The Diamondbacks are in town for four games against the Cubs today. Don't be surprised if you see some protests outside Wrigley, it has nothing to do with Illinois or the Cubs, but it's following the Diamondbacks around.
Today at Chicago's Wrigley Field and in just about every city the team visits, there is expected to be a protest outside the stadium against Arizona's new immigration-enforcement law, Senate Bill 1070.
Just an FYI....
Former not-so-star Cubs set-up men Bob Howry and Aaron Heilman have made their way to the desert, with Heilman joining Juan Gutierrez in the main set-up roles for closer Chad Qualls. Qualls is a side-arming sinker/slider guy, and Gutierrez provides mid-90s heat and a power curve. You already know about Howry and Heilman, the latter still mixing his "new" splitter in with his change-ups.
Starting the first game will be Ian Kennedy. Kennedy came over from the Yankees in the big Curtis Granderson three-way deal with the Tigers this winter. It's his first trip to Wrigley, and it could be memorable if the Cubs keep hitting the way they have been (which is infrequently).
Ian Kennedy made his big league debut in 2007 but has was shut-down early in 2009 due to an aneurysm in his shoulder. Scary. Still, he pitched in the 2009 Arizona Fall League, showing the world (and the Diamondbacks) that he was healthy again.
Kennedy is pretty basic fastball/change-up pitcher. He mixes in some sinkers here and there, but for the most part it's a 90 mph fastball and 81 mph change-up. He loves to throw the change-up on full counts. He'll also throw a pretty good curveball and a sluttery slider. Against righties, he'll go for the kill with the curve or slider, against lefties it's the curve and the change-up.
Going back to 2007, it looks like Kennedy only has one effective pitch -- his change-up. It's still his best pitch, but he's getting more out of his fastball now, and his breaking pitches have gone from negatives to neutrals. It's early, he's young, so we'll see.
0 comments:
Post a Comment