Tillman

[Flacco Machado]

And how did the O's acquire Sherrill?

Oh man! Sorry. My bad. Wow, I completely forgot Sherrill came over in that trade. Thanks.

[Lucky Jim]

How was his velocity?

92-97 with an average of 95. He was sitting mid-90s in the 8th.

[Surhoffan17]

Sorry bud, but his fb had movement in on rightys all day.

You might be right.

[gallden]

Is this how hard threw in Norfolk and also when we traded for him?

[hoosiers]

What a shot in the arm for this organization it would be if Tillman can become a solid 3/4 or better. Great afternoon.

Not sure why CT needed to be in the game for pitch 125, but BS appears to refuse to win any games in an easy manner.

I am not sure why warning sirens are not going off in our manager's head, but this has now been several games of ridiculously high pitch counts and unnecessarily close games. When our SPs are giving up runs and losing leads over 100-110 pitches (for Chen this bar appears to be at 90 pitches), it is strictly the manager's responsibility.

[Lucky Jim]

Is this how hard threw in Norfolk and also when we traded for him?

He appeared to touch a few ticks higher today, but he was a pretty solid 92-94 and touching 95 at Norfolk. He spent a lot more time in the mid-90s before the last two years.

[Frobby]

One thing I haven't seen mentioned is how effective Tillman was on the inside corner. He busted guys in on the hands and tied guys up at the knees inside numerous times in the four innings I watched. I don't remember Tillman ever doing that before.

[Mashed Potatoes]

Pitching for America can turn mediocre starters into super heroes.

[gallden]

He appeared to touch a few ticks higher today, but he was a pretty solid 92-94 and touching 95 at Norfolk. He spent a lot more time in the mid-90s before the last two years.

Did Palmer have a reason for the added velo?

[Lucky Jim]

Did Palmer have a reason for the added velo?

No reason that the rest of us don't have:

1. Cleaned-up and improved mechanics.

2. Better fitness.

3. Possible gun variation (Palmer mentioned this post-game).

That said - and you may be interested in this - he was very positive about the start, and basically said that Tillman's stuff today was as good as any he's seen all year.

[WEAVERMAN]

I for one am standing and applauding right now. That was a awesome 2012 debut from a guy who needed it, and quite frankly, so does out team.

Of course the question is staying consistent for Chris Tillman. But for now, let's give him the Ovation he deserves for this game on this day.

Yes, he was outstanding, keep up the great work Chris Tillman.

[Moose Milligan]

Let's see if he can do it consistently. I still remain skeptical.

[Lucky Jim]

Let's see if he can do it consistently. I still remain skeptical.

That's fair. From what you saw today, do you still think this:

Prediction: Tillman still has a straight, flat fastball that he can't locate on a consistent basis. Members of the OH who still think he can be a good pitcher cling to the fact that he has a good curveball. Whatever.

So Tillman doesn't have a flat fastball? And yep, I am still holding onto what I last saw from Tillman because, quite frankly, I don't care what he's done in AAA this year. He's shown that he can get minor league hitters out before, this isn't new and this isn't special.

I don't have to have a background in scouting or biomechanical analysis to know that ML hitters slugged .600 against Tillman when he threw a fastball last year. I also don't need to have a background in scouting or biomechanical analysis to know that he threw 49% of his curveballs for strikes last year when the league average was 63%. http://www.baseballanalytics.org/baseball-analytics-blog/tag/chris-tillman

I sure hope that he can come back up here and astonish me and everyone else here who's tired of wondering when he'll come around. However, I remain skeptical and I think I have a pretty good reason for doing so.

[gallden]

No reason that the rest of us don't have:

1. Cleaned-up and improved mechanics.

2. Better fitness.

3. Possible gun variation (Palmer mentioned this post-game).

That said - and you may be interested in this - he was very positive about the start, and basically said that Tillman's stuff today was as good as any he's seen all year.

No sideburns effect? And thanks.

[Moose Milligan]

Were you impressed, Moose?

I doubt he watched.

Thanks for the faith, LJ. I did watch.

Impressed, sure. I'd like to see if he can do it across some more starts as none of the members of the cavalry have bee consistent.