Roster Refreshed for Game 3 in Arizona

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5023237023537740235.post-84356250669144129802008-07-23T19:42:00.002-05:002008-07-23T20:25:28.858-05:00Roster Refreshed for Game 3 in Arizona<span style="font-weight:bold;">Updated</span><br /><br />Alfonso Soriano and Scott Eyre have been activated from the DL and both will be available tonight, <a href="http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20080723&content_id=3184401&vkey=pr_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc">according to cubs.com</a>. Kevin Hart and Micah Hoffpauir return to Iowa.<br /><br />Getting Soriano back should be a psychological lift, but that could be a bursting bubble if the lead-off man struggles off the bat. <br /><br />The Cubs now have three lefties in the bullpen, since I don't know how long. Anyone know the last time we had three active southpaws out there in the 'pen?<br /> <br />Tonight's match-up is a battle of lefties, with Ted Lilly facing off against Doug Davis. Ted threw more fastballs and sliders last time out, compared to recent starts. Here's a look back at Ted's pitch selections since last year.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_mdh8Yg649Vg/SIfH-MJB8AI/AAAAAAAABaA/VfgPz6Lfubc/s1600-h/lillyupated20080719.PNG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_mdh8Yg649Vg/SIfH-MJB8AI/AAAAAAAABaA/VfgPz6Lfubc/s400/lillyupated20080719.PNG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226365763811667970" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:small;font-style:italic;">click to enlarge</span><br /><br />Doug Davis has had a lot of success against the Cubs. If you read previous posts about <a href="http://www.cubsfx.com/search/label/Doug%20Davis">Doug Davis</a>, you'll see a bit on that, and his heavily used curveball.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Update</span> Here are fresh numbers for Doug Davis, taken from 2008 starts (sans Cincy and Philly, which may both be correct now).<br /><br />When I look at these pictures, I see him as a guy with two planes, two pitches on each - the fastball (four-seam) and change-up (two-seam?) and the cutter and the curve. Notice the release points and spin movement, but mostly the flight paths - the launch angles, when the pitches within each pair diverge, and, in the tables, how slow he throws.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_mdh8Yg649Vg/SIfZYF-O0BI/AAAAAAAABaI/8EJHJDSUZU0/s1600-h/davi01.PNG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_mdh8Yg649Vg/SIfZYF-O0BI/AAAAAAAABaI/8EJHJDSUZU0/s400/davi01.PNG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226384900530032658" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_mdh8Yg649Vg/SIfZZjciV_I/AAAAAAAABaQ/-medSF5A2TI/s1600-h/davi02.PNG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_mdh8Yg649Vg/SIfZZjciV_I/AAAAAAAABaQ/-medSF5A2TI/s400/davi02.PNG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226384925621639154" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_mdh8Yg649Vg/SIfZZhn1BUI/AAAAAAAABaY/F9Ts0J68Kuw/s1600-h/davi03.PNG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_mdh8Yg649Vg/SIfZZhn1BUI/AAAAAAAABaY/F9Ts0J68Kuw/s400/davi03.PNG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226384925132129602" /></a><br /><br /><div class="nobrtable"><br /><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=1 class="sortable" style="font-size:11px;"><thead><tr><br /><td>cfx</td><td>L</td><td>R</td><td>mph</td><td>pfx_x</td><td>pfx_z</td><td>deg</td><td>rpm</td><td>B:CS</td><td>corner%</td><td>Sw%</td><td>Whiff%</td><td>SwOZ%</td><td>TaIZ%</td><td>HR%</td><td>NKS</td><td>G:AO</td></tr><br /></thead><tbody><tr><br /><td>CH</td><td>16</td><td>70</td><td>78.3</td><td>5.9</td><td>10.1</td><td>150</td><td>1,316</td><td>16.0</td><td>9.30</td><td>39.53</td><td>20.59</td><td>25.81</td><td>18.75</td><td>0.0</td><td>0.286</td><td>2.3</td></tr><br /><tr><br /><td>CU</td><td>70</td><td>128</td><td>69.7</td><td>-4.8</td><td>-7.9</td><td>150</td><td>917</td><td>1.7</td><td>9.60</td><td>40.40</td><td>27.50</td><td>25.69</td><td>34.26</td><td>0.5</td><td>0.342</td><td>1.9</td></tr><br /><tr><br /><td>FA</td><td>86</td><td>197</td><td>85.2</td><td>2.5</td><td>11.5</td><td>168</td><td>1,450</td><td>2.1</td><td>11.66</td><td>30.74</td><td>12.64</td><td>18.34</td><td>39.46</td><td>0.4</td><td>0.465</td><td>1.1</td></tr><br /><tr><br /><td>FC</td><td>116</td><td>364</td><td>82.9</td><td>-2.6</td><td>6.2</td><td>201</td><td>832</td><td>2.1</td><td>9.38</td><td>50.42</td><td>19.01</td><td>33.33</td><td>23.75</td><td>0.6</td><td>0.564</td><td>1.3</td></tr><br /></tbody><tfoot><tr><br /><td></td><td>288</td><td>759</td><td>80.6</td><td>-0.9</td><td>5.3</td><td>178</td><td>1,055</td><td>2.2</td><td>10.03</td><td>42.31</td><td>19.41</td><td>26.99</td><td>29.74</td><td>0.5</td><td>0.476</td><td>1.4</td></tr><br /></tfoot></table><br /><br /></div><br /><br /><div class="nobrtable"><br /><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=4 class="sortable" style="font-size:12px;"><thead><tr><br /><td></td><td></td><td>#</td><td>FA</td><td>FC</td><td>CH</td><td>CU</td></tr><br /></thead><tbody><tr><br /><td>L</td><td>first</td><td>78</td><td>46.2</td><td>33.3</td><td>2.6</td><td>17.9</td></tr><br /><tr><br /><td>L</td><td>ahead</td><td>79</td><td>25.3</td><td>44.3</td><td>6.3</td><td>24.1</td></tr><br /><tr><br /><td>L</td><td>behind</td><td>62</td><td>25.8</td><td>48.4</td><td>8.1</td><td>17.7</td></tr><br /><tr><br /><td>L</td><td>even</td><td>62</td><td>22.6</td><td>32.3</td><td>6.5</td><td>38.7</td></tr><br /><tr><br /><td>L</td><td>full</td><td>7</td><td>0.0</td><td>71.4</td><td>0.0</td><td>28.6</td></tr><br /></tbody></table><br /></div><br /><br /><div class="nobrtable"><br /><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=4 class="sortable" style="font-size:12px;"><thead><tr><br /><td></td><td></td><td>#</td><td>FA</td><td>FC</td><td>CH</td><td>CU</td></tr><br /></thead><tbody><tr><br /><td>R</td><td>first</td><td>194</td><td>35.1</td><td>38.7</td><td>7.7</td><td>18.6</td></tr><br /><tr><br /><td>R</td><td>ahead</td><td>177</td><td>20.3</td><td>49.2</td><td>5.6</td><td>24.9</td></tr><br /><tr><br /><td>R</td><td>behind</td><td>222</td><td>32.9</td><td>48.6</td><td>12.6</td><td>5.9</td></tr><br /><tr><br /><td>R</td><td>even</td><td>127</td><td>13.4</td><td>51.2</td><td>12.6</td><td>22.8</td></tr><br /><tr><br /><td>R</td><td>full</td><td>39</td><td>7.7</td><td>74.4</td><td>2.6</td><td>15.4</td></tr><br /></tbody></table><br /></div><br /><br />Look, if he's not locating his pitches, it is not good enough stuff to avoid being crushed. But, you can see why this guy gets away with it a lot - Davis gets a lot of ground-outs, and is constantly working off-speed. Tough to time that if it isn't fat.Harry Pavlidishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00811251154267943034noreply@blogger.com