Arrieta Posts

[Norfolk orioles]

Without reading the article, you're missing pretty important pieces of why this argument is being put forth.

[Norfolk orioles]

The number of changes arrieta went through, it's no wonder he struggled. I'm also 100% sure he wasn't the only pitcher being asked to change things constantly.

The entire cavalry washed out. This would certainly help explain some of our "bad luck".

[Norfolk orioles]

Tillman was the only one who didn't wash out and even he's been inconsistent at time and also changed his mechanics multiple times.

[Tony-OH]

That is really the best article on the Arrieta situation that I've read. Very thoroughly written and researched. This part stuck out to me though. "(Duquette) traded Arrieta and Strop, two pitchers with mid‑90s velocity and three years of team control, for three months of Feldman and a backup catcher."

That really is painful to think about when you read it in black and white. As for Arrieta, I always liked his stuff and I was one of his few backers but it was apparent it was not working in Baltimore for him. Clearly, part of the problem was Adair. As good as Buck has been for the Orioles, him bringing in Connors and Adair really hurt our young pitchers. After this article it's pretty clear they were part of the problem with Arrieta.

This brings me back to a conversation I had with Jake in the lockerroom the year before he was traded. He kept telling me that he was thinking too much out there and how his mind was always racing on the mound about the situation, his mechanics, the runners, etc. I know the Orioles had sent him to talk to a sports psychologist in order to work through this stuff, but after reading about how many changes they we doing with him it's quite apparent that was a big part of the problem.

I'm happy for Jake that he's doing well. I always liked the guy and found his straight forward answers refreshing. The stuff was clearly always there. As an Orioles fan it hurts to know that with the right coaching staff that maybe his success would have happened here. It also gives us a window into why few of the Calvary ever fulfilled their promise with the Orioles and even makes you questions why they've struggled to develop their latest crop of arms.

[Ohfan67]

It's sickening that things didn't click for Arrietta in Baltimore. And it doesn't sound like Adair was a good fit for the O's pitches. BUT...correlation does not equal causation. Tony says the O's sent Arrietta to a sports psychologist. It's apparent from the interview that he is a very high strung guy and the pilates, meditation, etc., has all played a role in his current success. It really does sound like there was probably nothing the O's could have done to solve his problems. He found the pilates instructor in Austin during the offseason (you only pass about three pilate studies per block in Austin).

BUT...even though I think Arrietta was probably unfixable in Baltimore, the incredibly poor return on his trade is still mind boggling. Especially if other organizations were so high on him. That's all on DD.

[Going Underground]

The Adair stuff has been brought up before. Not exactly liked by the young guys. The thing is some of these guys were sent down to the minors and still failed. So is the whole philosophy on pitching broken. Not like the Oriole track record on starters is stellar.I am waiting for Wallace to leave in mid season.

[FanAddict]

I read the story and thought that section was more or less a rehash of what I read last season in another publication. That said, having read this stuff a second time, I always wondered why Buck didn't take a more hands on approach with Arrietta and if he did how much of this is his responsibility concerning the way things turned out? I find it interesting too that they moved Arrietta and Gausman to opposite sides of the rubber. Now Gausman is hurt for a second time. Whose brainchild was that? Buck? Adair? Peterson? Duquette? Lots of unanswered questions in my opinion.

I like Buck, but he can be kind of odd sometimes. I always felt like he wore his emotions/thoughts on his sleeve with respect to Jake. Buck seemed to grow very tired of Jake during the year he was traded. It seems like he's kind of doing the same thing with Kim right now--communicating his thoughts very clearly without really saying anything at all (or saying very little).

[25 Nuggets]

Now we have Keith Law talking about Kevin Gausman being messed up by moving where he is on the rubber. Is he the next pitcher the Orioles are going to mess up?

I've said it for years, since before I joined this board... we had more pitching talent than the results showed. It's highly unlikely that so many pitching prospects, many of which were highly touted, failed to develop for so long because they were bad picks.

[AdamK]

Geez. I was hoping for something to shift the focus away from the Kim ordeal, but this is not exactly what I had in mind.

Maybe I can find some new Jose Reyes info to read.

[Frobby]

I've been saying for two years that Adair was the big problem for Arrieta, and possibly others. That said, we don't know to what extent Adair was implementing directives from Buck or other people in the organization with developmental responsibilities. Clearly Adair was part of the problem, but it's not clear he was the whole problem.

