So... I know why Randy Wells isnt pitching well...

by Ryan at Cubshub on Jul 18, 2009 10:45 PM CDT

I thought about posting this elsewhere, but it seems like it should be mentioned and perhaps even discussed.

Randy Wells is tipping his pitches.

Yep, sure enough is. I know what you're thinking, probably that I'm some sort of conspiracy theorist or crackpot. Think that if you want, but I'm serious. I sat in a bar tonight and predicted the result of each of his pitches in the 4th inning.

When you play poker you never reveal another player's tell, but I cant help but mention this to hope that it corrects itself (i.e. someone tells him) or that something is done (i.e. someone tells him and tells him to fix it).

When Randy is reaching in his glove from the windup for a fastball he closes his glove tight. When he's reaching in for anything offspeed, specifically a breaking ball, he fans his glove out just a bit and its a noticable difference. This is EXACTLY what Buck Showalter discussed on Baseball Tonight last night and tonight I paid specific attention and Randy is definatelly tipping pitches.

Hopefully Dempster gets with Wells and gets him to do something funky with his glove before his delivery to eliminate this issue.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or Al Yellon, managing editor (unless it's a FanPost posted by Al). FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.

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Or it could be he's simply not as good as his first foray would suggest

But if youre correct, then one can assume its fixable, Dempster certainly made a concerted effort to mask his pitches, so maybe he can help Randy out.

Okay, just so I understand it... in your wildest fantasy, you are in hell. And you are co-running a bed and breakfast with the devil.

by bren on Jul 18, 2009 10:47 PM CDT reply actions

Both are very possible...

I have never thought Wells was going to be a good major league pitcher. He struggled in the minors forever, and I sat there and watched him get smoked by minor league players that never saw the bigs… but something clicked and he came up and pitched well…

…but right now I cant help but imagine that if I, some guy from Iowa sitting in a bar enjoying the Cubs happy hour drink specials, can sit there and pick out what each of his pitches will be… then he’s going continue to strugle.

One thing you learned as a Cubs fan: when you bought you ticket, you could bank on seeing the bottom of the ninth.
Joe Garagiola

by Ryan at Cubshub on Jul 18, 2009 11:00 PM CDT up reply actions

Randy Wells in the minors

Wasn’t good … but wasn’t bad. Inconsistent. I don’t know if I’d go so far as to say he struggled, because looking back on his numbers, at worst, he was solid. He moved fast once he became a pitcher. Has he outperformed what I expected? Yes. That said, I think he’s also a case where people might’ve underestimated him just a tinge. Add in the improved sinker from when he went off to Toronto, and a little good luck in his first ear, and we have the pitcher in front of us.

by toonsterwu on Jul 19, 2009 1:53 AM CDT up reply actions

I guess I havn't noticed that.

But if that is what really is causing this sudden problem for him, then it should be a quick fix and he’ll hopefully get back to where he was earlier this year.

When's it gonna happen?

by Chicago White Sux on Jul 18, 2009 10:59 PM CDT reply actions

i'd love to see...

… him throw a ninja smoke bomb right before he goes into his windup. that will surely disguise his pitches. and absolutely make him the coolest pitcher ever!

by sunshine31 on Jul 18, 2009 11:07 PM CDT reply actions

Psh..

Ted Lilly throws actual ninjas and still manages to pitch a complete game before they all hit the ground.

by CubFan81 on Jul 19, 2009 1:46 AM CDT up reply actions

I have it on good authority...

…. the reason he didn’t pitch in the All Star game was because the Office of Homeland Security begged him to protect the stadium from terrorist attacks. they had orginally wanted Chuck Norris, but he was swept away by a tornando. that tornado was the result of a Ted Lilly fart which came about after he ate his famous Ted Lilly Homemade Chilli, often confused with volcanic lava but hotter and more deadly.

by sunshine31 on Jul 19, 2009 3:07 AM CDT up reply actions

I can't tell anything

Here’s the link to the gameday wrapup, and you can flick around and I don’t see a difference. I could just be missing it though, I’m not going to completely out rule it.

"That pitch wasn’t down and in, that pitch was down and up." Tim McCarver

by wrigleyrocker12 on Jul 18, 2009 11:11 PM CDT reply actions

I don't know if this is true or not.

