Beside the Point: The Blog by Patrick McManamon » Carlos Carrasco

The new Steve Carlton used to pitch in Cleveland

Pat McManamon — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:30:05 +0000

That guy who pitched the shutout for the Philadelphia Phillies last night was some guy named Lee. Said Pedro Martinez of him: “Cliff is some kind of phenom. It’s just something beautiful to watch. From the outside, especially, when you can see the little details. See, pitching is like an art. And Cliff is actually doing that like one of the best.”
Carlos Carrasco better be able to pitch.

How good was Lee? Here's his pitch chart (thanks to brooksbaseball.net):

And here's another chart showing how he changed speeds:

Yes, he was pretty good.

Here’s a whole page of kind of cool charts and things about Lee’s game, thanks to PitchFX and Brooks.

Carlos Carrasco best be able to pitch.

An Indians question

Pat McManamon — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:37:07 +0000

So Carlos Carrasco got roughed up pretty good in his first start. Well … he got roughed up real good. Eric Wedge said he was nervous, and Carrasco did not disagree.

This is what I wonder. Many times I recall the Indians hitters flailing away when they saw a new pitcher just up from the minors. After being shut out or scoring one run on three measly hits, the hitters always said the pitcher had a great advantage because the Indians had never seen him and didn’t know how he threw. What his stuff was like. What was his “out” pitch. His delivery. All that nonsense.

Yet the Indians guy gets treated like your teenager treats the lambie she took to bed with her when she was young.

So why does it seem that when the Indians face a new pitcher they are at a disadvantage, but when the Indians put a new pitcher on the mound he gets shelled?

Why does this happen?

The Indians are truly worth watching tonight

Pat McManamon — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 19:03:10 +0000

They're worth watching anyway, but it'll be very interesting to see how Carlos Carrasco looks in his first major-league start. He only gets one right?

Some numbers related to the Indians

Pat McManamon — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:28:45 +0000

Carlos Carrasco is 4-1 with a 3.57 ERA with Columbus since he was acquired in the Cliff Lee trade. Carrasco has six walks and 33 strikeouts in 35 1/3 innings, and opponents are hitting .205 against him. This sounds like the work of a future ace. Only problem is the ace the Indians traded – Cliff Lee – is 5-0 with a 0.68 ERA for Philadelphia since he was acquired for Carrasco (and others). The Indians traded an ace in the hole in hopes that they’ll pull an ace off the stack. Maybe it’ll work. Carrasco has done extremely well since he joined Columbus.