I think I just developed a stomach ulcer.  J.J. Putz fails to slam the door, yet again, and memories of Seattle winning almost every game once leading after eight seem distant.

So what’s wrong with Putz?

Here is one of his walks from tonight:

 

And here is a strikeout from last year:

What is the first thing you notice?  Take a look at the pitch speed.  In tonight’s game he maxed out at 95 MPH, though was hitting around 92 in previous at bats.  Last year he maxed out at 101 MPH, and was usually in the 97-98 range or better.  This could mean a lot of different things:  1.) He could be hurt again.  2.) He may not be fully recovered from his last injury.  3.) Maybe he just wore himself out over the last couple of seasons.

The next thing you may notice is the pitch location.  Last year he threw so hard that he could challenge hitters right down the middle, a lot like Brandon Morrow this season.  This year he’s not throwing hard enough to get away with it, so he’s nibbling around the plate in fear of getting hit hard.

I have no idea why he lost the velocity and it’s quite a concern, but I do have a solution.  Once Putz lost the lead, he changed his technique and recorded a pair of strikeouts.  This is his strikeout of Blake:

More of the filthy stuff!  That’s it.  The strikeout of David Dellucci was about the same as this.  He needs to throw more splitters, sliders and changeups while throwing a couple fastballs out of the zone as decoys.