Chart Observations: FLA @ BOS

• Brad Penny comes from an over the top release. He has a straight 4-seam fastball, a big breaking 12-6 curve with good depth and split with excellent diving action that he will throw to righties. Look at his velocity numbers below and then give the Red Sox what they want for this guy, especially if your a NL team.

1st: FB (94-98), CB (79-81)

2nd: FB (94-97), CB (77-81), Split (86-87)

3rd: FB (93-97), CB (79), Split (88)

4th: FB (94-96), Split (85-88)

5th: FB (94-96), CB (80), Split (85-86)

• Andrew Miller comes from a high 3/4 release and showed a straight 4-seam fastball, a slurvy 11-5 slider with good bite and a straight change that looks like his fastball. He may have moved his arm slot up and is the best I have seen him this year. His fastball velocity was back and he kept the Sox off balance with changeups. Now, can he pitch this way when he isn't at Fenway?

1st: FB (91-97), SL (80), CU (87)

2nd: FB (90-95), SL (79), CU (82-85)

3rd: FB (93-96), CU (83-86)

4th: FB (91-96), SL (77-82), CU (81-88)

5th: FB (94-96), SL (76-78), CU (84)

6th: FB (92-93), SL (74), CU (82-84)

• Justin Masterson came from a 3/4 release with a fastball that had good sink and run and sharp 2-7 slider with good bite. His change is straight and didn't look very good.

6th: FB (93-96), SL (85-89), CU (89)

• Brian Sanches comes from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some run, a split with above average dive that he will throw to righties and a sharp 2-7 slider.

6th: FB (90), SL (84), Split (81)

7th: FB (89-90), SL (84-86), Split (80-85)

• Hideki Okajima came from an over the top release with a violent head jerk and showed a straight 4-seam fastball and a 12-6 curve with good depth and bite.

7th: FB (88-89), CB (78)

• Ramon Ramirez came from a high 3/4 release and showed a fastball with some life, a change with excellent fade and sink, though it could be inconsistent and a sharp 2-7 slider with good bite.

8th: FB (93-96), SL (86), CU (89-92)

• Kiko Calero comes from a high 3/4 release. His slider is a 2-7 pitch with good bite. his fastball has some sink and his change has some sink and fade. Didn't have plus (or any) command of his slider today and paid the price.

8th: FB (88-90), SL (80-81), CU (84)

• Leo Nunez came from a 3/4 release and showed a fastball with good run and a change with excellent fade and sink.

8th: FB (95), CU (87-88)

• Jonathan Papelbon is a 6-4, 225 pound righty. The 28 year old has a big frame that is maxed out. He comes from a high 3/4 release with a 4-seam fastball that shows some run and split with great dive. Still one of the best.

9th: FB (94-97), Split (90-91)

Chart Observations: MIL @ FLA

• Jeff Suppan is a 34 year old who stands 6-2, 230. The right hander has a medium frame that is maxed out. He attacks hitter from a high 3/4, almost over the top release. His fastball has some fade and a little sink. His change shows good fade and sink. His slider is a 2-7 offering with good bite and depth. His curveball is a big breaking 12-6 that can hang at times and was a pitch he looked to bounce almost everytime he threw it. He can throw strikes with any of his pitches and will throw them all in any situation. He is what he is, an innings eater # 5 starter who has proven to be fairly durable. Expecting anything more is dumb.

1st: FB (85-88), SL (82-86), CU (79-81), CB (71-74)

2nd: FB (85-88), SL (81-84), CU (80-82), CB (72-73)

3rd: FB (86-89), SL (84-86), CU (79), CB (72-74)

4th: FB (85-87), CU (78-81), CB (72)

5th: FB (85-88), SL (84-85), CU (79-80), CB (75)

• Andrew Miller opposed him. Miller attacks from a high 3/4 release. His slider is a slurvy 11-4 offering. His fastball is a straight 4-seam, though he also looks to mix in a slower 2-seam with some run and sink. His change is a straight change that he didn't have as good a feel for as his last outing I saw. He really struggled to command his stuff and was constantly behind hitters. He threw almost all fastballs (likely around 85 %). Hard to think if he will ever turn it around, as it is difficult to learn how to consistently command pitches in the strike zone.

1st: FB (89-96), SL (77-79), CU (85)

2nd: FB (86-93), SL (77), CU (80-83)

3rd: FB (88-93), SL (79), CU (80)

4th: FB (86-91), CU (84)

5th: FB (89-92), SL (74)

• Cristhian Martinez is a 27 year old who stands 6-1, 160. The right hander has a medium frame with room to add a ton more muscle. He comes at you from a 3/4 release. His fastball has some fade. His slider is a 2-7 offering with decent, though inconsistent, bite and is average, though it does flash some late bite which would allow it to play up if he can do it consistently. His change has good fade, good sink and looks like a fastball out of his hand. It is his best offspeed pitch. He has a violent head jerk in his delivery and also kicks his lead leg straight out and may put a lot of weight on it when he lands. Has above average command and tends to throw a lot of strikes. A 11th or 12th guy in a bullpen, though he could be a late bloomer if he can add some muscle to his frame.