[SpinJr]

That is really the best article on the Arrieta situation that I've read. Very thoroughly written and researched. This part stuck out to me though. "(Duquette) traded Arrieta and Strop, two pitchers with mid‑90s velocity and three years of team control, for three months of Feldman and a backup catcher."

That really is painful to think about when you read it in black and white. As for Arrieta, I always liked his stuff and I was one of his few backers but it was apparent it was not working in Baltimore for him. Clearly, part of the problem was Adair. As good as Buck has been for the Orioles, him bringing in Connors and Adair really hurt our young pitchers. After this article it's pretty clear they were part of the problem with Arrieta.

This brings me back to a conversation I had with Jake in the lockerroom the year before he was traded. He kept telling me that he was thinking too much out there and how his mind was always racing on the mound about the situation, his mechanics, the runners, etc. I know the Orioles had sent him to talk to a sports psychologist in order to work through this stuff, but after reading about how many changes they we doing with him it's quite apparent that was a big part of the problem.

I'm happy for Jake that he's doing well. I always liked the guy and found his straight forward answers refreshing. The stuff was clearly always there. As an Orioles fan it hurts to know that with the right coaching staff that maybe his success would have happened here. It also start to make us understand why few of the Calvary ever fulfilled their promise with the Orioles and even makes you questions why they've struggled to develop their latest crop of arms.

I just threw up in my mouth a lil bit.

[25 Nuggets]

I've been saying for two years that Adair was the big problem for Arrieta, and possibly others. That said, we don't know to what extent Adair was implementing directives from Buck or other people in the organization with developmental responsibilities. Clearly Adair was part of the problem, but it's not clear he was the whole problem.

Yeah, people outside Baltimore usually do not understand when we say "Arrieta would never have done this with the Orioles". I'm glad for him, frustrated for us fans. But we move on. Now about Gausman...

[Camden_yardbird]

The question and the worry I have is whether this organizational philosophy of Uber tinkering has ended, or whether we are still asking young players to do too much. Why do you think the Orioles have been as successful as they have with rule 5 picks lately...developed in another organization and asked to perform here. Peace is another name that comes to mind.

If you want athletes that do certain things, then draft players that do those things well. Don't draft exceptional athletes and hope you can mold them by changing everything they did to have the success they have had.

[MrOrange82]

http://www.si.com/mlb/2016/03/28/jake-arrieta-chicago-cubs-profile

By 2011, Arrieta had earned a steady run in the Baltimore rotation. Midway through that season pitching coach Mark Connor quit for personal reasons. He was replaced by bullpen coach Rick Adair.

At the time, Arrieta pitched with his crossfire style from the first base side of the rubber and started his delivery with his hands at his belt. A month later he was pitching from the middle of the rubber and swinging his hands over his head. A few months later the Orioles forbade their pitchers to use the cutter for fear that it sapped fastball velocity.

By the next April, Arrieta still pitched from the middle of the rubber, but his hands were back at his belt. By May he was back on the first base side of the rubber. By September he had trimmed his windup to a modified stretch position. By the next year he was back to the middle of the rubber with a huge change: Adair took away his crossfire step in favor of a stride directly to the plate.

Over the two calendar years under Adair, Arrieta went 6?16 with a 6.30 ERA. ?There were so many things in Baltimore not many people know about,? Arrieta says. ?I had struggles with my pitching coach. A lot of guys did. Three or four guys?Tillman, Matusz, [Zach] Britton?were just really uncomfortable in their own skins at the time, trying to be the guys they weren?t. You can attest how difficult it is to try to reinvent your mechanics against the best competition in the world.

?I feel like I was playing a constant tug-of-war, trying to make the adjustments I was being told to make and knowing in the back of my mind that I can do things differently and be better. It was such a tremendous struggle for me because as a second and third-year player, you want to be coachable. I knew I got [to the majors] for a reason, and I was confused about why I was changing that now. You feel everybody has your best interests in mind, but you come to find out that?s not necessarily the case.?

Adair, who took a leave of absence in August 2013 and remains out of baseball, told MASNsports.com last October that ?the biggest thing? that held Arrieta back in Baltimore was a bone spur in his elbow that was removed in August 2011.

...

At the end of every season Cubs president Theo Epstein asks his 40 or so scouts and baseball operations people to submit a list of major and minor league players they believe will flourish with a change of scenery and to explain why. Clashes with managers ... problems at home ... an injury kept quiet ... a positional logjam ... anything that could be holding a player back. As the Change of Scenery survey results came in after the 2012 season, the one name that kept coming up was Jake Arrieta?s.

...

?I enjoyed my time in Baltimore.?

