OT: Verlander and his decline

Kate took away all of his mojo and he cannot find his fastball anymore.  

The thing with pitchers is they rarely have more than 5 years at an elite level (IMO at least) I think we have been spoiled at how well JV has been for us for this long.

Best to worst pitcher in Major League Baseball in a period of two years, and without serious injury. Unprecedented.

When he was throwing 120 pitches a game and getting into the triple digits late in games for several years in a row, it seemed too good to be true. And well, it was. Flamethrowers typically flame out faster than others. He was a freak for half a decade and it was a joy to watch. Now he'll be maligned for the remainder of his contract because there's just no way he'll live up to it. 

Verlander is 32... the body begins breaking down somewhere between 30-45 (varies by person).  Bruises that would be gone in a day - take a week to go away.  Riding a rollercoaster emits fear of not being able to walk right for days, etc...  I'm not saying this is what is happening to him, but I wouldn't be surprised if its not playing a part in it.  

 

Getting old sucks (TM).

In 9 months a few years back
He went from 101 mph fb to 93

Hopefully he can pull a Frank Tanana but I don't think that's who he is.

Ever since he started plowing that fine piece he has been garbage! I would be to after laying into that sex kitten weekly! She looks to be a tigress in bed

needs to reinvent himself...he's still 25 and throwing 101 in the 9th in his mind, and that's the problem

He's a pitcher. This is what happens to pitchers. Never trust them.

He should do the Bartolo Colon rehab. Go down to Mexico and get a new elbow out of a cadaver, sit out a year and come back throwing like a 20 year old.

If Brad had any authority, he would consider moving JV to the Pen for the rest of the year, and picking up another starter via trade.

Can we get Kenny Rogers to  roll back into town and teach Verlander how to pitch? Obviously JV isnt getting back to a Cy Young level but, seriously, his stuff isnt bad. Most starting pitchers arent going up there throwing 100 mph gas; him throwing 91-93 is far from a bad fastball. He needs to learn to mix his speeds up more. To keep the hitter guessing on locations. His curveball is still good and the slider & change piece arent terrible pitches. Verlander still has the tools to be an above average SP... he just needs someone to drill it into his head that he can't blow everyone away and he needs to finesse it more.

I knew Verlander was past his prime before the season even started. This doesn't surprise me one bit. The Tigers are really screwed with his giant contract combined with his inability to get guys out.

Arm seems dead. I wonder if he was a juicer previously. I'm not saying he was but due to the stark drop off and his now injury-prone nature, I have to wonder.

Should move him to closer. That and not let 3 starters get away.

His form isn't great. He doesn't follow through very well, so he ends up putting more stress on his arm than he should. He has no out pitch now that he doesn't throw mid to upper 90s. His curveball is very inconsistent. You need good command if you can't throw it by everyone. 

It was clear last year that he was done. They resigned him almost 2 years before the end of his contract which was a gamble that has horribly back fired.

He's been done for two years now. He destroyed his arm when he used to throw 120 pitches and refuse to leave games. It's pretty hard to watch now. His curveballs even gone.

they hit a wall either physically or mentally and they either adapt or are a shell of their former selves for the rest of their career. I was hoping there was a way we could move him to retain Max, tbh. His best days are a couple years behind him, IMO.

Frank Tanana Time!  Flamethrower to junk baller.  Let's just hope Kate is okay with him losing his heater.

Its time to put him in the pen...

No incentive to pitch well and get paid. These contracts make no sense to me. Fans are the ones getting burned

His decline seems so sharp, mostly because for about 3 months in 2011 he was pitching better than any pitcher had in the history of baseball. Batters would go up to the plate and just watch in disbelief. Then the camera would go to the talking heads post-game and they'd have this blank look on their faces, mouths hanging open and just shrug. It was totally unbelievable to watch him work that year. Every year before he seemed to get on the horse and work towards reaching that level, once he achieved it he's been slowly declining and aging ever since. It feels like he reached the mountaintop mid-career and doesn't have that insane hunger and determination anymore. Can't blame him either. Mega contract and endorsements, mega hot supermodel girlfriend, universally loved. He doesn't have to kill himself to prove anything anymore. Maybe a playoff run would rekindle some of that fire, but he really might need to retool his skillset now that he'll be 33 next season.

that is 98+ is hard to hit... when it's only 92 you are are just meat. Verlander needs to adapt and retool. Would think bullpen... or tigers need to give him the rest of the year off to recover and protect their investment.

Did anyone actually watch the game today? He pitched well until he let his emotions get to him (wild strike zone by the umpire) and the wheels fell off. I think he's still got some in the tank, but obviously not 2011 when he had some of the best stuff baseball has ever seen.