Moeller on Hernandez and Arrieta
I can never say that getting quotes out of Moeller is like pulling teeth. It would be a terrible pun - as if I'm above that sort of thing - and grossly inaccurate.
Chad Moeller offered up his opinion of right-hander David Hernandez, who's 4-6 with a 4.24 ERA, 32 walks and 43 strikeouts in 14 games (13 starts) spanning 74 1/3 innings.
"I love his arm," Moeller said. "He's got a true power arm. His off-speed pitches are still developing and I think they're going to develop more once his mechanics are more consistent. His arm is fantastic, probably the best power arm of the group, with the body that really withstands it.
"He can beat guys with his fastball, tell them it's coming and beat guys with his fastball. It's just going to be the development of his mechanics consistently to give him the chance to have better command with it, and his off-speed pitches."
Moeller also caught Jake Arrieta at Triple-A Norfolk, but probably won't get the chance in the majors when rosters expand. Arrieta is 5-7 with a 4.02 ERA, 27 walks and 76 strikeouts in 16 starts covering 87 1/3 innings since joining the Tides.
"The first game I caught from him, I was shocked," Moeller said. "I hadn't really seen him in spring training. I saw a guy who was pitching from 94 to 97 with two-seam action, wanting to pitch on right-handers' hands, making aggressive pitch after aggressive pitch.
"The biggest thing for me was his tempo. Things happened really slow out there. There was a lot of time between pitches and a lot of standing around by the infielders, which never leads to ideal defense. It's initiating contact so your'e not at 100 pitches. Each hitter doesn't have to be punched out, but he has the capability to do it. It's learning that it's going to be more productive to be in the seventh inning with fewer strikeouts than in the fifth inning with more."
Coming up: Moeller brings up Brad Bergesen's name before I do.
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Categories (click for archive)Roch Kubatko | Roch Kubatko Orioles |
Sheesh, where can I read Moeller's blog?...
roch,
i have a question for you. was there any internal discussion about claiming kazmir off of waivers from the rays. they probably would have pulled him back, but one never knows, given their finances. also, do orioles talent evaluators feel he would be a worthwhile pickup. he has pitched better lately. after his injury, for about the last month, he has been one of the more effective ray's starters. potentially, this is a situation where the orioles could afford to take on salary, especially for a young player who still has an upside and whose acquisition wouldn't have been too costly, all things considered
thanks
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I haven't had the chance to ask anyone about Kazmir. If I hear anything, I'll pass it along. - Roch
So Pie has about 75 at bats where he hits in the low .200's with a couple home runs. He then has 100+ more at bats where he hits .325+ with five home runs. The Pie haters say he is handed the job and call for his head right out of the gate and during the entire 75-at-bat audition he gets to be the starting left fielder. They've seen enough, he's not a major league player and should be released. By contrast, his last 100 or so at bats have been a flash in the pan, simply a hot streak and "will never last." Absolutely comical. As I have said all along, I don't think we can judge based even on 175 AB, but the double standard applied by the haters is a joke.
Great stuff all day long Roch, thanks! What did Moeller think about Eaton? lol ;-)
Why am I picturing you with Moeller up against the clubhouse wall, locked up by an expertly-applied half-Nelson as he frantically spills his guts on each and every rookie pitcher in order to stop the pain and secure his freedom? Or maybe you used the Elaine Benes method and started pouring him the peach schnapps? Seriously, however you got it (even just politely asking) this is great stuff and wonderful insight!
And we wanted Gregg Zaun to hang on past 2010 as a coach. Its pretty obvious that we should hang on to Moeller in whatever capacity he is ok with after his playing career. This guy is awesome.
Hey Roch,
I saw Arrieta when he faced the Rochester Red Wings last week for the first time, and I have to say he was very impressive. I did not notice any extended Trachsel-esque tempo issues (nor did I notice any particular urgency) but he was rather fantastic, only getting into trouble once when he lost the strike zone to walk the bases loaded (he seemed either rusty out of the stretch or just flustered by allowing his first baserunner in the fourth) but came back with a couple of devastating offspeed pitches. The two-seamer wasn't exactly sinking (he got something like 80% flyballs), and he seemed to have problems hitting the lower part of the strikezone, but where Moeller says "It's learning that it's going to be more productive to be in the seventh inning with fewer strikeouts than in the fifth inning with more" I have to disagree: Arrieta went 7 strong with 6 Ks, which is certainly where you want to see his strikeout numbers.
When should we expect to see Arrieta in the majors?
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2010. - Roch
Thank you Chad Moeller for talking to us fans through Roch.
Roch, do you get the impression he's concerned about Arrieta's approch? Bringing into question his tempo and strike out rate.
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Not concerned. Just noting one area where the kid needs to improve. - Roch
Roch,
Your "Moeller on..." series is really good!
arrieta strikeouts to walks is pretty good. i wouldn't trade tillman, arreita, hernandez, bergesen or matusz for any everyday player. it will be interesting to see how well berken pitches in his next game. he changed his grip on his fastball the last two games and did fairly well. it seems all of these young pitchers finish their delivery squared to the plate which past pitchers the o's brought up from the minors never did. wouldn't be surprised if trembley and kranny are fired that the o's bring up the norfolk pitching coach next year. looks like he did well with these guys in bowie and norfolk.
Here I go with another "off subject" but.....
Dan (Tampa) What's your favorite stadium to watch a game?
Buster Olney Dan: Camden Yards
Dan (Tampa) Does Dave Trembley deserve to be back as manager in 2010? That team makes a ton of mental mistakes
Buster Olney Dan: And it's loaded with young players. Personally, I think that the amount of mistakes made isn't really a fair barometer to judge managers these days, because so many players are brought to the big leagues quickly -- without having played a lot in the minors. My own sense of the Orioles is that by and large, they play hard. They're very young, though, and they generally don't play well. If I were running the O's, I'd bring Trembley back for 2010.
Moeller ...... teeth. That's funny right there. I don't care who you are.
Hey Roch,
Do you have a Moeller on Healthcare or Moeller or World Peace?
It's pretty obvious that coaching is in Moeller's future, and that the guy loves talking baseball. I'd like to sit down and have a few beers with him and shoot the bull sometime.
He'd be an ideal candidate to work with pitchers and/or catchers at the developmental level (low/high A ball).