Chart Observations: 9/9 OAK @ CHW (Bottom 10 to End)

1) Brad Kilby: 21 pitches. (FB, SL). 1 strike swinging. Fastball.

• Kilby came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run in on lefties, a change with some fade from righties and some sink and a 11-5 slider with solid bite.

10th: FB (90-92), SL (83), CU (79)

11th: FB (90-92), SL (83), CU (80-81) - FB

2) Octavio Dotel: 30 pitches. (FB, SL, CB). 5 strikes swinging. 5 Fastballs.

• Dotel came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties, a sharp 12-6 curve with slightly above average depth and a sharp 2-7 slider with slightly above average bite.

11th: FB (94-96), CB (79) - FB

12th: FB (92-96), CB (79-80) - FB

13th: FB (93-96), SL (84) - 3 FB

3) Edgar Gonzalez: 25 pitches. (FB, CB, SL, CU, Cut). 1 strike swinging. Curveball

• Gonzalez came from a high 3/4 release and showed a 11-5 curve with slightly above average depth, a fastball that had some run in on righties and some sink, a 2-7 slider with some bite that he will drop down and throw as well and a change with some fade as well.

11th: FB (91-92), CB (73)

12th: FB (88-91), CB (72-75), SL (75-76), CU (76)

13th: FB (88-92), CB (74-75), SL (75-82) - CB

9/6 BOS @ CHW

1) John Danks: 107 pitches. 7 strikes swinging. 4 Cutters, 2 Fastballs, Changeup.

• Danks came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with some run in on lefties and a little sink, cutter has some cut and some sink, a change with some fade from righties and good sink that he will throw in 3-1 and 3-2 counts that he will also throw to lefties and a 11-5 curve with slightly above average depth.

1st: FB (86-91), Cut (86-88), CU (80-82) - Cut

2nd: FB (89-91), Cut (85-88), CU (82), CB (75) - Cut

3rd: FB (88-91), Cut (83-87), CU (82), CB (77) - Cut

4th: FB (87-91), Cut (84-86), CU (80-82) - Cut, FB, CU

5th: FB (87-91), Cut (85-86), CU (80-81) - FB

6th: FB (90), Cut (82-84), CU (78-80)

2) Jon Lester: 122 pitches. 16 strikes swinging. 8 Fastballs, 3 Cutters, 3 Changeups, 2 Curveballs.

• Lester came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some late run in on lefties and some sink, a cutter with good cut and a little sink, a sharp 11-5 curve with above average depth that serves as his out pitch and a change with some fade from righties and some sink.

1st: FB (93-96), Cut (89-91), CB (80) - Cut

2nd: FB (93-95), Cut (88), CU (85)

3rd: FB (92-96), Cut (88-89), CB (77-80), CU (85-88) - 3 FB, CB, CU, Cut

4th: FB (93-96), Cut (86-90), CB (78-80), CU (84) - FB

5th: FB (91-95), Cut (86-91), CB (77), CU (85-86) - 2 FB

6th: FB (92-95), Cut (87-90), CB (80), CU (84-85) - CB, CU

7th: FB (91-96), Cut (86-90), CB (81), CU (81-86) - 2 FB, Cut, CU

3) Randy Williams: 15 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Williams came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run in on lefties, a 11-5 curve with average depth and a change with some fade from righties and some sink.

7th: FB (87-95), CB (76), CU (80-81)

4) Tony Pena: 16 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Pena came from an over the top release and showed a sharp 2-7 slider with good bite that can flatten out, a fastball with good run in on righties and a change with some fade from lefties and some sink.

7th: SL (89-90)

8th: FB (94-95), SL (85-89), CU (85)

5) Billy Wagner: 13 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Fastball.

• Wagner came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some late run in on lefties, a change with some fade from righties and some sink and a 9-4 slider with good bite.

8th: FB (92-93), SL (82), CU (84-85) - FB

6) Daniel Bard: 3 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Bard came from a high 3/4 release and showed a 2-7 slider with good bite and a straight 4-seam fastball.

8th: FB (99), SL (85)

7) Octavio Dotel: 22 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Curveball.

• Dotel came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with good run in on righties, a 10-5 curve with above average depth

9th: FB (91-94), CB (78-80) - CB

8) Jonathan Papelbon: 16 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Papelbon came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with good run in on righties and some sink and a split with good dive.

