Chris Tillman Today 2015

[MarylandAaron]

Best I've seen his command all year, but I'd still like to see more consistency with his secondary pitches.

I agree, I think he needs to be able to command his secondary stuff to do well against better-hitting teams. However, to his credit, he did a good job sticking with the FB tonight since that's the pitch that was working for him.

[Il BuonO]

Tertiary as well while we are asking for things.

Great word but command of his secondary pitches is high on the list. Command all around was better and especially the FB, but game to game he's going to need something else to be working. Today, he mixed in enough of them at the right times.

[Can_of_corn]

Great word but command of his secondary pitches is high on the list. Command all around was better and especially the FB, but game to game he's going to need something else to be working. Today, he mixed in enough of them at the right times.

I only posted because I know you love the vocabulary.

[Frobby]

Well, that outing should stop the chirping about removing Tillman from the rotation for a bit.

[EagleOriole]

Interested to hear what his ERA is vs. the Blue Jays and everyone else. I would suggest he not pitch against them anymore

[fansince71]

How about Tilly.....pitches his best game of the year and it propels us into first!

[glenn__davis]

Great quote from Tillman in the post game.

Was asked about the Snider catch, and he mentioned that he wanted Snider to enjoy the ovation he was getting. But also said, with the circumstances of the game at the time and the fact that Cleveland was having a rough go of it, he wanted to get back on the mound to show respect to the other team. Basically, he didn't want to be yukking it up in front of the opposition.

Just thought that was a great viewpoint, especially in light of some other teams that we've seen and how they conduct themselves in spots like that.

[OriolesMagic83]

Great start by Tillman. It will be huge for the O's if he's a dependable starter again.

[PaulFolk]

Interested to hear what his ERA is vs. the Blue Jays and everyone else. I would suggest he not pitch against them anymore

vs. Blue Jays: 15.00 ERA in 4 starts

vs. everyone else: 3.50 in 11 starts

[Nevermore]

Well, that outing should stop the chirping about removing Tillman from the rotation for a bit.

I've been one of the posters advocating the "Ubaldo Treatment" for Tillman. While driving home from the Light Rail station, I developed a different theory after watching Tilly's strong, shutout performance. It's the following:

When Ubaldo came to the Orioles for the 2014 season, he had been used to trying to blow the ball past hitters, even with plenty of walks. Apparently, it was pretty effective, as least some times (I understand that he walked quite a few batters during his no-hitter several years ago). So he was "effectivly wild." Last year, because of mechanical problems and a decrease in velocity, he became ineffectively wild. Being a veteran, he had engaged in bad habits, getting away with them, even though walking a lot of batters. Last year, that effectiveness ended and he was having a horrible season. So finally, Buck, Wallace, and Chiti had to give him the full treatment, demoting him from the rotation to let him know how bad things had gone, plus they couldn't keep sending him out every 5 days to lose. But Buck and Wallace didn't just dump him into the pen for mop-up duty. They began to work with him, correcting his bad habits. And Ubaldo was willing to listen and practice. Being a veteran, he had to work hard to remove the bad habits and basically re-learn how to pitch without issuing the damaging walks. It has taken several months and even now, having regained his spot in the rotation, he is still a work in progress. Last night showed everyone how far Ubaldo has gone and will go.

Tillman has also learned some bad habits. But the bad habits weren't as ingrained in him as they were with Ubaldo. So after seeing him last night, I believe that he can receive some coaching to fix his mechanics and unlearn bad habits without having to leave the rotation.

It's nice to have a couple of guys who have potential to become our aces. They can join Wei-Yin Chen, Gonzo, and Gausman.

[OFFNY]

o

14 OUTS: 4 Groundouts (Including 1 Double Play), 4 Strikeouts, 4 Flyouts, 1 Popout

CHRIS TILLMAN O(vs. WHITE SOX, 7/04)

IP:. 4.67

H:;; 10 (1 Triple, 2 Doubles, 7 Singles)

R:l) 2

BB: 1

SO: 4

Pitches: 103 (71 Strikes, 32 Balls)

2015 ERA: 5.57

PITCHES BY INNING

****************

26 (18 Strikes, 8 Balls)

11 (10 Strikes, 1 Balls)

21 (14 Strikes, 7 Balls)

22 (14 Strikes, 8 Balls)

23 (15 Strikes, 8 Balls) *

* Tillman recorded 2 outs before departing in the 5th inning.

[CA-ORIOLE]

Some positives today with his stuff and secondaries not looking too bad but a lot of balls were hit pretty hard. Certainly not good enough and could have been worse.

[mattman0182]

I do not understand the Oriole's infatuation with Tillman. He has a flat fastball, a curve he cannot control, and his change is mediocre at best.

He should have progressed into at least an average starter by now.

I also do not understand why the Oriole's press keep making him out to be the "Ace". Statistically last year he was not even as good as Chen or Gonzo. Why was so much excitement about Tillman starting on opening day? Why did he even start opening day in light of other starters having better numbers?

[Reboulet'sStache]

He isn't going anywhere, but at this point I'm ready to give somebody like Tyler Wilson a chance.

[PaulFolk]

I do not understand the Oriole's infatuation with Tillman. He has a flat fastball, a curve he cannot control, and his change is mediocre at best.

He should have progressed into at least an average starter by now.

I also do not understand why the Oriole's press keep making him out to be the "Ace". Statistically last year he was not even as good as Chen or Gonzo. Why was so much excitement about Tillman starting on opening day? Why did he even start opening day in light of other starters having better numbers?

Your join date says Aug. 2006, but this post reads as if you only just became an O's fan this season. Tillman undeniably was better than an average starter the last couple seasons, which is why he's gotten such a long rope this year. He had an ERA+ of 110 and 114 the last two seasons, with over 200 innings pitched each time. (He also was well above average in a shortened season in 2012, with a 2.93 ERA and 144 ERA+). He certainly deserved the Opening Day starts the last two years.

I think you're using some revisionist history here. Tillman hasn't been good this season, but it's not as if he's never been a good pitcher.