King Felix

[bkrich83]

Re: King Felix

No arguments from me on the "King Felix" name being premature. I see three things that have been holding Felix back...

1) Mental toughness. From what I've seen this year and towards the end of last year, he's getting better. I don't see as much overthrowing of the baseball when he's in jams. His walk rates are down and his K rates are up. He's pitching now, not throwing, and that comes with maturity.

2) Nagging injuries. As mentioned earlier in the thread, he's always fighting nagging injuries, specifically sprained ankles.

3) His defense. He's at his best when he's throwing strikes and inducing groundballs at a high rate. With the exception of Beltre and Ichiro, his defense has sucked up till this season. The pitchers always get the credit or blame, but pitch to contact pitchers are only as good as their defense.

And I'd say Jake Peavy is another guy who was ahead of most MLB pitchers at the age of 23.

With their OF this year, he can't blame the defense. That Mariner OF covers so much ground.

He's a great talent, I am waiting to see if he becomes a great pitcher.

[Coug00]

Re: King Felix

With their OF this year, he can't blame the defense. That Mariner OF covers so much ground.

That's what I'm saying and that's partially why his numbers are in elite company so far in '09. A bad defense can make a good pitcher look average. And a great defense can make a bad pitcher look average.

We'll see how he continues forward and like you said, if he becomes a great pitcher, not just a great talent.

[Seahawk76]

Re: King Felix

If Felix is the King then Silva is the peasant who mucks out the horse stables.

[snepp]

Re: King Felix

No, Silva is the smell beggar who cons the rich noble into letting him marry his daughter.

[Seahawk76]

Re: King Felix

Actually Silva is the court jester who can't sing or dance, tells dumb jokes, tries to nail all the ladies-in-waiting, eats and drinks at the King's banquet until he passes out in his own puke, but still gets paid well instead of having his head lopped off like he deserves.

/tortured metaphor

[ryanm1058123]

Re: King Felix

Carlos Silva hating never gets old.

[ryan36]

Re: King Felix

MAYYYYBE, if we're lucky



PLUS...



EQUALS....

[snepp]

Re: King Felix

PLUS an actual breaking ball


It's amazing that Silva is even a major league pitcher. He has one pitch, a fastball, that has almost no movement on it.

[Coug00]

Re: King Felix

But he throws it at multiple speeds with a range difference of 5mph!

[snepp]

Re: King Felix

But he throws it at multiple speeds with a range difference of 5mph!

On a good day. Even then it's probably accidental.

[wwharton]

Re: King Felix

No arguments from me on the "King Felix" name being premature. I see three things that have been holding Felix back...

1) Mental toughness. From what I've seen this year and towards the end of last year, he's getting better. I don't see as much overthrowing of the baseball when he's in jams. His walk rates are down and his K rates are up. He's pitching now, not throwing, and that comes with maturity.

2) Nagging injuries. As mentioned earlier in the thread, he's always fighting nagging injuries, specifically sprained ankles.

3) His defense. He's at his best when he's throwing strikes and inducing groundballs at a high rate. With the exception of Beltre and Ichiro, his defense has sucked up till this season. The pitchers always get the credit or blame, but pitch to contact pitchers are only as good as their defense.

And I'd say Jake Peavy is another guy who was ahead of most MLB pitchers at the age of 23.

I think you forgot #4, his offense. He's doing much better with the little offense the M's can provide this year, but last year his numbers would've been much improved if the O could've helped him out a bit. If I remember correctly, he's lost a lot of low scoring games. Plus, being so young, they had him on tight pitch counts, leaving the bullpen to help him out... bad bullpen forced into action for a team with a bad offense and all the talent in the world won't help if you're getting pulled in the 6th inning every game.

[WazzuRC]

Re: King Felix

PLUS an actual breaking ball


It's amazing that Silva is even a major league pitcher. He has one pitch, a fastball, that has almost no movement on it.

CORRECTION!! He has 4 pitches:

Fastball - low 90's, no movement
Sinker - low 90's no movement
Changeup - low 90's no movement
Slider - low 90's no movement

My recent favorite quote about Carlos Silva:
"Silva has one pitch, and it’s hittable. I don’t care if he’s got nine grips or arm actions or whatever: the results are all the same. Maybe he should try something else. Like retiring."

[snepp]

Re: King Felix

"Silva has one pitch, and it’s hittable. I don’t care if he’s got nine grips or arm actions or whatever: the results are all the same. Maybe he should try something else. Like retiring."

That's quality right there.

[Coug00]

Re: King Felix

Whoa baby! Carlos Silva vs Sidney Ponson tomorrow.

[snepp]

Re: King Felix

Whoa baby! Carlos Silva vs Sidney Ponson tomorrow.

Maybe they can swap dinner tips.