Belisle's velocity

[Aronchis]

I still have not figured out how Belisle has gotten his fastball back up to his pre-injury speed when 3 years after that injury, he couldn't even get it past 90 when starting in AAA during the 2004 season. Then wala, he starts hitting back into his old pre-injury range the following spring(2005).

You don't think he is taking some of the magic dust eh?

[mole44]

Just because you can make yourself stronger, doesnt mean that will make you throw faster.

[MartyFan]

No idea but I do know that he got props tonight from Jim Tracey (who I like) when he said
"Belisle was out there pitching in the same conditions, and he was throwing strikes," Pirates manager Jim Tracy said. "He shut us completely down."

I wasn't watching the game. Where was his velocity tonight? I know early on in the game on the thread people were thinking the BP was going to play a lot tonight.

[reds44]

You don't think he is taking some of the magic dust eh?
That has to be the most random, unfounded, uneducated steroid accusation I've seen. What proof, evidence, or anything do you have to support this accusation?

Pitchers don't take the roids to throw fast or harder, they do it to recover.

[dougdirt]

Where was his velocity tonight?

89-94 sitting 90-93 most of the night.

[CTA513]

No idea but I do know that he got props tonight from Jim Tracey (who I like) when he said

I wasn't watching the game. Where was his velocity tonight? I know early on in the game on the thread people were thinking the BP was going to play a lot tonight.

Belisle was hitting around 91-93 mph with some 94 mph.

[Razor Shines]

No idea but I do know that he got props tonight from Jim Tracey (who I like) when he said

I wasn't watching the game. Where was his velocity tonight? I know early on in the game on the thread people were thinking the BP was going to play a lot tonight.

He was regularly hitting 92 and 93 tonight. He looked good after about an inning and a half. He looked very confident and in command of his pitches, much more than Lohse looked last night.

[Ron Madden]

No idea but I do know that he got props tonight from Jim Tracey (who I like) when he said

I wasn't watching the game. Where was his velocity tonight? I know early on in the game on the thread people were thinking the BP was going to play a lot tonight.

He was hitting 93 on the radar gun.

[rotnoid]

He was regularly hitting 92 and 93 tonight. He looked good after about an inning and a half. He looked very confident and in command of his pitches, much more than Lohse looked last night.
It probably took him that long to knock the icicles off his glove. Great start by Belisle tonight.

[M2]

I still have not figured out how Belisle has gotten his fastball back up to his pre-injury speed when 3 years after that injury, he couldn't even get it past 90 when starting in AAA during the 2004 season. Then wala, he starts hitting back into his old pre-injury range the following spring(2005).

You don't think he is taking some of the magic dust eh?

It seems like there's a certain hangover to being in the Braves' system. Belisle's recovered a lot over the past few years. Adam Wainwright's got himself back on track. Jason Schmidt improved later in life. The Braves always seemed to specialize in making guys look fantastic through A ball and then their stuff would start to degrade. Who knows, maybe Bubba Nelson and Dan Meyer will be popping back onto radar screens in another year.

[Eric_Davis]

Glad to get Belisle out of there after 6 innings tonight. I would have taken him out after 5, so he won't get tired as soon this summer. He has a limitation on how many innings he can throw before it starts to show. He didn't throw very many innings the last two years.

[keeganbrick]

Yea, he also threw what over 100 pitches in those 6 innings. I was glad to see him pulled too. I hope Santos and Saarloos keep that stuff up in the pen.

[Big Daddy P]

Nice Job Matty B.! Great hurling on a frigid nite, son!

Velocity is not the key to pitching boyz, unless you can throw 99mph strikes consistently. Keeping hitters off balance, hitting your spots, and making few mistakes will win tons of games.

Great pitching so far my Red Legged wonders!

Go REDS!

[Newman4]

Once Belisle got loosened up on a cold night, his stuff was dancing all over. That 92/93 was with great movement. I was thinking just don't put anything over the middle of the plate and they can't touch him.

[hebroncougar]

Alot of times, it takes a full 2 years for pitchers to recover from injuries. It's been pretty well documented.

