Chart Observations: CHC @ STL

Not much to report here:

• Ted Lilly attacked hitters with a fastball at 82 (YES, 82) to 91, a slider at 81-85, a changeup at 76-83, a soft curve at 71-74 and threw 1 harder curve at 79. Lilly likes to add and subtract to his fastball to keep hitters off balance. The 82 mile per hour fastball was a 3-1 pitch to Joe Thurston, a lefty stick, so it would make zero sense for it to be a change and had someone else double check my thought on that. Lilly really doesn't have a real plus pitch. His slider is average and sometimes acts more like a cutter. His changeup is also average and has some sink to it. His curveball is above average, but is more of a strike throwing pitch then a swing and miss pitch. His command is above average and allows him to get more out of his stuff. That being said, he can be very erratic from hitter to hitter in both velocity (whether planned or not) and his ability to hit his spots. A solid middle of the rotation starter, but he is a guy that there isn't any in between with. When he's done, the hitters will be jumping all over him.
• Kevin Gregg pitched the 8th and showed a fastball at 92-94, a slider at 80-84 and a splitter at 86. Gregg was acquired for Jose Ceda, who features lights out stuff as a reliever with command questions. I was a big Ceda fan, but watching Gregg makes me understand why the Cubs made the deal. Gregg's fastball is above average and his slider is a plus pitch that flashes plus plus, as it is a sharp breaker with good late bite. He made Albert Pujols look silly and that is very difficult to do. Gregg's splitter is just an average offering that is more of a show pitch to lefties. Solid set-up guy, but I would prefer a guy like Carlos Marmol as the closer with Gregg's above average command of his stuff setting him up.
• Joel Pineiro fired a 92 pitch complete game. He showed a fastball at 88-91, a slider at 84-88, a changeup at 84-85 and a curveball at 78-80. I have no idea how the Cubs didn't get more then 3 hits off of him. His fastball is above average due to its good movement. His slider was also above average and showed some good late break. his changeup and curveball are average offerings that flash above average. He has above average command, but it's not like he was painting the corners and was leaving quite a few pitches in the middle of the plate. His movement allowed him to get away with quite a bit, but it is still difficult to be consistenly successful when pitching in the middle of the plate as much as he did. A solid back of the rotation starter (# 4), but don't be expecting more complete game shutouts.