May 30, 201412 yr You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php/3030-Should-we-be-worried-about-Ricky-Nolasco
May 30, 201412 yr That's a good point - BABIP can tell us a bit about the defense behind a pitcher - The other rate stats for May seem to be creeping back towards his career averages, but if the BABIP stays up, it might be due to some bad outfield defense. It's not an error in the boxscore if the fielder was no where near the ball - or are slow getting the ball back in to the infield. Bad luck, or bad Defense, either way Nolasco has been getting the short end of the stick.
May 30, 201412 yr I think this is an important question, that I have no idea what the answer is. I hope he and Twins figure it out soonish....
May 30, 201412 yr Couldn't hit the glove in April. Suzuki set up inside and Nolasco was outside. I haven't watched him lately. I assume this has improved.
May 30, 201412 yr I have been worried about how he would perform since the day he was signed and I would imagine many others were also just from judging his trace record. Sign in, please.
May 30, 201412 yr His margin of error is narrow. He's been stable and reliable, but not especially effective throughout his career. So, yeah, we should be worried about Ricky Nolasco because he's Ricky Nolasco and he pitches like Ricky Nolasco. The numbers are bearing that out. He's pitching like he pitches and the results will vary from kinda bad to kinda good.
May 30, 201412 yr I hate calling these luck. This is about adjustments. More likely, he's doing something different allowing batters to square up on him better. Hopefully, he figures it out so that those numbers drop.
May 30, 201412 yr NoLOLasco is having a problem, somewhere, somehow. Maybe he's got a phantom groin injury like Big Pelf, but something's not right and it's not just the temperature, he got rocked down in the Trop in Tampa. BABIP may be part of it, but he's giving up a lot of hard hit balls, coupled with some bad plays defensively. A couple hits get correctled called errors and his ERA is better, but it doesn't solve his problems. I still like the Nolasco signing, was really happy when it happened. He's got YEARS left on his contract, the twins can and should give him a long leash. Hopefully he "figures it out." Whatever that means.
May 30, 201412 yr I have nothing intelligent to say about Nolasco, but I am agitated at this very moment, and I was on Tuesday and last weekend watching the SF games when players are put in positions they are not prepared for. I consider myself extremely inexperienced in understanding baseball, but even a newbie like me can see that it takes skill to read a fly ball or one that bounces off the wall, etc., and that being the case, why would you put Santana in center and then essentially allow him to fail? I know I know it's because there is no other CF'er, but come on. Nolasco may have his problems pitching, but he is getting no support from Gardenhire when he puts players in positions they have no business playing. Personally, I think this is a crappy thing to do to. Okay. I feel better getting that off my chest. Thank you all for letting me vent. No one in my family cares to hear my rants.
June 1, 201412 yr There is a premise as a team the poor defense was the cause of BABIP going up. As a staff BABIP this year is no worse than last year at this point. Can't blame the current defense. Can't blame Gardenhire.
June 2, 201412 yr .304 for 2014 (to date).311 for 2013.296 for 2012.310 for 2011 not sure why you started with 4 years ago, but this more recent data supports your argument as well. Nolasco's BABip is .350 , well above the rest of the team. He also leads the team in HRs Allowed and Walks, which aren't counted in BABip, but are likewise sources for concern. He pitched well against the Yankees. I think that league average is about what he brings to the table.
July 7, 201412 yr Apparently we should be worried about Nolasco and Gardenhire didn't mince many words: Rhett Bollinger @RhettBollinger 1h Ron Gardenhire was clearly not pleased postgame with Ricky Nolasco's performance: "He did nothing for us today and didn’t give us a chance." Mike Berardino @MikeBerardino 1h 7 weeks ago there was concern about Nolasco's hamstring, but Gardy shot that down. "Hasn’t had any problems. Hasn’t said a word about it." Mike Berardino @MikeBerardino 1h Does Gardy have injury suspicions re: Nolasco? "Nope. Not gonna blame it on anything other than sh-tty pitching." Mike Berardino @MikeBerardino 1h Gardy on Nolasco to pen: "We’re discussing a lot of options, trying to figure it out. It starts with him. He’s got to do a better job."