9th: FB (93-95), Split (90)

Chart Observations: 8/27 CHW @ BOS

1) John Danks: 108 pitches. (FB, Cut, CU, CB). 9 strikes swinging. 2 Fastballs, 3 Cutters, 4 Changeups.

• Danks came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run in on lefties and marginal sink, a cutter with some cut, a change with good fade from righties and good sink that he will throw to lefties and a 11-5 curve with above average depth. Has an above average pick-off move with slide step as opposed to a leg kick move.

1st: FB (89-92), Cut (86-88), CU (82-83) - Cut, CU

2nd: FB (90-92), Cut (85-88), CU (83-84) - FB

3rd: FB (89-92), CU (81-83), CB (76-77) - CU

4th: FB (88-92), Cut (85-86), CU (82-83), CB (75-76) - FB, CU

5th: FB (89-93), Cut (85-88), CU (80-83), CB (73) - 2 Cut

6th: FB (88-90), CU (82-83) - CU

2) Junichi Tazawa: 85 pitches. (FB, CB, Split). 6 strikes swinging. 2 Fastballs, 3 Curveballs, Splitter.

• Tazawa came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties, a 12-6 curve with above average depth and a splitter with solid dive. Throws both get-me-over and power (strikeout) curves. The power curve can resemble more of a slider.

1st: FB (90-92), CB (70-81), Split (84) - CB

2nd: FB (89-92), CB (72-80), Split (83) - 2 FB, CB

3rd: FB (88-90), CB (68-79), Split (81)

4th: FB (88-91), CB (67-76), Split (81-82) - Split, CB

3) Manny Delcarmen: 25 pitches. (FB, CU, CB). 1 strike swinging. Changeup.

• Delcarmen came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties, a change with a little fade from lefties and a little sink that he will throw to righties that looks like a fastball out of his hand and a 1-7 curve with average depth.

5th: FB (93), CU (77-81), CB (79) - CU

6th: FB (92-94), CU (80-84), CB (76-79)

4) Ramon Ramirez: 15 pitches. (FB, CU, SL). 3 strikes swinging. 2 Sliders, Changeup.

• Ramirez came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties, a hard change with good fade from lefties with good sink and a 2-7 slider with some bite.

7th: FB (92-95), CU (88-89), SL (85-88) - 2 SL, CU

5) Octavio Dotel: 32 pitches. (FB, SL, CB). 3 strikes swinging. 2 Fastballs, Slider.

• Dotel came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties or some cut in on lefties, a 3-8 slider with good bite and a sharp 2-7 curve with slightly above average depth.

7th: FB (91-94), SL (81-85), CB (79) - 2 FB, SL

8th: FB (92-94), SL (82)

6) Randy Williams: 2 pitches. (FB, Cut, CU, CB). 1 strike swinging. Cutter.

• Williams came from a high 3/4 release and showed a cutter with good cut.

8th: Cut (87-89) - Cut

7) Bobby Jenks: 13 pitches. (FB, SL, CB, CU). 1 strike swinging. Fastball.

• Jenks came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with a little run in on righties, a sharp 1-7 curve with slightly above average depth and a sharp 2-7 slider with solid bite.

9th: FB (91-95), SL (87-89), CB (84) - FB

Chart Observations: 8/6 LAA @ CHW

1) John Danks: 109 pitches. 4 strikes swinging. 2 Changeups (1st, 3rd), Cutter (5th), Fastball (6th)

• Danks came from a high 3/4 release with a fastball with some run in on lefties with sink, a cutter with 11-5 movement with solid cut, a 11-5 curve with solid depth and a change with good fade from righties with solid sink. Battled his command in this outing and missed too often in the middle-in portion of the plate.

1st: FB (90-93), Cut (86-88), CB (77), CU (82-83)

2nd: FB (87-91), Cut (85-86), CU (81-82)

3rd: FB (89-92), Cut (84), CB (74-75), CU (81-83)

4th: FB (88-91), CU (80-82)

5th: FB (89-92), Cut (84-87), CB (75-77), CU (80-82)

6th: FB (88-90), Cut (84-86), CU (80-85)

7th: FB (89-90), Cut (86), CU (81)

2) Ervin Santana: 108 pitches. 8 strikes swinging. 7 Sliders (3 in 2nd, 3 in 3rd, 6th), Fastball (3rd)

• Santana is a 6-2, 185 pound righty. The 26 year old has a medium frame that can add a lot more muscle. He came from a high 3/4 release with a fastball with some run in on righties with some sink, a straight change with some sink that he will throw to righties and a 2-7 slider with above average bite. He will throw 3-2 sliders. Santana's stuff has taken a big step back from last season, as his slider has flattened a little and his fastball velocity is down. As he is now, he is more of a # 4 or # 5 and whether he can regain his prior stuff will determine if he becomes a better pitcher.