5th: FB (91-92), SL (80-82), CU (83-85)

6th: FB (90-92), SL (80-82), CU (81-85)

• Jorge Julio is a 30 year old in search of a new team, as he was released after this outing. The 6-1, 225 pound right hander has medium frame that is maxed out and there may be some bad weight there. He comes at you from a high 3/4 release. His fastball is a 4-seam that has a little fade. His slider is a 2-7 offering with decent depth. His changeup has some fade and decent sink. He has major league stuff, but minor league control. His front side flies open everytime and he will never have good control with that. Don't even get started on his ability to command the strike zone, he needs to worry about strikes first. His mechanics need a little bit of a re-do and a right hander that still flashes plus velocity will get a shot somewhere to try and discover something.

6th: FB (88-95), SL (81-84), CU (79-84)

• Todd Coffey is a 28 year old who stands 6-4, 240. The right hander has a big frame that is maxed out and may be carrying some bad weight. He comes at you from a 3/4 release. His fastball shows some fade and sink. His slider is a sharp 2-7 with good depth, though he can be inconsistent with it at times. He is a set-up man and he still has some closer potential depending on if he can improve his slightly above average command.

6th: FB (93-95), SL (84-86), Split (88)

• Seth McClung is a 28 year old who stands 6-6, 260. The right hander has a big frame that is maxed out. He attacks from an over the top release. His fastball is a straight 4-seam. His curveball is a big breaking 12-6 pitch. His slider is a 2-7 offering that is average. Likely your typical middle reliever, as he will never be a guy that will be able to consistently pound the strike zone.

7th: FB (91-93), CB (77-79), SL (84)

• Brian Sanches attacked from a high 3/4 release. His slider is a sharp 2-7 offering with great bite. His split shows good fade and dive, but is more of a contact then swing and miss pitch. His fastball shows some good fade. He has above average command and may be able to stick as a middle reliever, as Florida is very forgiving to fly ball relievers.

7th: FB (87-90), SL (83), Split (78-80)

• Carlos Villanueva is a 25 year old who stands 6-2, 230. The right hander has a medium frame that is maxed out and he may also be carrying some bad weight. He has an over the top release. His curveball is a big breaking 12-6. His changeup shows good fade and sink. His fastball is a 2-seam with some fade. Good long reliever who I would like to see be a guy to throw the 7th and 8th as a bridge to Trevor Hoffman.

8th: FB (85-88), CU (80-84), CB (71-73), SL (81-82)

• Leo Nunez attacks from a 3/4 release. His slider is inconsistent and can be just a spinner or it can show late break and be a 3-8 offering. His fastball shows good fade and some sink. His changeup shows good fade and sink and is his best off speed offering in my opinion. He can get pretty vanilla, throwing FB-SL to righties and FB-CU to lefties. Still believe in his closer potential.

8th: FB (93-94), SL (83-87), CU (86-88)

• Matt Lindstrom got the save and has been dominant both times I have seen him. He has a high 3/4 release. His fastball is a straight 4-seam. His slider is a big breaking 1-7 offeing that can be a knee buckling pitch, but he is still inconsistent with both the break and command. His splitter shows good late sink and fade, but is merely a show pitch. He hasn't shown any of the command issues in the games I have seen and is a solid closer.

9th: FB (95-97), SL (80-83), Split (85)

• Casey McGehee is a 26 year old who stands 6-1, 195. The rigthy thrower/hitter has a medium frame that appears to be maxed out. He has a slightly open stance with a little bat wiggle and moves his front leg up and down as he waits for the pitcher to begin. His trigger is a toe turn and a cocking of the bat. He is more of a gap to gap hitter and has a good short swing. He will never hit for much power and isn't a great defender anywhere, though he can play 2nd, 3rd and likely the OF. Your quintessential utility player with the main question being if he will hit enough for his versatility to be useful.
• Mat Gamel made a pinch hitting appearance, so I will hold off on my potential view for him and tell you about his vitals. Gamel is a 6-0, 200 pound 23 year old. The lefty hitter, righty thrower has a medium frame that appears to be maxed out. He has a slightly open stance with a little bat wiggle. His trigger is a small leg kick with a cocking of the bat. He was fed 3 changeups by Nunez before rolling over on one for a routine ground out to second.

1st game of the Rockies-Astros series features the best pitching matchup: Ubaldo Jimenez vs. Felipe Paulino.

