip was 1.16. Its by far his best start of the year, and what do we see ,95 pitches thrown and out of the game after 6 innings. It's vintage Chris Tillman. Even when he is near his very best he still can't get deep. Tillman will never be a successful ML starter. I know it, you know it, Peterson knows it, Buck knows it, DD knows it, most everyone knows it.

Quite simply, I don't know that Peterson, Buck or DD actually know it. I'm willing to continue giving them and him the benefit of the doubt. He deserves at least one season with Peterson to figure it out, not 6 weeks.

[Stotle]

Its by far his best start of the year, and what do we see ,95 pitches thrown and out of the game after 6 innings. It's vintage Chris Tillman. Even when he is near his very best he still can't get deep.

This written to sound as if 95 pitches through six innings is something really bad. That's around 15 pitches an inning. Essentially what Gio Gonzalez (7 ip, 106 pitches), Drabek (7 ip, 113 pitches), Hellickson (6ip , 104 pitches), Buchholz (5 ip, 87 pitches), and Jiminez (6 ip, 107 pitches) threw last night, all in solid efforts.

It seems like you have slightly flawed expectations as to pitch/inning rates. Also, we don;t really know why Tillman is being pulled in some circumstances -- if he's working on things, they would not be riding him as deep as he can go, but rather putting him on a target schedule that allows him to accomplish what he's trying to do.

[Frobby]

I really didn't/don't care a whole lot about his AAA stat line. If he had a 3.00 ERA, good K/9 rate,etc down there but still was struggling to get through 6 innings against AAA hitters I know it's going to be more of the same up in the show. The biggest problem with Tillman has and continues to be is inability to limit his pitch count and pitch deep into games even when he pitches well. He hasn't thrown more than 6 innings in a start this year and there has only been 2 games where he has completed 6 innings. Look at his previous start on the 11th of May. He strikes out 9, he only walks 1, his WHip was 1.16. Its by far his best start of the year, and what do we see ,95 pitches thrown and out of the game after 6 innings. It's vintage Chris Tillman. Even when he is near his very best he still can't get deep. Tillman will never be a successful ML starter. I know it, you know it, Peterson knows it, Buck knows it, DD knows it, most everyone knows it.

If Peterson knows it, he sure isn't saying so. I'm going to be a little more patient and let Tillman keep working on things for the next 2-3 months. He's been maddening to follow for the last 4 seasons, and I have far less optimism now than I did in 2009-10, but if Peterson says he sees mechanical things that he thinks can straighten Tillman out, then I'm willing to wait to see if he's right, even though I'm not holding my breath.