1st: FB (87-94), CU (83), SL (85)

2nd: FB (90-93), CU (84-85), SL (79-83)

3rd: FB (88-94), SL (83-86)

4th: FB (88-95), CU (81), SL (76-82)

5th: FB (90-93), CU (84), SL (82)

6th: FB (87-91), CU (84), SL (75-84)

3) Octavio Dotel: 26 pitches. 2 strikes swinging. 2 Fastballs.

• Dotel came from a 3/4 release with a fastball with some run in on righties with sink, a sharp 2-8 curve with solid depth that can be a strikeout pitch and a 2-7 slider with average bite.

7th: FB (90-94), SL (81), CB (78)

4) Jason Bulger: 23 pitches. 3 strikes swinging. 2 Curveballs (both in 8th), Changeup (8th)

• Bulger came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties, a sharp 12-6 curve with average depth and a change with good fade from lefties with good sink that he will throw to righties.

7th: FB (91-95), CB (81-83), CU (85-86)

8th: FB (93-95), CB (79-83), CU (85-86)

5) Randy Williams: 23 pitches. 2 strikes swinging. Fastball (8th), Changeup (9th)

• Williams came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some tail in on righties, a change with some fade from righties and a cutter with some cut.

8th: FB (89-95), CU (79-82)

9th: FB (91-94), CU (78-79), Cut (86)

6) Jhonny Nunez: 6 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Nunez is a 6-3, 185 pound righty. The 23 year old has a medium frame that can get up to at least 205. He has a 3/4 release with a fastball with some run in on righties and a cutter with marginal cut and flashes sink. Didn't impress to much and looks to be a guy that will be bouncing around.

9th: FB (92), Cut (87-88)

7) Kevin Jepsen: 23 pitches. 2 strikes swinging. 2 Fastballs.

• Jepsen came from an over the top release and showed a straight 4-seam that flashes a little run in on righties, a cutter with good cut flashes sink that is beginning to look like a 2-7 slider and a sharp 12-6 curve with average depth.

9th: FB (95-97), Cut (89-91), CB (82)

Chart Observations: CHW @ MIN

1) John Danks: 114 pitches. 6 strikes swinging. Fastball (1st), 2 Cutters (2 in 1st), 2 Changeups (3rd, 6th), Curveball (6th)

• Danks came from a high 3/4 release and showed a straight 4-seam fastball, a change with good late fade and sink, a cutter with good cut that moves a little like a 11-4 slider and a sharp 11-4 curve with good depth. His command wasn't as good as it has been. He will throw the change to lefties.

1st: FB (88-92), Cut (86-89), CU (81-83)

2nd: FB (89-91), Cut (84-86), CU (82), CB (76)

3rd: FB (88-91), Cut (86), CU (82), CB (76-77)

4th: FB (88-90), Cut (83-88), CU (81), CB (75)

5th: FB (88-90), CU (81), CB (73-75)

6th: FB (91), Cut (83-85), CU (80-83), CB (75-76)

2) Nick Blackburn: 99 pitches. 4 strikes swinging. 2 on Fastballs (2nd, 6th) and 2 on Cutters (3rd, 4th)

• Blackburn came from a high 3/4 release and showed a 2-seam fastball wtih good run in on righties and good sink, a cutter with good cut that flashes movement similar to a 2-7 slider, a big breaking 12-6 curve with good depth and a change with some fade from lefties with sink that he will throw to righties.

1st: FB (90-92), Cut (86)

2nd: FB (89-92), Cut (84-86), CB (77)

3rd: FB (87-93), Cut (85-88), CB (78), CU (82-84)

4th: FB (89-90), Cut (83-86), CB (76), CU (82-83)

5th: FB (89-92), Cut (86), CB (77-78), CU (82-83)

6th: FB (89-92), Cut (83-85), CB (82), CU (81-82)

7th: FB (90-91), Cut (86-87), CB (80), CU (81)

3) Octavio Dotel: 9 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Slider (6th)

• Dotel came from a 3/4 release and showed a sharp 2-7 slider with good bite, a sharp 1-7 curve with good depth and a fastball with late life with cutting action or running action with sink.

