Be you warned, for here there be .gifs.
Feliz made his Major League debut last night, striking out the first four hitters he saw* on the way to two perfect innings. 21 of his 30 pitches were strikes, five were cut on and missed, and as a reliever he still found a way to work in three pitches. You listening, Brandon?
* Kennedy, Suzuki, Hairston, and Cust, so it's not like he was dominating complete piles of crap.
Here he is throwing a 100mph fastball:
And here he is throwing a 90mph splitter/change:
The command needs work, and the velocity will come down a bit when he transitions back to the rotation, but Neftali Feliz is going to be a pain in our ass for a long long time. Did I mention he's 21?
1 recs | 86 comments
It may just be my really sluggish work network
but those gif’s ain’t movin’ for me.
pdb - August 4, 2009
I'll work on that
Jeff Sullivan - August 4, 2009
In the meantime open them in a new window (just click on them)
Jeff Sullivan - August 4, 2009
I did and now I kinda wish I hadn't
holy balls that guy is awesome already.
pdb - August 4, 2009
Should be fixed now
Jeff Sullivan - August 4, 2009
The quality isn't where I'd like it to be but the damn MLB.tv archive isn't working
Jeff Sullivan - August 4, 2009
I think it's because they're really big
They move for me but incredibly slowly
greymstreet - August 4, 2009
Actually the files themselves are reasonably small, relative to other gifs I've posted
I think it’s the actual dimensions that are causing some sort of hiccup.
Jeff Sullivan - August 4, 2009
I was watching him last night.
Now THIS is Texas with good pitching.
ThundaPC - August 4, 2009
I hope they don't make him into a SP.
russak - August 4, 2009
They will
Jeff Sullivan - August 4, 2009
Yep
Nolan said he will start back in Winter ball.
Kinslerhomer - August 4, 2009
He already is one.
This is just for the stretch run.
Teej - August 4, 2009
Felix vs Feliz should be a fun pitching matchup.
Hopefully they both can stay good and healthy for a while.
Jed MC - August 4, 2009
and in the AL West...
seattlesundevil - August 4, 2009
I wouldn't mind if Feliz left the AL West.
JLProck - August 4, 2009
Hopefully the consistent misspeaking of his name as "Neftali Perez" will cause some of Neifi Perez's suck to rub off on him.
It’s our only hope.
Decatur - August 4, 2009
Or maybe the hitting side of Neifi Perez will wear off on him
causing him to become an ~average hitting pitcher
seattlebruin - August 4, 2009
Disgusting
bluemax - August 4, 2009
Also I sincerely hope he has a long healthy career
because even if he is on a different team he looks like the kind of guy who would be fun to watch for 20 years.
bluemax - August 4, 2009
Maybe we'll get lucky and he'll tear his labrum
Poochie - August 4, 2009
That change is fucking gross.
It looks like a nasty sinking fastball really.
Zwakamatsu - August 4, 2009
Mentioned the fangraphs piece in the OT, but seriously, check out the tailing action
that 4-seam, 100 MPH fb gets. Not fair.
marc w - August 4, 2009
Look at the comparative movement of his curve and his "two-seamer."
That’s just unfair.
Zwakamatsu - August 4, 2009
Yeah, that 2-seamer is probably the split/change
Is it just me or do people use ‘split’ and ‘change’ interchangeably now? Is Lincecum’s change a splitter, or ‘a change with a split-finger grip?’ What the hell is the difference between those two things? A splitter is a pitch that can be thrown with the same motion as a fastball but which reaches the plate slower (and may have sinking action). So is it a TYPE of change-up now? When was this decided?
sorry.
marc w - August 4, 2009
Yeah I wasn't really trying to debate the classification of the pitch or anything
and in my opinion a forkball is more like a change because it’s thrown softer. A split is supposed to mirror a fastball as far as I know.
Zwakamatsu - August 4, 2009
My main point is that a pitcher that has two pitches with such opposing motion is just really really nasty.
Zwakamatsu - August 4, 2009
I have no idea
The two pitches are usually thrown differently (I think everyone’s familiar with the traditional splitter grip), but from what I’ve seen the movements are really similar, so what’s the point of differentiating in the first place?
Jeff Sullivan - August 4, 2009
And I guess that's WHY baseball seems to be moving in this direction
It’s just such a big, er, change from the 80s when the splitter seemed like some sort of revolutionary weapon that was half pitch and half death-ray.
marc w - August 4, 2009
Since so many young pitchers seem to struggle with developing a change
I wonder if any organizations will set about trying to get them to throw splitters. Or maybe those are harder?
Jeff Sullivan - August 4, 2009
I thought that you needed exceptionally large hands to throw a splitter
in order to maintain stability on the ball in the grip.
seattlebruin - August 4, 2009
This seems highly unlikely, but who knows.
At one point, I think some people considered the splitter more ‘dangerous’ for young arms. I can’t figure out why. It always seemed like the easiest pitch to learn (hell, I threw one).
Given how many prospects struggle with the circle change (which takes a lot of work), I think people must be scared off of the split for some reason.
Anyway, I think Lincecum’s change/split may make teams more interested in teaching the pitch to youngsters.
marc w - August 4, 2009
Was it the splitter or forkball that Roger Craig taught all his pitchers?
I threw the forkball a little just to try it out and it hurt my elbow something fierce. I could have been doing it wrong, but throwing a changeup seems less taxing.
Sec 108 - August 4, 2009
Yeah, that was Craig who taught the split. And i've heard that it hurts some people's elbows
Interesting that Bruce Sutter learned it from a MiLB coach who thought it would place LESS stress on the elbow, given that Sutter was coming back from an elbow injury.
marc w - August 4, 2009
Who the hell knows right?
Sec 108 - August 4, 2009
Okay so the change is actually a splitter
And here’s an adorable picture of him.
Jeff Sullivan - August 4, 2009
I love this man already.
Zwakamatsu - August 4, 2009
He and Andrus looks frighteningly alike.
Teej - August 4, 2009
What a fucking trade. Jesus.
marc w - August 4, 2009
At least the Braves ended up with Adam LaRoache
Poochie - August 4, 2009
Yeah, I really don't even get that part of it.
It’s like they’re doing this intentionally now. LaRoche will be traded for some aging, expensive ex-slugger soon…
marc w - August 4, 2009
Okay, it's a change
Whatever I don’t care.
Jeff Sullivan - August 4, 2009
Just dirty.
Omerta - August 4, 2009
HAHAHAHAHA INVERTED W HE'S BONED HAHAHAHAHA!
Dear god that’s some beautiful stuff. The Feliz-Holland 1-2 is what our Felix-Bedard was supposed to be.
Slurvey - August 4, 2009
Felix-Strasburg!
oh…
seattlebruin - August 4, 2009
So really though...
How crazy would it be if these were the fronts of the rotations of the West for the next 4-5 years?
Feliz-Holland
Felix-Strasburg
Anderson-Cahill (Outman? Braden?)
Fuck the Angels
Just metric buttloads of nasty pitches…
GhettoBear04 - August 4, 2009
Outman's arm blew up.
Kinslerhomer - August 4, 2009
And Braden is sort of hilarious on that list.... all these fireballers and one consummate junkballer.
marc w - August 4, 2009
No, it's what our Anderson/Nageotte was supposed to be.
marc w - August 4, 2009
Whatever optimism I was able to extract from the Morrow had a good start post is now gone, thanks.
I take solace in the fact that Texas finds a way to fuck up most of their young pitchers.
Bearskin Rugburn - August 4, 2009
You mean trade them?
Jeff Sullivan - August 4, 2009
That was the case with Volquez, yes
but remember when there were three future aced in the Texas org? It was Volquez, another guy whose name began with a V and a third. There was a big to do about it in maybe 06/07 and you never heard of any of them again (except Volquez of course).
Bearskin Rugburn - August 4, 2009
This new keyboard is really fucking me up.
Just when i weaned myself off looking at the keys as I type.
