2018 Chris Tillman

[Il BuonO]

2 hours ago, Frobby said:

I’m just so happy for the guy. He’s one of my favorite Orioles of the last decade, and will be no matter what happens from here. He deserved a game like this.   

Yep, me too. He may be able to remake himself pitching backwards, especially if he commands the secondary pitches like he did tonight. Need to see a few more of these though.

[Rene88]

As I have been saying...Tillman deserves time. I think he will be fine. Plus, we aren’t winning anything this year regardless.. Great outing Tilly!

[Frobby]

3 hours ago, Il BuonO said:

Yep, me too. He may be able to remake himself pitching backwards, especially if he commands the secondary pitches like he did tonight. Need to see a few more of these though.

I’ll be honest — I doubt he’ll have too many days like this one.   From what I saw, the curve, slider and change were all working tonight, and he was commanding the ball in a way he hasn’t in two years.   I think it’s one of those days most pitchers have a couple of times each season.   

That said, Tillman badly needed a confidence booster.   

[Babypowder]

3 hours ago, Frobby said:

I’ll be honest — I doubt he’ll have too many days like this one.   From what I saw, the curve, slider and change were all working tonight, and he was commanding the ball in a way he hasn’t in two years.   I think it’s one of those days most pitchers have a couple of times each season.   

That said, Tillman badly needed a confidence booster.   

I don’t even think his command was all that great. The Tigers were just chasing all of his slop out of the zone. He still had no idea where a lot of his pitches were going and he still looked afraid to throw his fastball in the zone. My feeling is this will be an aberration. Nice to see last night, but this is already a lost season to me and Tillman has no future on the next good Orioles team. Crossing my fingers he can right the ship enough to build a little value and get moved. 

[mdbdotcom]

He kind of reminded me of Mike Fiers. It was like watching the same guy pitch for both teams. Only the results were different.

[OFFNY]

o

 

More Tillman Talk, and Other Notes after the O's End a Losing Streak

(By Steve Melewski)

http://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2018/04/more-tillman-talk-and-other-notes-after-os-end-losing-streak.html

 

o

[Frobby]

It’s nice to know that Tillman is at least capable of pitching a good game on occasion.   

[Going Underground]

Meoli from the Sun wrote this before the game yesterday.  Sort of did some of this yesterday.

 

It's been nearly a year since Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman, after working his way through spring shoulder soreness, made his 2017 debut and began what has been an arduous journey to find himself on the mound. He has at times battled his mechanics, his command and his confidence, all in an effort to find a handle on what he once was.

But is it time to abandon that in hopes of finding the most effective use of what he is now?

As Tillman searches for a consistent fastball with largely better off-speed pitches than he had in 2017, in a league in which it's no longer taboo for a starting pitcher to not rely on his fastball, it seems there's only been a little thought given to pitching off his effective curveball and slider or cutter and making the fastball more of a show pitch than a featured one.

Instead of seeing his secondary pitches as a new means of getting by and turning things around, he sees them more as the way to get to the end goal of an effective fastball.

 

At least once this season, Tillman found initial success pitching backward. His April 7 start against the New York Yankees, which followed successful starts by Andrew Cashner and Kevin Gausman, borrowed from their game plan by having Tillman use a majority of sliders for the first time in his big league career. The outing only turned sour when the Orioles tried to squeeze a sixth inning out of him.

Manager Buck Showalter said it's a fine line between trying to find the old Tillman, who could pitch with a fastball that was more area command than spot command and had plenty of ways to survive with his off-speed pitches, and crafting a new one out of the present edition of himself.

 

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bs-sp-orioles-chris-tillman-backwards-20180426-story.html

 

 

[Tx Oriole]

11 hours ago, NashLumber said:

Same here. Pleasantly surprised. Our youngest saw Tillman pitch on her 7th birthday, her first O’s game. I think that same weekend was a Tillman bobblehead day. He’s been her favorite ever since. Two weeks ago, I was wondering how I was going to break the news to her that he may likely not be an Oriole for much longer and that maybe he’d be running a lemonade stand like her the rest of the summer. But looks like he’s earned some good will and a longer leash. Heck of a performance. Looks like he’s making strides towards re-inventing himself. 

 

I hope so.

[NashLumber]

2 hours ago, Going Underground said:

Meoli from the Sun wrote this before the game yesterday.  Sort of did some of this yesterday.

“The outing only turned sour when the Orioles tried to squeeze a sixth inning out of him.”

 

 

 

 

 

This has been my concern with Tillman the last two starts and as he got through five yesterday.  His pitch count was low, but just because it appears he may have more in the tank, there’s no telling what adjustments the opposing batters are about to make. It’s like being dealt a Queen and an 8 and taking a chance on one more card. Buck won that bet yesterday as Tillman delivered. But man, it makes me nervous the third time a lineup faces him. I’m happy with how he’s trending in this small sample, but I’d still have someone warm if he gets through five innings. 

[Nevermore]

14 hours ago, yeoledugger said:

I actually hope that Tillman starts channeling his inner Greg Maddox - pinpoint control, late movement, and changing speeds.  The high velocity fastball is no longer there.  He needs to reinvent himself.

It looked to me as though Tilly was using his not-very-fastball to set up his change up, slider,  curve ball and other pitches. And it worked last night. He's working to reinvent himself. He'll be better somedays and worse on others. On the whole he's improving.

Grand Poobah of the Chris Tillman Fanclub 

[Il BuonO]

2 hours ago, Roy Firestone said:

Happy for Chris, but still very skeptical.Ubaldo had many gems, including a 1 hitter at least one time maybe more. Sometimes balls are hit right at people, and plays are made in the field,and calls go you way. After the first it seemed thats what happened. His pitches did move much better, but his fastball wasn't there and it was flat when he threw it. Angels will be a huge test for Tillman next week . I'll be there . We'll see.

Ugh, you do realize Jimenez woefully underperformed for what he was paid?

And comparing him to Tillman is ridiculous. From 2013-16 Tillman produced 10.9 rWAR and they paid him a LOT less. Jimenez (including his last year with Cleveland) produced 4.8 rWAR and it’s because he was usually ineffective not because he was stringing together one hitters, or ‘many gems’.

 

[Three Run Homer]

Chris pitched a great game.  Let's hope he can get into a rhythm and run off a few good starts in a row.  He did have a great game at Texas last year that turned out to be an anomaly, but perhaps he is figuring out how he can succeed with less velocity.  

[Can_of_corn]

26 minutes ago, Three Run Homer said:

Chris pitched a great game.  Let's hope he can get into a rhythm and run off a few good starts in a row.  He did have a great game at Texas last year that turned out to be an anomaly, but perhaps he is figuring out how he can succeed with less velocity.  

I don't think he has the command necessary to succeed with the lesser velocity.  At least not consistently.

[mdbdotcom]

1 minute ago, Can_of_corn said:

I don't think he has the command necessary to succeed with the lesser velocity.  At least not consistently.

Sounds like a #5 starter on a team that thinks it has a good offense to me.