D-backs’ Bumgarner searches for answers
PHOENIX – We knew this season would be wacky with only 60 games, but the zaniness has exceeded everyone’s wildest expectations.
COVID-19 has forced teams to postpone games, sit idle for two weeks at a time, play road games at home and host games in Buffalo.
We’ve got the Colorado Rockies pitching as if they’re the reincarnation of the great Atlanta Braves rotation with legends Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz. The Miami Marlins, who have never been in first place past June in franchise history, are leading the NL East. The Detroit Tigers, fresh off a 114-loss season, would actually qualify for a playoff berth if the season ended today.
And, then, there are the Arizona Diamondbacks.
This was a team that was poised to make a run at the mighty Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West, but nearly three weeks into this truncated season, no one has been a greater disappointment.
At 6-10, they are in last place in the NL West and their ace is heading to the doctor’s office Monday because of back spasms.
Madison Bumgarner, 31, the man they signed to a five-year, $85 million deal to lead their rotation, now is worrying them.
Bumgarner’s fastball velocity has decreased, his command has gone missing and his mound presence has withered.
“I’ve seen him all four starts he’s made this year, and he’s not the same guy,” one veteran scout said Sunday night. “Not at all. He’s throwing 87 mph, he can’t locate it, and everyone is just teeing off.”
Bumgarner’s pitching line is gruesome: 0-3, 9.35 ERA, 17 ⁄ innings, 20 hits, 19 runs, 18 earned runs, seven home runs, seven walks, four hit batsmen, 13 strikeouts, 1.56 WHIP.
“Coming to a new place, wanting to do good and then this type of season on top of that,” Bumgarner said, his voice fading. “It’s just ... none of it has really went the way I wanted it to go. You’ve got to just roll with it and try to do the best you can.
That’s what I’m doing, trying to get to where I want to be and need to be to give these guys a chance to win when I go out there.”
Bumgarner, who was caught peeking at the radar gun to check out his fastball readings Sunday at Petco Park against the San Diego Padres, may have grimaced more seeing the numbers on the scoreboard than the back pain that ended his outing after two innings.
His four-seam fastball was clocked at 86-88 mph, a 4-mph drop-off since spring training. His average fastball was a career-low 87.2 mph, according to Brooks Baseball.
On Monday, he was placed on the 10day injured list with a mid-back strain.
Entering this season, his velocity had never dipped below 90 mph in any of his 308 appearances, spanning nearly 2,000 regular-season and postseason innings. But the four lowest average fastball readings for Bumgarner have all occurred this season: 88.06 mph in his opening-day start, 88.35 mph in his second start, 87.4 mph in his third and now 87.1 mph. His average fastball velocity this season: 87.96 mph.
This is from a guy whose fastball averaged 91.7 mph last year.
What happened? “Your guess is as good as mine,” Bumgarner said. “I’ve had it fluctuate throughout my career, but this is certainly a big drop right now. That’s been frustrating for me, but at the same time, I’ve got to go out there and pitch with what I got.”
Bumgarner’s delivery, control and mound presence has made him one of the most feared pitchers in the National League, but that guy simply hasn’t showed up since joining the Diamondbacks.
“I wish there was a magic pill we could take and everything would be back to normal and we’d see that velocity climb,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said last week.
The Diamondbacks don’t know when Bumgarner will take the mound again. He woke up with back spasms Saturday night and believed he was good enough to pitch.
But six runs and four homers later, Lovullo pulled him and sent him back to Phoenix in a rental car to be evaluated by doctors while the team flew to Colorado.