April 25th, 2010 at 10:58 AM ^
Is it just me or is he throwing his curveball a lot less this year? Also, his fastball speed is down ever so slightly but his accuracy has been pinpoint. The guy has been absolute perfection so far this season.
April 25th, 2010 at 11:02 AM ^
but yes, they're coming in more like 100 even now.
I'll take 100 even right where the hitter hates it as opposed to 103 in his sweet spot any day. And actually, he's throwing a couple of nasty other pitches now, including a split finger he picked up from Valverde.
I think he's in for a long, long beautiful career. He's still got 103 in the tank if he needs it, but he usually doesn't. And by the time it's not there anymore (a few years, at least), he'll have a nice, nasty arsenal of other pitches.
April 25th, 2010 at 11:19 AM ^
I agree completely with everything else you said, even about his career being beautiful, but I don't see him having a real long career. Given the frequencies of injuries already to his throwing arm/hand, I would bet against him being in the league for an exceptionally extended career. He does throw fire and it is beautiful!
April 25th, 2010 at 12:05 PM ^
He's throwing his curveball about the same amount of time (Edit: he's actually throwing it more), and his fastball speed is not down slightly.
He's mixing his pitches and is not afraid to throw his off-speed stuff at the top of the count which had led to success this year. It's never really been a question of whether or not he was capable of doing this, it's just a matter of staying healthy. If he and Perry continue to pitch like this, we might be able to flip Valverde down the road this season and free up even more cash next year. IMO there's no real downside to doing this because if Zoom ends up faltering as closer, Perry (and Schlereth) are young, capable closers too.
April 25th, 2010 at 11:08 AM ^
13 Ks in 12 IP is fantastic, as is his 0.00 ERA (OK that's really impressive), but what really has caught my attention is ZERO walks! For a guy who's struggled so much with his BB/9 (career average is over 5 BB/9) over his young career, to have no walks over his first 12 IP has me floored.
April 25th, 2010 at 11:30 AM ^
We really need to get better production from our starters. With Perry, Zumaya, Coke, and Valverde in the bullpen, we just need a lead in the late innings. Or of course we could just keep coming back on teams...but I'd prefer to be up....
April 25th, 2010 at 11:36 AM ^
1. He can locate the fastball. A few third strikes last night here outside corner at the knees. Un-hittable...
2. He is also getting some late movement on his fastball.
98 mph in the right spot with late movement is better than 103 mph right down the center of the plate. Back in 2006, I saw Justin Morneau square up on a Zumaya 101 mph fastball and almost hit it out of Comerica Park.
If his arm and hand can hold up, he's key for the Tigers. And if he doesn't start playing Guitar Hero 8 hours/day again.
Here's what Ken Griffey Jr did to Zoom-Zoom. After seeing one 104 mph fastball, he didn't miss the next one, straight down Broadway with no movement on it...
April 25th, 2010 at 12:24 PM ^
I think he's getting himself in a better position than ever before. He's not usually (although sometimes still) 3-0 - which means he can pull out a sharper curve. He's definitely locating better, and playing guitar hero while moving boxes of fire a lot less as well.
April 25th, 2010 at 12:32 PM ^
I'm liking that he is mixing up his pitches more and not just relying on straight heat. I am still a little worried that he'll go the way of Matt Anderson, another Tiger who could dial it above 100 mph but with little movement. Hopefully the early-career injury led Zumaya to reevaluate his pitching style, as so far he definitely looks like a new pitcher. The bullpen is really good for this team, so if Verlander, Bonderman, and Porcello can go deeper than 5-6 innings this team will be tough to beat.