Graphing Morrow 9/21
Morrow pretty much defined the “establish the fastball” mantra today. His first 12 pitches were all fastballs between 93 and 97 mph and Johjima put down one finger for 26 of Morrow’s first 30 pitches. The first time through the lineup, every A’s batter saw a first-pitch fastball.
It didn’t hurt Morrow this time, as he pitched well through the first six innings. But if he continues to start off every game with basically 30 fastballs in a row, well … we’ve seen how that can turn out.
Another interesting thing is this: look at how his fastball just dies after about 80 pitches. It’s a lot easier to get by throwing 70 percent fastballs when you’re blowing them past guys at 95, 96, 97 mph. When those fastballs dip down to 91-94, it makes it a lot easier for hitters to get around on them.
I wonder if mixing in other pitches early will help with his endurance as much as it will help with fooling batters? He might not fade at 80 pitches if more of them were something other than high heat.