Was Edwin Jackson Tipping His Pitches?

by Ian Casselberry on Sep 22, 2009 10:30 AM EDT in Detroit Tigers News

So maybe fatigue wasn't the reason behind Edwin Jackson giving up 10 runs combined in his last two starts. And is it that he's not throwing his slider well or that hitters know it's coming?

According to a story by John Lowe in today's Detroit Free Press, Tigers pitching coach Rick Knapp believes Jackson has been tipping his pitches. Knapp didn't reveal what exactly Jackson was doing to let hitters know that he'd be throwing a slider, but almost made it sound as if Tigers coaches had heard about it from outside sources.

From the article:

"There's a word out that he's tipping pitches," pitching coach Rick Knapp said. "We think he's giving things away that keep guys from swinging at his really good slider, (which) starts as a strike and goes for a ball."

Knapp and Jackson think they ironed out the kink in a bullpen session over the weekend.

The two also worked on a mechanical issue that may have been causing some problems. Apparently, Jackson has been turning on his follow-through, rather than driving straight towards the batter. But the article didn't specify exactly how that was affecting Jackson's pitches. (Was that raising his pitches in the strike zone? Causing them to veer too far in one direction or the other? Etc.)

We'll see how those changes work against the Indians tonight. Jackson has been very successful against the Tribe this year, going 3-0 with a 2.74 ERA in four starts. But he was roughed up a bit in their last meeting, giving up four runs and nine hits in five innings.

UPDATE (10:45 a.m.): Jason Beck elaborates on this, saying that Jackson and Knapp worked on "his mannerisms over and over leading into his delivery." It's too bad we'll probably never know what exactly he was doing. A shrug of the shoulders? Taking a deep breath? Wiggling his glove? But the average observer or untrained eye might not even notice such a thing, anyway.

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Lets hope this works

E-Jax is an incredibly valuable pitcher… hopefully he gets better from here out.

Lock him up, DD!

President, Vice President and Secretary of the Casey Crosby Fanclub.

by David Tokarz on Sep 22, 2009 10:38 AM EDT reply actions

I hope so

Because we need Jackson at the top of his game. JV can’t carry us every day.

by KidRick48 on Sep 22, 2009 10:47 AM EDT reply actions

I was looking at some Pitch f/x charts

hoping to find something to support my gut feeling: Jackson simply hasn’t been locating his pitches away.

Succesful start 1, start 2 — These are the shutout games vs LA and Baltimore.

Poor start 1, start 2 — Two recent starts against Cleveland and KC.

In the poor starts, the thing that jumped out right away is the absence of called balls down and away. And this is what I see watching the game live. Laird will set up there, but Jackson will leave the fastball out over the plate. I think that would, to some degree, help explain the rise in home-runs allowed.

Add that to the possible tipping of pitches and a wild slider, and you get what we’ve seen recently.

by StringTheory on Sep 22, 2009 11:18 AM EDT reply actions

And that's why they're big leaguers and I'm me.

Here’s what I find the most astounding about pitchers tipping their offerings: that a hitter can make that nano-second adjustment on the fly and swing accordingly — with success.

This is another reason why I never played baseball past high school.

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by MikeMcClary on Sep 22, 2009 12:07 PM EDT reply actions

could be a lot of things

but mostly by the major leagues they’ve got that all ironed out.

But it can be glove position, hand position in the glove, movement giving away when you change the grip, etc.

I enjoy watching HS baseball just so I can try to find all the ways things are tipped.

Mack Avenue Tigers

by Kurt Mensching on Sep 22, 2009 1:09 PM EDT up reply actions

Doesn't someone have the whole season on DVD?

Sounds like a research assignment.

by NCDee on Sep 22, 2009 1:44 PM EDT reply actions

I suppose you might pick up something through meticulous study of the MLB.tv archives

I have one picture of EJ in his delivery during a game I went to on August 15th, but I’m not sure if you can pick up anything or not. Here’s a link to the large size photo in case anyone wants to try (I’m not an expert on grips, but my guess is that he’s throwing a changeup in the picture, though).

http://tigersamateuranalysis.blogspot.com

by SabreRoseTiger on Sep 22, 2009 1:59 PM EDT up reply actions

OT

You guys have to read this article on SI.com about JV:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/joe_lemire/09/22/justin.verlander/index.html

by explosivo2k2 on Sep 22, 2009 1:56 PM EDT reply actions

speaking of si....

We are on the cover this week. The one week we don’t want to be on the cover.

by rook34 on Sep 22, 2009 2:23 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

we are?

better head to the bookstore later.

No Run Support

by allikazoo on Sep 22, 2009 2:34 PM EDT up reply actions

I'll have to make sure to walk through the magazine section on my way to work

http://tigersamateuranalysis.blogspot.com

by SabreRoseTiger on Sep 22, 2009 2:35 PM EDT up reply actions

It is a big pic of comerica park, with the heading saying something about baseballs righteous franchise. Article about, as usual, the city’s troubles and mr. I sticking with it.

by rook34 on Sep 22, 2009 2:37 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions