I think the other shoe is falling (Guthrie)

[TyCobb]

His fastball is very good, no doubt about it...But he doesn't seem to have the consistent velocity he had on it early on in the season.

His secondary pitches are very inconsistent IMO. They look very solid one game and mediocre in another. He needs another pitch that is more consistent...Hopefully Mazzone can work on this with him.

His command is off some right now...He is getting back to his more "normal" command..This month, he has a 3.7 BB rate(including tonight)...Since May 8(when he moved to the rotation), his BB rate was 1.23 heading into July.

Also, his strike % is lower....In May, it was 65%....In June it was 67%...This month it is 60%.

Teams definitely have a better approach versus him than they have and his command is waning some.

So, the question is, if he reverts back this MiL form and carries a walk rate in the 3-4 range, how much will that effect him?

BTW, i think Guthrie could have been killed tonight but he did a good job of getting out of trouble...Despite his command and not having the best stuff, he pitched well...I was more impressed by tonight than the Oakland start.

Good pithers will mix up the speed of their fastball.

[Frobby]

I don't think Guthrie needs anything except to continue to pitch for us for years to come. I love this guy's stuff, approach, everything. He continues to improve IMHO.

His stuff is dominant. These results aren't a fluke. I'm kind of shocked that there are people on this board who can't watch him pitch and realize that this guy is definitely not a one year wonder. 94 mph 2 seamers with great late movement AND good control are real tough to find. Add to that a 96-97 4 seamer, good slider, good curve, and ok change and this guy is an amazing find.

Let me not mince words: picking Guthrie up off the waiver wire is the best break the Orioles have gotten in many years. He is going to be a cheap no. 2-3 pitcher (at least) for us for the next 5 years. We didn't have to invest three or four years in him to get a few good years, we're gonna get ALL of his good years. Barring injury he is the steal of the decade for this team.

[TyCobb]

Let me not mince words: picking Guthrie up off the waiver wire is the best break the Orioles have gotten in many years. He is going to be a cheap no. 2-3 pitcher (at least) for us for the next 5 years. We didn't have to invest three or four years in him to get a few good years, we're gonna get ALL of his good years. Barring injury he is the steal of the decade for this team.

Didn't we get Bedard in like the 6th Round?

[Sports Guy]

Good pithers will mix up the speed of their fastball.

This has nothing to do with what i said at all.

Early in the year, he was routinely in the mid to upper 90s with his fastball...That isn't the case anymore.

[TyCobb]

This has nothing to do with what i said at all.

Early in the year, he was routinely in the mid to upper 90s with his fastball...That isn't the case anymore.

Did you watch today's game? He threw about 10 fastballs at 96.

[HoodGuy007]

Forget steal of the decade for this team... if he pitches this well for the next five years, he will be the steal of the deade, period. He's like R Kelly without the kid problems. Seriously. everytime he pitches, I turn on an R Kelly CD and watch him pitch, it's amazing how good he is (both Guts and The Man in the Closet).

[Sports Guy]

Did you watch today's game? He threw about 10 fastballs at 96.

Maybe but i am not sure this is true...I didn't watch the game intently but i saw him in the 90-93 range most of the time.

[olehippi]

His fastball is very good, no doubt about it...But he doesn't seem to have the consistent velocity he had on it early on in the season.

His secondary pitches are very inconsistent IMO. They look very solid one game and mediocre in another. He needs another pitch that is more consistent...Hopefully Mazzone can work on this with him.

His command is off some right now...He is getting back to his more "normal" command..This month, he has a 3.7 BB rate(including tonight)...Since May 8(when he moved to the rotation), his BB rate was 1.23 heading into July.

Also, his strike % is lower....In May, it was 65%....In June it was 67%...This month it is 60%.

Teams definitely have a better approach versus him than they have and his command is waning some.

So, the question is, if he reverts back this MiL form and carries a walk rate in the 3-4 range, how much will that effect him?

BTW, i think Guthrie could have been killed tonight but he did a good job of getting out of trouble...Despite his command and not having the best stuff, he pitched well...I was more impressed by tonight than the Oakland start.

Why don't you stop searching for negatives and just enjoy the fact that Gutherie is doing well? Sometimes over-analyzing serves no purpose.

[LAOSfan]

This has nothing to do with what i said at all.

Early in the year, he was routinely in the mid to upper 90s with his fastball...That isn't the case anymore.

He was right around the mid 90's most of the game. PLus, I thought he was getting squeezed by the ump. He was all over the edges of the plate and the ump was not calling them strikes. I thought he did a heck of a job considering the strike zone was the size of a pea.

[TyCobb]

Maybe but i am not sure this is true...I didn't watch the game intently but i saw him in the 90-93 range most of the time.

He lives in the 91-94 range, but brings up to 96 almost everyother hitter. I loved that he developed this 90-92 2-seamer.

[Sports Guy]

Why don't you stop searching for negatives and just enjoy the fact that Gutherie is doing well? Sometimes over-analyzing serves no purpose.

For you...Luckily, i am not you and not doing anything to suit your purposes.

If you don't like it, put me on ignore.

[TyCobb]

He was right around the mid 90's most of the game. PLus, I thought he was getting squeezed by the ump. He was all over the edges of the plate and the ump was not calling them strikes. I thought he did a heck of a job considering the strike zone was the size of a pea.

I thought the UMP was terrrible. He gave Pettite the Outside corner but didnt give anything to Guts.

[clapdiddy]

He lives in the 91-94 range, but brings up to 96 almost everyother hitter. I loved that he developed this 90-92 2-seamer.

He was definitely throwing at 95-96 at periods in the game. At least according to the MASN radar gun.

[Sports Guy]

He was definitely throwing at 95-96 at periods in the game. At least according to the MASN radar gun.

I guess i missed that...As i said, wasn't watch every pitch intently.

But that would be a change of late...His velocity has been down lately.

[Baroquen131]

According to the stadium gun/sign (and we know that's not always reliable), Guthrie started the first innning with a couple fastballs at 90 and (IIRC) 88. I was really concerned. I definitely noticed the gun hit 96 at least several times, and I don't recall seeing a fastball below 92 the rest of the game.

Like SteveA said, I was most impressed with how composed he was regardless of the circumstances. When he got out of those mid inning jams, despite needing a couple outs, I was amazed. So many times, we've seen O's pitchers crumble when something adverse happens. Guthrie just seemed to buckle down and get the job done. Very cool.