6th: FB (93), SL (80-82)

7th: FB (90-92), CB (78)

4) Matt Thornton: 13 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Thornton came from an over the top release with a straight 4-seam fastball and a 11-4 slider with good bite.

7th: FB (94-97), SL (83)

5) Bobby Jenks: 15 pitches. 3 strikes swinging. 3 Fastballs.

• Jenks came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with some run in on righteis with sink and a sharp 2-7 slider with good bite.

8th: FB (93-95), SL (89)

6) Matt Guerrier: 10 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Guerrier came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties, a big breaking 12-6 curve with above average depth and a 2-7 slider with good bite.

8th: FB (92-93), SL (85-87), CB (78)

7) Joe Nathan: 17 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Nathan came from an over the top release and showed a fastball with some run in on righties, a 12-6 curve with good depth and a sharp 2-7 slider with good bite.

9th: FB (91-94), SL (88-89), CB (81-82)

Chart Observations: CHC @ CHW

1) Mark Buerhle: 108 pitches. 6 strikes swinging. Slider (4th), 3 Changeups (1st, 2nd, 5th) and 2 on Cutters (2nd, 4th)

• Buerhle is a 6-2, 230 pound lefty. The 30 year old has a medium frame that is maxed out. He comes from a high 3/4 release. His 4-seam fastball is straight. His 2-seam fastball has some run in on righties and some sink. His change has good sink and a little fade away from righties. His curve is a big breaking 11-4 with good depth. His cutter moves a little bit like a slider and is a 10-4 offering. He has plus command and can locate all his pitches. He is a guy dealing with an incredibly small margin of error, especially with his home ballpark. When he starts slipping, it will be an instant. But, he could also be a Jamie Moyer who pitches until he is 40.

1st: FB (85-88), Cut (82-87), CU (78-80), CB (72)

2nd: FB (85-87), Cut (84-87), CU (77-79), SL (81)

3rd: FB (86-89), Cut (82-84), CU (79-81)

4th: FB (85-86), Cut (80-83), CU (77-78), SL (83)

5th: FB (85-88), Cut (82-86), CU (77-81)

6th: FB (83-85), Cut (82-86), CU (76)

2) Ryan Dempster: 104 pitches. 3 strikes swinging. 3 Sliders (4th, 2 in 5th)

• Dempster is a 6-2, 215 pound righty. The 32 year old has a medium frame that is maxed out. He has a glove wiggle to mask him setting up his splitter. He comes from a high 3/4 release. He shows a fastball with some run in on righties and some sink. His slider is a 2-7 with good bite. His split has solid dive.

1st: FB (90-92), SL (84-86), Split (82)

2nd: FB (89-92), SL (82-87)

3rd: FB (90-92), SL (84), Split (81-82)

4th: FB (90-92), SL (83-86), Split (79)

5th: FB (88-93), SL (83-86), Split (82-83)

3) Aaron Heilman: 39 pitches. 6 strikes swinging. 2 Fastballs (6th, 7th), 2 Sliders (7th), 2 Changeups (7th)

• Heilman comes from a 3/4 release with a fastball that has some run in on righties and a little sink. His change shows good fade and sink. His slider is a 2-7 offering with good bite. He will throw his change to righties. Still has a dominant FB-CU combination.

6th: FB (91-94), CU (84-85)

7th: FB (91-93), CU (83-86), SL (80-83)

4) D.J. Carrasco: 30 pitches. 3 strikes swinging. Fastball (6th), 2 Cutters (6th, 7th)

• Carrasco came from a high 3/4 release with a 2-seam fastball with some sink and run in righties. He will throw his sidearm frisbee slider as his out pitch and a cutter that shows good late cut and some sink. His curve is a solid 12-6 pitch with good depth. Solid long reliever.

6th: FB (89-92), Cut (88-89), SL (71)

7th: FB (89-91), Cut (89-90), SL (79-80)

8th: FB (90), Cut (88-90), CB (79)

5) Carlos Marmol: 26 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Marmol came from a 3/4 release with a fastball that had good sink and run in on righties and a sharp 2-7 slider with good bite. None of his command issues cropped up in this game.