Chart Observations: FLA @ PHI

• Andrew Miller is a 24 year old with a massive frame (6-6, 210). The left hander can add a ton of his muscle to his frame and should be able to carry weight around 230 to 240. He is extremely long and very lanky, making it difficult for him to consistently repeat his mechanics. From a high 3/4, almost over the top release he featured a fastball at 86-94 (sat at 89-91), a hard slider at 77-79, a softer slider at 73-75 and a changeup at 82-83. He has some wrist pronation as he takes his arm back in the arm circle. He doesn't move his hands much in the wind-up and they only move when he kicks his leg. He trying to have a drop and drive delivery and it looks like his arm is lagging behind. He throws 2 fastballs, a 2-seam that has some run and a little sink and a 4-seam fastball that is pretty straight. SL is a 10-4, 11-5 type offering that is pretty loopy when used as a get ahead pitch (pretty much only threw these on the first pitch of at bats). His harder slider is sharper and has much better depth, but it looks as if he can only bounce it. His changeup is a pretty straight offering with a little sink and preferred this to his slider in most situations. Miller is a definite project, as his velocity is down from when he was drafted. His slider and changeup are just average offerings right now and his command is a tick below average. I would prefer Miller to get more time in AAA before pitching in the majors, but he is making improvement, as slow as they may be. Miller has the potential of a # 2 (a TON of projection there) and I think his realistic upside at this stage is a # 4. Disappointed in what he showed last night.
• Joe Blanton somehow struck out 11 and it sure didn't seem like it while charting the game. The 28 year who stands 6-3, 250 has a medium frame that is maxed out. From an over the top release, the right hander showed a fastball at 87-92, a slider at 81-85, a curveball at 75-79 and a change at 82-86. Blanton works very fast on the mound and has very good tempo on the mound. His curveball is a 12-6 offering with good bite and depth and will use it as a strikeout pitch or get ahead pitch, but it is better served as a get ahead offering. His fastball is a 2-seamer that shows good fade and sink. His slider is a 1-7 pitch that can be sharp and has good bite. His slider can be anywhere from average to plus in an outing. His changeup moves just like his fastball and I actually thought he should have thrown more changes away then sliders in to the lefties on the Marlins. Blanton is a good middle of the rotation starter, though I think he would fit better in another ballpark. Slightly above average # 4 who is pitching to his potential.
• Chris Leroux made his major league debut last night. The 25 year old who stands 6-6, 210 has a big frame to add more muscle and he can probably get up to 225 or 230 without sacrificing anything. The right hander showed a fastball at 92-95, a slider at 84-87 and a changeup at 86-87. He generates a good downhill plane for all his pitches. His slider is a 2-7 offering with decent bite. His fastball is a 2-seamer with good natural sink and some fade. His changeup shows good late and good sink. His fastball, slider and change all flashed above average in this outing and he looked to have above average command. This is a guy that you can see eventually becoming a closer. However, the Phillies hit his good stuff fairly well and didn't appear to be that fooled by his offerings. Still, I think his upside is that of a closer.
• Ryan Madson is a 28 year old who stands 6-6, 200. The right hander has a big frame that has room to add a lot more muscle. From a high 3/4 release, he showed a fastball at 94-97, a cutter at 90 and a changeup at 82-83. His changeup has excellent fade and above average sink and is a plus pitch. His cutter has good late cut in on lefties and is thrown hard and is an above average pitch. His fastball flashed some late fade, but it looks to be a straight 4-seam. The best pitcher in the Phillies bullpen right now, he should be closing.
• Chad Durbin is a 31 year old who stands 6-2, 220. The right hander has a medium frame that is maxed out. From a high 3/4 release, he showed a fastball at 88-91, a cutter at 85-90 and a changeup at 77. His fastball is a 2-seam with above average fade and decent sink and is a slightly above average offering. His cutter has decent bite, but is just an average offering. His changeup doesn't do much of anything and is just a show pitch. He is a pitcher who is greater then the sum of his parts due to his typical above average command (didn't show it tonight) who is likely a solid 10th or 11th guy to have in a bullpen.
• Scott Eyre is a 37 year old who stands 6-1, 225. The left hander has a medium frame that is maxed out. From a high 3/4 release, the lefty showed a fastball at 88-89 and a slider at 81. Both of his pitches are average offerings, as his slider is a frisbee slider and his fastball is a straight 4-seam. A LOOGY who seems to be getting by more on reputation then stuff, he probably has another 1 or 2 major league seasons left.
• Brad Lidge is a 32 year old who stands 6-5, 215. The right hander has a big frame that is maxed out. From a high 3/4 release he showed a fastball at 92-95 and a slider at 85-86. His slider is a plus, borderline plus-plus pitch that is very sharp and is a 1-7 offering. It plays up due to his innate command of it. His fastball is a straight 4-seam that he has struggled to command this season and has a tendency to leave it up in the zone. He should be setting up Madson while he works out the kinks.

Peavy vs. Buckner tonight. After a Baseball game.