nykgeneralmanager wrote:I remember last year in Trenton, Alan Horne used to sit with the radar gun during Joba's starts and told his father what Joba was throwing. His father posts at nyyfans so obviously he always relayed the info, and Joba was hitting 97 or 98 a lot in the 7th inning of games. I remember during Verlander hitting 100 in the 9th inning of his no hitter last year, and that is the type of special thing that Joba can provide on one night where he has that nasty stuff going. Obviously he won't be sitting that high, but you can probably name all of the starters in baseball who SIT 95-96 on one hand. Guys like Verlander, Peavy, Beckett, and a few others.
Also, I feel that a few less ticks on his fastball could even help his slider. Right now there is about a 10 mph difference in the speeds of the pitches, if he throws about 95 or so then the difference would be around 7 mph. Wouldn't this make his slider look even MORE like his fastball to hitters, making it even more impossible to pick up on and lay off of?
actually there are very few guys that can hit 98 then 99, then 100. That kid from seattle, I have seen him hit 97 back to back, verlander can hit that, as well as joba. Peavy and beckett seem to stay around 94-95.. (beckett used to throw harder back in florida it seems) but he has more control now and can occasionally throw that 97mph heater...
The thing I like about joba is that when he needs to , he can amp it up to 99, the other day I looke at 4 straight pitches from joba and not one of them were under 98, that is just overpowering stuff...
And speaking of young pitchers, for those who are down on hughes and kennedy. Look at the trouble verlander is having this year. I guess it takes time for a young pitcher to really hit his stride..
