When some notable baseball things happened for him. ![]() That 25.1-percent mark is also exactly the rate he was striking out in 2014. He’s striking out 25.1 percent of the batters he faces now, which is much, much better than the 15.8 percent he was striking out in 2020. His velocity is back where it was when he left the Giants. Small samples abound, sure, but it’s not right to ignore that kind of dominance completely. The Athletic’s Zach Buchanan wrote about the turnaround here, and he noted that Bumgarner had the lowest WHIP over a five-start stretch from any National League pitcher over the last 106 seasons. In his last outing, Bumgarner had a rough start at Coors Field that shot his ERA back up into the mid-4s, but everyone knows to ignore that. This is baseball, where the contracts are guaranteed and the pain is, too. They were supposed to contend, Bumgarner was supposed to help, none of that happened and they politely emailed customer service about the return policy. It was early, but it was one that the Diamondbacks might have Command-Z’d if they had the opportunity. Last year was a mutant pandemic season, and Bumgarner made nine mostly miserable starts for a team that didn’t factor into anything, but it was still easy to slap a “mistake” label on his contract. And it’s the perfect time to ask an important question about that. That he’s on a divisional rival and pitching against them. Because this is the perfect time to process the idea that Bumgarner is not on the Giants. So this is something of a baseball therapy session, in which we process our thoughts and emotions. It still might trip some of you up, but Bumgarner on another team sure got normalized awfully fast.Īnd you probably have thoughts about that. After 11 years of that sentence being a nonsensical impossibility, it’s suddenly a normal baseball sentence. It did not feel awkward coming off my fingertips, and you didn’t have to re-read it in order to process it. Thursday’s starter is still TBA for the Diamondbacks, and with an off-day on Monday, Arizona can opt to skip current fifth starter Seth Frankoff.Ĭonsider the first sentence of this article, though: “Madison Bumgarner is not scheduled to pitch against the Giants this week.” It is a sentence that makes sense to read. NOOOOOO.Madison Bumgarner is not scheduled to pitch against the Giants this week. And guess what - WHAT?! - he faces them again. ![]() SP Roundup J4 IP, 4 ER, 9 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks - 12 Whiffs, 24.7% CSW, 85 pitches SD (L)Ī middling southpaw against the Padres? Well, yeah, that's exactly the line we expected. He's a "Toby" at best and I'd rather not against the Giants next. I'm a bit shocked to see Bumgarner survive against the Padres as a lefty (albeit with a 1.40 WHIP), though his heater did sit a tick harder at 92 mph. ![]() SP Roundup J5 IP, ER, 4 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks - 9 Whiffs, 22.9% CSW, 105 pitches vs. Not sure if I'm recommending that gamble or not yet. He gets an easier start against "Rockie Road" next and if he's able to carry that same velocity there, he has a solid shot at making it work. Hey, don't overlook that Bumgarner sat 92 mph on his four-seamer in this one. SP Roundup J5 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 3 BBs, 4 Ks - 9 Whiffs, 20.0% CSW, 100 pitches vs. Let's hope the velocity is still there after the break. Just because Bumgarner is doing the things we like from him doesn't mean he's immune to matchups. ![]() Take note of the trend and get frustrated with me that he faces the southpaw-crushing Padres next time out. He doesn't carry electric stuff that will do a whole lot for strikeout totals, and while we're crossing our fingers for a sub 4.00 ERA, his WHIP is destined to give managers fits throughout the course of the season.īut that doesn't mean he can't help out at times and last night's 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks - 9 Whiffs, 30% CSW, 107 pitches is a perfect example of picking our spots as he faced "Rockie Road". He was fresh off an outing with a 92 mph heater (yes!) in a great matchup and came through, sitting 91.5 mph as the heater excelled at 40% CSW and his curve matched that mark across the evening. Guys like Madison Bumgarneraren't the type that I normally go for. SP Roundup J7 IP, 2 ER, 6 Hits, 0 BBs, 5 Ks - 9 Whiffs, 29.9% CSW, 107 pitches vs.
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