July 7, 201412 yr Apparently we should be worried about Nolasco and Gardenhire didn't mince many words: Gardy can say what he wants to say, but I'd point the finger at the pitching coach, before I point it at Nolasco...
July 7, 201412 yr You have to take some chances sometimes, and that is what the Twins did. It certainly is not working out right now. Hopefully after this season Nolasco can regroup and give us a 4ish era and 200IP per season. That is my glass half full.
July 7, 201412 yr Apparently we should be worried about Nolasco and Gardenhire didn't mince many words: Rhett Bollinger @RhettBollinger 1h Ron Gardenhire was clearly not pleased postgame with Ricky Nolasco's performance: "He did nothing for us today and didn’t give us a chance."Mike Berardino @MikeBerardino 1h 7 weeks ago there was concern about Nolasco's hamstring, but Gardy shot that down. "Hasn’t had any problems. Hasn’t said a word about it."Mike Berardino @MikeBerardino 1h Does Gardy have injury suspicions re: Nolasco? "Nope. Not gonna blame it on anything other than sh-tty pitching."Mike Berardino @MikeBerardino 1h Gardy on Nolasco to pen: "We’re discussing a lot of options, trying to figure it out. It starts with him. He’s got to do a better job." thanks JB - so much I'd like to say in response to these tweets.
July 7, 201412 yr It is exceptionally rare to see Gardy call out a veteran. Wow...and he's dead on. Yep, we're all in this together. /snark
July 7, 201412 yr Gardy can say what he wants to say, but I'd point the finger at the pitching coach, before I point it at Nolasco...The pitching coach didn't walk the first batter on a pitch that wasn't even close (and it got worse from there)I'd point the finger at the scout or scouting department that recommended that we sign Nolasco at all-let alone 4 years at 48 mil
July 7, 201412 yr What's frustrating is that Nolasco has a long history as a better version of Correia--that is he has never been an ace or Cy Young candidate, but he should be counted on to be competent and throw a lot of innings. He has certainly not been competent and he hasn't thrown that many innings. At 32, the first couple years of his contract should be the "value years" and he has already wasted more than half of the first year. Gladden was commenting on the radio that his FB wasn't even reaching 90. I know he's hit 93 or 94 on occasion and has usually been at 90-91. Much like Pelfrey, he really can't stand a loss in velo, with the other stuff he has.
July 7, 201412 yr We Twins' fans are probably the only ones in MLB that have the opportunity to watch the team's "ace" pitcher throw in-game batting practice, isn't it fun?
July 7, 201412 yr We Twins' fans are probably the only ones in MLB that have the opportunity to watch the team's "ace" pitcher throw in-game batting practice, isn't it fun? Pfff, Nolasco might have been the "ace" by default before the season started, but we're past the halfway point and that's clearly not the case now. Of course he's been disappointing but I can't get too upset at the contract. Is 4y/48mil really that bad? Seems like 12mil/year for a SP is peanuts nowadays, considering that the true ace guys get double that. Is this just another example of an NL pitcher coming to the AL and getting rocked by DHs? Someone with better resources than I could probably easily check that.
July 7, 201412 yr To continue this thread in a slightly different direction - Why are pitchers such as Nolasco and Correia and way too many others, innings eaters all, but not very proficient at actually pitching well, given the outlandish contracts they are given? If that is the norm then the owners that pay these outrageous salaries for poor to mediocre performances should certainly wake up and realize they are wasting their money on such "performers". Trust others will chime in on this subject, please!
July 7, 201412 yr Nolasco has always been inconsistent. He's been rather frustrating from a fantasy standpoint for as long as I can remember. That said, if his velo is that low, something is clearly wrong. I'm not sure what pitcher can survive a 4MPH drop on his fastball velocity. I doubt it's as simple as him mailing it in... That said, on the contract side of things, I'd be hard pressed to go through the TD archives and find people who were against this signing. There may have been one or two, but most of us were pretty happy with it. Most complaints about it right now are more in the hindsight category. I still think he can rebound, but it may not be till next year at this point.
July 7, 201412 yr I was happy they took the chance, but I'm pretty sure I preferred other guys for sure. The thing about taking a chance is that you need to be willing to admit you were wrong, and move on. That's the deal with throwing spaghetti against the wall, you have to be ready for some not to stick. Are they willing to do that?
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