8th: FB (90-94), SL (80-84)

6) Aaron Poreda: 7 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Poreda came from a high 3/4 release with a fastball that has some run and sink in on righties.

8th: FB (92-94)

7) Octavio Dotel: 19 pitches. 2 strikes swinging. Fastball, Slider

• Dotel came from a 3/4 release with a fastball with some good cut, sink and some late life, a 2-7 slider with good bite and a loopy 2-8 curve.

8th: FB (91-94), SL (81-82), CB (77)

8) Bobby Jenks: 14 pitches. 2 strikes swinging. Fastball, Slider.

• Jenks came from a high 3/4 release with a fastball that had some run in on righties and a little sink, a hard, sharp 2-7 slider with good bite and a sharp 11-5 curve.

9th: FB (91-98), SL (89), CB (84-86)

9) Sean Marshall: 8 pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Marshall came from a high 3/4 release and showed a straight 4-seam fastball, a 11-5 cutter that just keeps going down, a big breaking 11-5 curve with good depth and a sharp 11-4 slider with good bite.

9th: FB (91), SL (85), Cut (85-90), CB (74-76)

10) Jose Ascanio: 7 pitches. 1 strike swinging. Fastball

• Ascanio is a 6-0, 170 pound righty. The 24 year old has a medium frame that can add a little more muscle. He comes from a high 3/4 release. He showed a fastball with good run in on righties, a 2-7 slider with some bite and a curve that moves the same, but is slower.

9th: FB (94-97), CB (79), SL (87)

Chart Observations: LAD @ CHW

1) Chad Billingsley: 107 pitches. 11 strikes swinging. 3 on Fastballs (1st, 2 in 6th), 1 on a Curveball (1st), 5 on Sliders (2nd, 4th, 5th, 2 in 6th), 2 on Cutters (3rd, 5th)

• He is a 6-1, 245 pound righty. The 24 year old has a medium frame that is maxed out. He comes from an over the top release. His fastball has a little run in on righties and I believe was down from his typical velocity. His cutter has above average cut with a little sink. His curve is a sharp 12-6 with good depth and bite that can be a strike out pitch, but the White Sox hitters were able to continue to foul the balls off. His slider is a sharp 2-7 with above average bite that was his out pitch to most righties. His cutter flattened out in the 4th. Obviously Jeff Weaver has had an effect on him, as he dropped down sidearm to throw a fastball. He worked with plus command and did a nice job of locating.

1st: FB (89-93), CB (79), Cut (88-90)

2nd: FB (89-91), CB (67-77), Cut (89-90), SL (85)

3rd: FB (89-92), CB (79-80), Cut (87-89), SL (85)

4th: FB (89-92), CB (79-80), Cut (86-87), SL (85)

5th: FB (88-92), CB (69-81), Cut (87-89), SL (84-86)

6th: FB (87-93), CB (80-81), Cut (88-89), SL (83-84)

2) Clayton Richard: 85 Pitches. 5 strikes swinging. Slider (2nd), 3 on changeups (All in 4th) and 1 on a cutter (2nd)

• Richard is a 6-5, 240 pound lefty. The 25 year old has a big frame that can add a little more muscle. He comes from a 3/4 release with a drop and drive delivery, though he is more of a slinger arm action. His 2-seam fastball has some run in on righties and flashes some sink and his 4-seam is straight that he really only used when throwing a high fastball. His cutter has some cut and a little sink. His change has some fade from righties and sink and is his best off-speed offering. His slider is a slurvy 11-4 with solid bite. He got a lot of hype for being in the Jake Peavy deal, but I am undecided on him. He likely isn't going to start throwing any harder and his stuff is just average in my opinion. I think he is a # 4, # 5 type starter.

1st: FB (90-92)

2nd: FB (89-94), Cut (84-89), SL (80-84), CU (82-83)

3rd: FB (87-93), CU (81-84)

4th: FB (89-92), Cut (86), SL (79), CU (79-84)

5th: FB (88-90), CU (81)

3) D.J. Carrasco: 39 Pitches. 3 strikes swinging. 2 on Sliders (5th, 6th) and a Fastball (6th)

• Carrasco came from an over the top release with a cutter that has some cut, a 2-seam fastball with some run in on righties and sink that he threw more then he usually does. He also showed a 1-7 curve with good bite. He will throw a frisbee (we chart curve, I will call it a slider) when he drops down with 2 strikes to right handers. He will also throw a fastball from the same angle that is usually 86-88. He is very consistent with using this frisbee slider as his out pitch to righties and they must be ready for it. His change has some fade, but is below average.