[Redsland]

Yeah, that Tommy John back replacement surgery is a killer.

;)

[James B.]

Belisle's stuff was great. If he pitches like this all year that would be huge for the reds chances. Four games this year and four good outings from our starting pitching. I try not to get overly excited because it is the first week but I am not used to seeing the reds starters pitch this good at any point in the season.

[boognish]

I've seen some poor outings from Belisle in person, but I was really impressed with him last night. If he hung a single breaking ball, I must have missed it. It looked like he relied on his change a lot more (from the RF stands).

As another poster alluded, the stadium gun clocked him at 92-93 all night, touching 94. He was pumping strikes in all night; I remember being surprised his pitch count was as high as it was after 6.

Simply a great outing. I mentioned in another thread that maybe it was because I've seen a lot of stinkers the last few years, but this was bar none the best Reds team pitching performance I have ever seen at GABP.

[Betterread]

I still have not figured out how Belisle has gotten his fastball back up to his pre-injury speed when 3 years after that injury, he couldn't even get it past 90 when starting in AAA during the 2004 season. Then wala, he starts hitting back into his old pre-injury range the following spring(2005).

You don't think he is taking some of the magic dust eh?

Good topic. I have no idea what you mean about the magic dust theory. He started to get his velocity up to 95 when he pitched in relief in 2005/2006 but it is really encouraging that he was hitting 93 quite often last night in a starting role. As a low level minor leaguer for the Braves, he was something like a poor man's Homer Bailey - Texas HSer with a plus fastball and curve, then he had that bad back injury and just wasn't the same. This injury, which obviously affected his delivery, affected his stuff. Last night, he looked like a different pitcher than I'd seen before. He looked a little less stiff than in the past and seemed to drive off the rubber effectively. He may have done this before and I just didn't notice. What did others observe?

[Falls City Beer]

I've seen some poor outings from Belisle in person, but I was really impressed with him last night. If he hung a single breaking ball, I must have missed it. It looked like he relied on his change a lot more (from the RF stands).

As another poster alluded, the stadium gun clocked him at 92-93 all night, touching 94. He was pumping strikes in all night; I remember being surprised his pitch count was as high as it was after 6.

Simply a great outing. I mentioned in another thread that maybe it was because I've seen a lot of stinkers the last few years, but this was bar none the best Reds team pitching performance I have ever seen at GABP.

That's good to hear. I am still very concerned about Belisle's ability to stay healthy as well as his ability to avoid stretches wherein hitters seem to get great reads off him. But it beats having a bad outing. I hope he can keep it up.

[hebroncougar]

Yeah, that Tommy John back replacement surgery is a killer.

;)

I know he didn't have Tommy John. Pitcher's take longer to recover from all kinds of injuries.

[Redsland]

I know an outfielder who took almost four months to recover from a broken hand. Just sayin'.

[dougdirt]

I know an outfielder who took almost four months to recover from a broken hand. Just sayin'.

He broke his hand late in December, came back late March. That is 3 months, and it might even have been shorter than 3 months.

[flyer85]

He also had a sharper break on his slider than I remember.

[Redsland]

He broke his hand late in December, came back late March. That is 3 months, and it might even have been shorter than 3 months.
My bad. That's a much better time frame for what should be a four-to-six-week injury.

[dougdirt]

My bad. That's a much better time frame for what should be a four-to-six-week injury.

I may be wrong but I recall it being a 6-8 week thing when first talked about. Still about 3 weeks over due, but in the end I guess all that matters is he is healthy and playing now.

[Razor Shines]

I know an outfielder who took almost four months to recover from a broken hand. Just sayin'.

What's your point?

[Redsland]

That I don't buy this statement:

Pitcher's take longer to recover from all kinds of injuries.

[LoganBuck]

I have no doubt that Belisle can keep that velocity for a few months. He did it in Louisville a couple years ago. He was fantastic in April and May, and then he got tired, lost a few mph, and got hit a little.

I worry about what he is going to look like in late May.