But if he actually does tip his pitches, He did pretty good today

by cubsfaninatl on Jul 18, 2009 11:24 PM CDT reply actions

lemme see

he’s been tipping his pitches (as reporting on the worldwide leader) his last two starts at least. the only guy who can make consistent contact is ryan ludwick.

wow, if he quits tipping his pitches, he could be fairly good.

by tim815 on Jul 19, 2009 2:09 AM CDT reply actions

In his heyday, Randy Johnson used to tip his pitches

No one could hit him anyway.

by Josh Timmers on Jul 19, 2009 2:31 AM CDT up reply actions

i think it was santo

telling of a koufax outing. he was tipping his pitches. everyone in the dugout, before the pitch, knew what each pitch would be. the result? koufax threw a three hit complete game shutout.

not that wells will ever have that kind of velo, but surely i’m not getting into a frenzy about it yet.

by tim815 on Jul 19, 2009 6:12 AM CDT up reply actions

seriously?

he has 2 mediocre starts in a row and everyone is all of a sudden hating on him like he isn’t good anymore….mediocre starts happen, he has been the Cubs most consistent pitcher so far.

by HardForharden on Jul 19, 2009 2:46 AM CDT reply actions

No

Lilly has.

"That pitch wasn’t down and in, that pitch was down and up." Tim McCarver

by wrigleyrocker12 on Jul 19, 2009 9:25 AM CDT up reply actions

I think its debatable

They’ve both been the two most consistently good things about the rotation this year.

by madcow256 on Jul 19, 2009 10:15 AM CDT up reply actions

2 bad starts = tipping pitches

Alrighty then.

Derosa.

by vivaelpujols on Jul 19, 2009 3:24 AM CDT reply actions

Absolutely

This post is rediculous – Randy Wells is still doing well and has 4 losses mostly due to poor offense than poor pitching. my guess is that the beer has something to do with your amazing pitch guessing. Wy he hasnt been rocked for 5-10 runs in an inning since a bar hawk in Iowa (I am from Iowa) has noticed that he is tipping his pitches is beyond me. I fear every day that randy wells will revert back to mediocrity but I also think that perhaps he is the second ocming of a great pitcher…

I saw you in that coffee shop, breaking the fifth commandment. Congress passes these things for a reason, Lois.

by hansman1982 on Jul 19, 2009 6:07 PM CDT up reply actions

Possible.

You’d have to look at each pitch to figure it out. In any case, he did pretty well for the last three innings he threw last night.

"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra

by Al Yellon on Jul 19, 2009 7:10 AM CDT reply actions

We'll see

what happens his next time out. I know a lot of pitchers I talk to can sometimes tell they’re tipping their pitches but a lot of things come into consideratinon. Depending on the weather and the humidity sometimes you can’t get the correct grip and need to dig a little more. And, sometimes its just a matter of not feeling the best that day.

I never really understood why guys don’t just dig all the time. We all know the different grips needed, and obviously with an offspeed pitch you have to have the seems in a certain position. If you don’t get the ball in your glove in a decent position, of course you’re going to have to dig. I don’t think they need to go to the extent of Dempster, but I wonder why they just don’t dig all the time.

Its funny, you spend most of your life gripping a baseball. And in the end, its almost always the other way around.

by TCobb1911 on Jul 19, 2009 2:23 PM CDT reply actions

imagine.....

how well he’d be pitching if he wasn’t “tipping his pitches?”

Nutdrinkingamp12
Live Long and Prosper

by nutdrinkingamp12 on Jul 19, 2009 3:59 PM CDT reply actions

He

would by Lilly-ish

I saw you in that coffee shop, breaking the fifth commandment. Congress passes these things for a reason, Lois.

by hansman1982 on Jul 19, 2009 6:08 PM CDT up reply actions

wow

and Al got blasted a few weeks ago for an unnamed source.

I saw you in that coffee shop, breaking the fifth commandment. Congress passes these things for a reason, Lois.

by hansman1982 on Jul 19, 2009 6:11 PM CDT reply actions

I think the operative words in this Fanpost are...

…“I sat in a bar tonight.” In all seriousness, you may be on to something, but I’m not quite buying it just yet. Seems like some/many of the Nats hits in that game were BABIP-aided (not exactly hard hit, reaching out of the zone). There were definitely some hard knocks but that, in and of itself, isn’t proof of pitch-tipping.

I’d also add that it may be very hard for a batter to discern the differences in Well’s glove from 60+ feet away; whereas it’s a lot easier when you’ve got a camera zooming in on it.

I've committed to tweeting about the Cubs for the rest of the season. (Does that sound as ridiculous as I think it does?) Anyway, if you're on Twitter, you can follow me here.

by daver on Jul 20, 2009 9:52 AM CDT reply actions

I think the poster has a point.

Wells got hit really hard in the first inning. He was somewhat better after that, but it’s entirely possible he could be tipping pitches. It happens to the best of ’em.

"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra

by Al Yellon on Jul 20, 2009 12:52 PM CDT up reply actions

If he were tipping his pitches, though...

…wouldn’t he have gotten hit harder as the game went on? I assume Wells went through the Nats lineup a couple times. Seems like they would have multiple chances to tee off on his pitches.

I've committed to tweeting about the Cubs for the rest of the season. (Does that sound as ridiculous as I think it does?) Anyway, if you're on Twitter, you can follow me here.

by daver on Jul 20, 2009 2:57 PM CDT up reply actions