5th: FB (89-91), Cut (88), CB (80), SL (72)

6th: FB (86-92), Cut (89-90), SL (71)

7th: FB (88-93), Cut (88-90), CB (80), SL (73), CU (80)

4) Ronald Belisario: 18 Pitches. 1 strike swinging. Fastball (7th)

• He came from a 3/4 release with a fastball that has excellent run in on righties and above average sink. His slider is a 2-7 pitch with solid bite that can flatten out and he needs to improve his consistency with this pitch.

7th: FB (93-96), SL (85-87)

8th: FB (94-96), SL (85)

5) Scott Linebrink: 18 Pitches. 1 strike swinging. Fastball.

• Linebrink is a 6-2, 210 pound righty. The 32 year old has a medium frame that is maxed out. He comes from an over the top release. His fastball has some late run and sink in on righties. His split has great late downward movement and can be confused with a curve (shockingly), but the one he threw went about 45 feet. His change is a straight change with a litle sink.

8th: FB (93-95), CU (83-84), Split (84)

6) Brent Leach: 16 Pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• He came from a high 3/4 release and showed a 11-5 curve with good depth that is a little slurvy, a straight 4-seam fastball and has added a 11-5 slider that is sharp with some break. His command is very inconsistent and is what is holding him back from being the # 1 lefty for the Dodgers.

8th: FB (92-93), CB(78)

9th: FB (92), SL (87-88)

7) Matt Thornton: 13 Pitches. 0 strikes swinging.

• Thornton is a massive 6-6, 235 pound lefty. The 32 year old has a big frame that can add a little more muscle. He comes from a high 3/4 release with a straight 4-seam fastball and a 10-4 slider with some bite. One of the best lefty relievers in the game.

9th: FB (93-96), SL (89)

8) Ramon Troncoso: 27 Pitches, 3 strikes swinging. 2 on Fastballs (Both in 9th) and a curve (10th)

• Troncoso is a 6-1, 220 pound righty. The 26 year old has a medium frame that is maxed out. He comes from an over the top release with a high effort delivery where he breaks his hands fairly high. His fastball has excellent run and flashes sink. His curve is a sharp 12-6 with good depth and can be a K pitch. The combination of his excellent movement of his fastball and his mechanics lead me to believe he may struggle to consistently throw strikes.

9th: FB (91-95), CB (77-78)

10th: FB (91-94), CB (77-79)

9) Bobby Jenks: 18 Pitches. 3 strikes swinging. 2 on Fastballs, Slider

• Jenks is a 6-3, 275 man beast who is maxed out and has some bad weight (there is a gut). The 28 year old righty came from an over the top release. His fastball has above average run and sink in on righties. His slider is a sharp 2-7 with solid bite. Above average closer.

10th: FB (93-96), SL (89-90)

10) Jeff Weaver: 57 Pitches. 4 strikes swinging. 3 on Fastballs (2 in 11th, 13th), Slider (12th)

• Weaver came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run and sink in on righties, a change with some fade from lefties and some sink, but fairly straight, a 2-8 curve with okay depth and a frisbee 3-8 slider from sidearm or a sharp 2-7 from his normal release with solid bite. He will drop down sidearm to throw sliders and fastballs and appears to do this whenever he feels the need to F with hitters, as there is no distinguishable pattern, though he does like the drop down slider with 2 strikes, but isn't as committed to it as Carrasco. His stuff has regressed and he gets by with deception and command.

11th: FB (88-93), SL (79-82), CU (80), CB (73-76)

12th: FB (88-92), SL (79-84), CU (79), CB (75)

13th: FB (87-92), SL (79-81), CU (82)

11) Octavio Dotel: 23 Pitches. 7 (!) strikes swinging. 6 on Fastballs (11th, 5 in 12th), Slider (12th)

• He came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with natural cut and sink and has great late life, a 2-7 curve with solid depth and a sharp 2-7 slider with good bite.

11th: FB (92-94), CB (78-81)

12th: FB (91-93), SL (82-84)

12) Aaron Poreda: 14 Pitches. 5 (!) strikes swinging. 4 on Fastballs, Slider.