Bearskin Rugburn - August 4, 2009
Diamond - Volquez - Danks
Jeff Sullivan - August 4, 2009
Oh shit you're right
everyone was chirping about D-V-D adn all that. God, I forgot about McCarthy-Danks. What a stupid, stupid move.
Bearskin Rugburn - August 4, 2009
And there's also Chris Young who was good once
Jeff Sullivan - August 4, 2009
Adrian Gonzalez is still good unless you read the comments at TNT
in which he is called “a .250 hitter”
Matthew - August 4, 2009
Has to be the worst comment section anywhere.
marc w - August 4, 2009
Jeff - I've been having issues with mlb.tv lately as well
It will never bring up the feed the first time I click. I get past that by opening the game listings on the side, and re-selecting the feed I want. I can view the As game from yesterday just fine.
Anyway, recs and kisses if you can get a gif of strikeout pitch to Kennedy.
Eyebrows - August 4, 2009
Do you have Adblock or something similar?
Might be those lovely Geico ads the player likes to load before pulling up the game at least the first time through.
ThundaPC - August 4, 2009
Ah! I was wondering what that was.
Also, Neftali Feliz terrifies me.
Eyeball Kid - August 4, 2009
Here you go
“Enjoy”
Jeff Sullivan - August 4, 2009
What the fuck kind of swing was that?
joof - August 4, 2009
Bunny hop uppercut.
Or “Holy fuck that thing is coming fast i better hurryupandSWING!”
JLProck - August 4, 2009
Blurry
Jeff Sullivan - August 4, 2009
Kennedy has always had a stupid uppercut swing.
Eyebrows - August 4, 2009
It's amazing he was freely available
Poochie - August 4, 2009
That's the one I like best.
ThundaPC - August 4, 2009
Cust's was also funny
Jeff Sullivan - August 4, 2009
Ruh rohs
Graham MacAree - August 4, 2009
Wow.
Goose - August 4, 2009
There's no way a 100 MPH fastball should have that much movement on it.
That’s just sick.
Benne - August 4, 2009
Well everyone shat their pants when Chamberlain was an ace reliever for a season
Between the adjustment to starting and playing in Arlington, maybe he won’t be quite the antichrist he looks to be here.
Bearskin Rugburn - August 4, 2009
Okay, I'm a Rangers fan, and I can say that I think you guys are great.
Except for your Bearskin…..or should I call you V-D-V? Volquez and two other guys that never ended up making it. Forget about Danks….he sucks. Really though, great community here. Fuck the Angels.
Drew062682 - August 4, 2009
The fastball and splitter start at exactly the same angle
And one rises and moves in at 100 mph and the other sinks down. It’s impossible to hit without guessing.
This is gonna be fun.
calim - August 4, 2009
While I'm giffing, here's Kyle Blanks trying to murder children
Note: only I may drag threads off topic.
Jeff Sullivan - August 4, 2009
Lovely
I was about to post something about trying to get Blanks away from SD this winter but then I remembered that we just signed Poythress. More or less the same player, no?
Bearskin Rugburn - August 4, 2009
Blanks would make for a useful 1B/DH but I don't think he's special in that regard
Might be worth pursuing should the team want to dump money elsewhere though.
Jeff Sullivan - August 4, 2009
I thought Blanks wasn't even athletic enough to play first
Everything I’d read had him as a right handed Ortiz.
Bearskin Rugburn - August 4, 2009
This is a problem?
Kirsten Schlewitz - August 4, 2009
I believe Jeff Clement hit a ball to that exact spot in 2008
seattlebruin - August 4, 2009
Clement was in the majors?
Mariner John - August 4, 2009
That's it, I'm quitting posting Fanshots!
EnglishMariner - August 4, 2009
That might be a problem.
Robert - August 4, 2009
Why couldn't this guy be traded with Smoak for Halladay again?
I’d rather deal with Halladay for the next 1.5 years than Feliz and Smoak for the next like 6.
Neftali is sick.
Blicks - August 4, 2009
In other words, wow.
I can’t stop watching that fastball gif. A 100mph FB should NOT have this much movement.
He’s going to be a thrill to watch for years to come.
Blicks - August 4, 2009
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