?I really did,? he says now. ?I learned so much. It got me to this point.?

Soon he heard from Chris Bosio, the Cubs? pitching coach, a former righthanded pitcher who lasted 11 years in the majors with a crossfire delivery. ?Look, man, I?ve been through a lot,? Arrieta told Bosio. ?All I want to do is come over there and be myself and be a winner.?

?Jake,? Bosio said, ?we know what kind of stuff you have. We want you to be yourself.?

Arrieta went back to throwing crossfire, from the third base side of the rubber. Bosio made some tweaks. They worked on keeping Arrieta?s head in line with the plate, which reduced his tendency to overrotate and pull pitches to the glove side. They focused on a shorter stride and getting the ball to the arm side, which led to a more consistent release point, which led to better fastball command, which opened up the cutter/slider as the kill pitch. ?I was able to not hold anything back or feel like I was judged,? Arrieta says. ?People had lost faith in me in Baltimore, and rightfully so. I knew that was not the guy I was. I was letting it out as hard as I could in a controlled way. I was across my body. I felt strong. I felt explosive.?

...

Arrieta pitched to a 3.66 ERA in nine starts with the Cubs in 2013 and lowered that to 2.53 in 25 starts in 2014. Then Beast showed up.

...

In the first half of the 20th century German-born Joseph Pilates developed a series of controlled movements to improve strength and flexibility throughout the body. Many of the movements involve the use of pulley systems on a machine called a reformer. After Arrieta?s first session with Edebor he told her, ?We need to train together. This is life-changing.?

He took sessions three times a week. He ordered a custom-built reformer for Wrigley Field and put it in the only space available, a cramped storage room that doubled as manager Joe Maddon?s media interview room. Last season Maddon conducted media briefings while Arrieta ground through his Pilates workout just a few feet away.

In the off‑season Arrieta turned his Austin garage into a Pilates studio. Edebor trained Brittany and Jake there for an hour and a half six days a week, starting at 6 or 6:30 a.m. ?Jake went from a regular-sized athletic guy to just ripped,? Edebor says, ?and the only thing we did was Pilates.?

?It?s an incredible experience,? Arrieta says. ?Pilates has been around a long time but maybe was taboo in this sport. I think it?s only a matter of time before you see a reformer in every big league clubhouse.?

...

Arrieta stretches two hours every day. He does yoga. He meditates. He undergoes mobility training called Functional Range Conditioning, which stresses his joints to ward off injuries from sudden movements, such as reacting to a bunt. He starts every day with up to 24 ounces of water and 24 ounces of cold-pressed juices. He eats four to six eggs for breakfast and then has small meals throughout the day. Before starts he prefers marinated chicken, quinoa, roasted vegetables and other ?foods that will lead to clarity of mind,? as he puts it. Steak and potatoes? ?Never before competition,? he says. ?There?s no way I?d put that food in my body. It will directly correlate with my performance.?

...

In Baltimore he would play heavy metal such as Pantera or Metallica to get his heart rate up. But now he plays mellow ambient music such as Fleet Foxes. He has learned that it?s better to calm the body and mind to conserve energy.

...

Now he doesn?t even like to use the word mechanics. He thinks about the way his body moves through space. He is playing the concert piano without sheet music. His feel for pitching is so heightened that he remembers three strikes against Chris Johnson in one at bat in Chicago in 2014 in a tactile way. ?I remember the way the curveball spun off my index finger,? he says. ?I could feel the force of the friction of that hard cutter at 93. I remember raising the bill of my hat?this is something Boz talked about a lot?to throw a four-seam up. And if you?re trying to go underneath the strike zone, tilt the bill of your cap down. If somebody had told me all that when I was 19, I would have said, ?What the hell are you talking about???

Did the Orioles screw up Jake Arrieta? Yes. Did Arrieta screw himself up because he's a crazy person? Also yes.

Say what you want about the relevance of the article/post (or view it as a twist of the knife, given how bad the O's pitching seems to be now), but it seems pretty clear to me that Arrieta was never going to succeed in Baltimore, for a litany of reasons that probably doesn't (but could) include Martians, an allergy to the O's preferred detergent, the phases of the moon, Skee-Lo's failure to be taller/balder, and the fact that the O's struggle to teach/improve "pitching."

I could really go for a steak.

[Redskins Rick]

Mods,

can we merge these two threads?

http://forum.orioleshangout.com/forums/showthread.php/152308-This-Sports-Illustrated-Article-about-Arrieta-destroys-O-s