• Poreda is a 6-6, 240 pound man child. The # 2 prospect for the White Sox prior to the start of the season, the 22 year old has a big frame that can add a little more muscle. He comes from a high 3/4 release and generates easy velocity from a clean delivery with good arm action. His fastball (a surprise to me) was not a huge velocity pitch and had quite a bit natural cut and sink, though it does explode out of his hand. His slider is a slurvy 11-5 with good bite. He can be very special as a reliever, though I think it would be as more of a set-up man then a Billy Wagner style closer. Will be interesting to see if he becomes Joba Chamberlain and becomes a starter after this apprenticeship or a Jonathan Papelbon and stay a reliever. Pray he doesn't become Brandon Morrow and is allowed to settle into 1 role. This was his first major league win.

13th: FB (90-94), SL (77)

I never said this before, but if you want to know how someone played that I didn't mention, feel free to ask. Just because I didn't write a report on them doesn't mean I didn't study their at bats.

Relief Pitcher Repetoire Update

The 1st evaluation (FB) has been completed.

In regards to the 3 True Outcomes (BB/9, K/9, HR/9), the pitchers regressed the following:
> 85 % FB's = 68.75 % Regression
80 - 84.99 % FB's = 63.64 % Regression

And in regards to DICE:
> 85 % FB's = 57.58 % Regression
80-84.99 % FB's = 56.82 % Regression

The qualifiers in 2008 who are using 2009 as their evaluation year:
> 85 % : Grant Balfour
80-84.99: Joe Beimel, Octavio Dotel, Matt Thornton, Jonathan Papelbon

The ideal is to utilize these numbers to assign a formula to the pitcher's repetoire and use this resulting number to evaluate if their repetoire is suitable to them succeeding the next season.

NOTE: These numbers do not include penalties to pitchers for injury issues and that will be addressed after the completion of the evaluation of each individual pitch.

Chart Observations: DET @ CHA

• Justin Verlander is a 6-5, 225 pound righty. The 26 year old has a big frame that can add a little more muscle (235 maybe, 230 easy). He comes from a high 3/4 release. He generates easy velocity from a nice, clean drop and drive delivery. His fastball shows above average fade and some sink on occasion. His curveball is a power 12-6 pitch that is a knee buckler with great depth and bite. His change moves like his fastball, but with a little more sink. He has added a SL that is extremely inconsistent, being anywhere from below average to above average. It can be a sharp 2-7 offering, but he can also bury it in the dirt with no chance of having a hitter swing or leave a spinner in the middle of the plate. A legitimate ace, Verlander has above average command and looks to be a good bet to keep this level of pitching going for awhile.

NOTE: The following pitches per inning should not be seen by hitters with faint hearts. Last pitch of the game (about # 120) was a 100 mile per hour fastball.

1st: FB (93-97), CB (82), SL (88)

2nd: FB (93-97), CU (84)

3rd: FB (94-97), CB (79-82), CU (83-84)

4th: FB (94-98), CB (80-84), CU (85)

5th: FB (96-98), CB (81-83), SL (90), CU (86)

6th: FB (97-100), CB (79-84), SL (87-94)

7th: FB (93-98), CB (78-81), SL (89), CU (83)

8th: FB (93-98), CB (82-84)

9th: FB (96-100), CB (83)

Jermaine Dye's Hell: Dye came up in the 6th and saw 6 fastballs (with the slowest being 99, 2 at 100) and 2 sliders (at 93 and 94 respectively). He struck out looking at a 100 mph fastball.

• John Danks is a 6-1, 205 pound lefty. The 24 year old has a medium frame that can add a little more muscle. He comes from a high 3/4 release. His fastball is a 4-seam with some late fade and sink. His change has a little fade and good sink and looks like a fastball out of his hand. His cutter shows good cut and shows biting action. Has slider (10-5) movement at times with good late action. His curve is a big, late breaking 11-5 offering with good depth that he didn't throw much. He does a good job holding runners and will mix in a slide step. Was primarily FB-CU the 1st time through the order and then began to mix in more cutters. He has plus command. Danks is very close to being a legimiate # 1 and just needs to pitch a little more to the corners then he did in this game.

