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Atlanta Braves Morning Chop – Jonny Gomes Excellent Adventure

By Alan Carpenter

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Aug 28, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves left fielder

Jonny Gomes

(7) pitches in the ninth inning of their game against the New York Yankees at Turner Field. The Yankees won 15-4. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Yes, the Atlanta Braves got crushed last night, 15-4, because Williams Perez had nothing last night – no control, no ‘stuff’, nothing.  Even after his departure, Ross Detwiler couldn’t throw strikes and Andrew McKirahan couldn’t miss a bat.

Whatever.

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Today’s Morning Chop is all about… none of that.  It’s about the 9th inning and Jonny Gomes being released to fulfill his destiny as a baseball player:  a closer.

Okay, yeah, it wasn’t exactly a save situation.  But as he came charging out of the bullpen last night, he brought back memories of Craig Kimbrel and others who couldn’t wait to get to the mound, and his beard was reminiscent of Brian Wilson… well, maybe closer to Sergio Romo.  His pitching style was utterly deceptive, with harkenings that ranged from Will Ferrell to Luis Tiant.

Jonny Gomes now has a pitching page on fangraphs.  It’s glorious.  Here’s a few highlights:

  • Changeup velocity:  76.4 mph
  • Knuckleball velocity:  68.6 mph
  • Pace:  13.6 seconds between pitches.  No pitch clock needed here.  By contrast, both Shelby Miller and Julio Teheran go about 22 seconds between pitches.  But then again, they have more pitch types to choose from.

Note:  No, he wasn’t throwing a knuckleball… and that 76 mph thing was a fastball.  Kinda.

Once the hits started multiplying (homer, 2 doubles), Gomes went for deception – breaking out a Luis Tiant spin delivery where he faced second base before letting it fly.  Mercifully enough, his “control” didn’t suffer as a result, nor did he fall down in the process.

But it was pretty clear that he was genuinely having a good time last night.

Mor’ Stats

Atlanta Braves left fielder Jonny Gomes (7) reacts after getting a strike out after pitching in the ninth inning of their game against the New York Yankees at Turner Field. The Yankees won 15-4. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

20 total pitches (should have been 19) with 12 strikes

6 batters faced

  • 3 hits… alas, one left the yard (Chris Young)
  • 4 fly balls… was close to getting a couple of pop-up foul outs. One was a sacfrice fly (Brian McCann).

    • No walks – better than almost any Braves’ pitcher last night

  • Peripherals suggest he was unlucky:  ERA 18.00, FIP 14.12, SIERA 6.56

    • That WHIP of 3.00 probably needs a little work, though.

    The last victim was pitcher Bryan Mitchell.  Near as I can tell, this was his first professional plate appearance – period.  At any level.

    Truly this was a battle between the resistible force and the movable object.  Mitchell, as it happens, had just been reinstated from the 7-day concussion DL.  So now he’s inserted to mop up, and then also face… Jonny Gomes.  Go get ’em, kid.

    The AB went six pitches… one too many, as home plate umpire Dana DeMuth flat-out whiffed on the fifth pitch – right down the middle for ball three.  Nonetheless, he apparently realized the egregiousness of that sin, and called the next pitch a strike (it wasn’t), thus giving Gomes a strikeout.

    There’s no way his teammates will be allowed to forget that strikeout for the rest of his tenure in Atlanta – however long that might be.

    Yes, we have a bit of video to share.  Also here.  And here.

    There are rumblings that some teams have expressed interest in obtaining Gomes from the Braves, so it’s also possible that he will be dealt elsewhere before Monday night’s hard trade deadline.

    I can imagine that if this happens, Jonny will tell his new club that he was traded to bolster their bullpen down the stretch.

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