1st: FB (91-94), CU (84-86)

2nd: FB (91-93), CU (84-85), Cut (87-88), CB (78)

3rd: FB (91-93), Cut (86)

4th: FB (92-93), CU (84), Cut (86)

5th: FB (91-92), CU (82), Cut (86-88), CB (77)

6th: FB (91-92), Cut (86-87), CB (77-79)

7th: FB (91-93), CU (83-84), Cut (86-89)

8th: FB (90-91), Cut (86)

• Octavio Dotel is a 6-0, 215 pound righty. The 35 year old has a medium frame that is maxed out. He comes from a 3/4 release with a fastball with some fade and sink and his slider is a sweeping 3-8 offering. Very good middle reliever who can spot set-up and close.

8th: FB (92)

9th: FB (92-93), SL (80-83)

• Gordon Beckham is a 6-0, 190 pounder. The 22 year old is a righty thrower/hitter. He has a medium frame that can add more muscle and should be able to get up to at least 205. His trigger is a step with a cocking of the bat with a hip turn towards the catcher. His swing can get long at times. He has a slightly above average arm and above average speed. I talked with the scout who drafted him and he compared him to Michael Young and I think that is a very valid comparison. He should be a .280-.300 hitter with 20-25 home runs annually as he settles in.
• Dane Sardinha is a 6-0, 215 pound back-up catcher. The 30 year old has a medium frame that is maxed out. He takes a big leg kick and cocks his bat as his trigger. He holds the bat close to his body. Playing to his potential, which is an emergency catcher who will spend most of his time in AAA.

Chart Observations: CHW vs. CLE

• Clayton Richard got the start for the White Sox, his first in at least a year. He looked good early, sitting at 91-95 with his fastball. However, once he got to the third inning, he sat at 89-91 and definitely didn't appear to be used to pitching this long. Richard also attacked hitters with a slurvy slider anywhere from 75-85, a changeup from 81-84 and a cut fastball at 85-89. Richard's fastball is plus out of the pen, but none of his other offerings do much. He is more of a sinkerballing reliever and could probably be a strong LOOGY with his slurvy slider and hard fastball. He just added the cutter this year.
• Jeremy Sowers opposed him and also struggled. Sowers has some unique arm action in that he brings his arm straight back and seems to really relax off his elbow. I don't know anything about what type of extra stress that may put on his arm. His stuff wasn't very good though. He went after the White Sox hitters with a fastball at 86-91, a slider at 76-82 and a changeup at 80-82. Sowers is not a major league pitcher, in either the rotation (for someone with such a slow fastball, he throws a lot of them, almost 75 %) or the bullpen (slider is barely average). Sowers will need to hope to have a Jamie Moyer like revelation to develop into something.
• D.J. Carrasco is back in the states and throwing strikes. He featured a cutter at 88-90, a fastball at 92, a curveball anywhere from 73-82 and he threw a sidearm fastball at 88. He likes to drop sidearm to throw both a fastball and curveball to try and get extra movement and give hitters something else to think about. Solid long reliever type guy and was moderately surprised he didn't get the spot start today.
• Matt Thornton may have the best stuff of any left handed reliever in the game right now. Yesterday, he was 93-97 with his fastball and threw one slider at 85. That type of velocity from a left hander is unheard of and he commands it very well. Could be a closer, but fits great for the White Sox as 7th inning pitcher, as a pitcher with that velocity can get out right handers as well.
• Octavio Dotel featured a fastball at 92-94 and a slider at 80-82. The slider lacked its bite that it has shown in the past and is just a tick above average now as opposed to a plus pitch. He has solid command of both his pitches and is still a quality set-up man.
• Bobby Jenks closed out the game with fastballs sitting at 93-96 and threw 1 slider at 91 and 1 changeup at 84. Another of the better closers in the game.
• Jensen Lewis pitched pretty well, featuring a fastball sitting at 89-92, a plus changeup at 78-81 and a slider at 85. Still a guy that could factor into the late innings if he develops another pitch to complement his changeup.
• Tony Sipp has not impressed me either time I have seen him. He just can't command his stuff. His fastball is an above average pitch, as it sits at 91-93 with some movement. His slider is an average pitch sitting at 80-82. His lack of command causes his pitches to play down. He definitely needs more seasoning in AAA.
• Matt Herges finished the game featuring a fastball sitting at 88-90, a curveball at 75 and a changeup at 79-81. Herges 2-seam features a lot of movement and is an above average pitch. His changeup is a tick above average and his curveball is also a tick above average. Solid reliever to have in the pen, but he is prone to allowing hits, as none of his pitches are anything a hitter hasn't seen before.