Looked like a totally different pitcher--- consistent 95--- his new delivery was almost like watching Palmer pitch...... go O'S....

GOD BLESS AMERICA !!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey there randy, hope you had a good 4th. It was hotter than heck today here in S.Jersey (96). Pretty good day for Tillman and the guys though. Let's hope they keep the streak going as they get ready for those Angels. Let's do it O's !

His only problem was that he pitched high and didn't have enough control. If he has gotten over that, which it sure looked like today, then he is going to be great. It was tough to see how much movement was on his pitches though from the angle of the camera, but that was also another problem. I'm hopeful

I couldn't believe he was still hitting 97 in the 9th inning. That's Verlander territory. Having said that, I still would not have started him in the 9th and let him go up to 125 pitches.

"I couldn't believe he was still hitting 97 in the 9th inning. That's Verlander territory"

What is not to believe? This is Tillman. As I said a few days ago, in a now deleted thread (thank you OPACY), He has no-hit stuff, but he will have to throw a ton of pitches per game. Expect 5 innings or so of shutout, possibly no-hit, pitching before he reaches the 100 pitches in which almost every manager (except Leyland - and maybe now Buck?) would pull him. UNLEASH THE TILLMANATOR AND YOU SEE THE RESULTS. Let Tillman throw 120-150 pitches per game or trade him to the Tigers....

I feel like I said this all a few days ago. Maybe because I did and it got deleted for no reason other than it was filled with TRUTH!

This is exactly why I wanted him brought up before acquiring a starter outside the organization. Not that he'll do this every time out, but now we see what kind of potential he has at the major league level. Let's hope for some consistency, and shots for some of the other guys from AAA (Eveland or Arrieta should be out of the rotation shortly too).

There is a reason why most pitchers follow up a no hit performance by horrible outings. Santana & Humber come to mind.....

I love what I saw from Tillman and it shows that he's made great progress. However, keep in mind that their are probably better AAA lineups out there than the lineup Seattle fielded. They are a pathetic offensive team.

Yeah, Tillman's new found velocity is something to get excited about, but don't overdue it. The Mariners are a terrible lineup in pure pitcher's ballpark and the team that traded him away. Not to mention there is no scouting report on the new Tillman delivery. That's a perfect storm for Tillman to shine.

"Tillman's new found velocity is something to get excited about"

Tillman was capable of throwing in the mid 90's earlier in his career but for some reason lost some of his velocity last year. Now his velocity has returned to the mid or even high 90's and he's able to locate pitches better. Probably has everything to do with the new delivery we've been hearing about.

I've never seen him or read anything about him that ever had him more than a guy who could touch 95 with the wind at his back. To me he's always been a 93-94 guy who dipped down to the 90 range when he was struggling.

If he's firing 97 he's a totally new pitcher.

Here's a scouting report I found from Oriole Nation. This report seems to be from 2010 from what I make of it. Unfortunately I couldn't find a date on it. Either way he's regained his velocity and this is a good thing.

"He once threw 90-95 mph, but now sits more in the 87-90 mph range with his fastball. No one can point to the cause of his loss of velocity. Fastball is straight and he must work down in the strike zone in order to limit home runs. Curveball is an above-average offering, with 12-6 break and good depth. He added a cutter prior to the 2010 season and it’s an average offering. His changeup has come a long way and is now slightly above-average. Strong 2011 off-season with a good diet and workouts could help bring back some of the velocity. Below-average command/control. Struggles to stay away from the middle of the plate. Smooth delivery and athletic frame."

What is also "the truth" is that our defense let him down bigtime late in the game (like they usually do), and made him throw more pitches than he should've had to. He was being somewhat efficient until Betemit let that grounder go through his legs.

This is not the same Tillman at all. The guy I remembered threw 93 tops, not 96. And often the velocity was down around 89. And a very flat, hitable fastball. Now he seems to have movement on everything he throws, commands it all, and has the confidence to throw anything in any count.

I see a night/day change there. I don't ever take much away from 1 performance. But it wasn't what he did, it was how he did it that impressed me.

Now if we could start playing some defense behind these guys, they wouldn't have to throw 135 pitches to get through a game...

I'm afraid bad defense is going to be a trademark of the 2012 O's, but better back end starting pitching does have a chance to improve, if we make a playoff run it has to start there.

Tillman, Miguel Gonzalez, and Miguel Socolovich all have improved with the change in their mechanics through the bio-mechanical analysis. These three seemed to buy into it more than some of the others.

It would seem that when reaching the bottom rung of the ladder of development players become a little more receptive to changes. IF Arrieta, Hunter, and Matusz will also develop the mechanical development of repeating their windup and delivery the sky would be the limit for the Orioles staff.

Arrieta could have an increase in velocity to 98/99 MPH with more movement, finishing his curve off with bite, improve the difference between Fastball/Change.

Hunter may very well be able to throw down in the zone with movement. He also could improve velocity to 96/98 which would make off-speed pitches better.

Matusz has improved velocity from last year but a tick up of 2 MPH and better movement is in the offering if he would buy into the Bio-analysis. Same arm slot on all pitches, compact delivery, improved time to plate.

Either they improve or will get moved because of the lack of Options remaining. This is their collective make or break demotion. IMO

"There is a reason why most pitchers follow up a no hit performance by horrible outings. Santana & Humber come to mind....."

Maybe you can explain Verlander? I can't, other than to say that guys like him and Tillman are freaks of nature. Verlander has thrown over 100 pitches in every outing this year and seems to be doing just fine, he threw over 100 pitches every game last year topping out at 129. Last year he threw a 9 inning no hitter and followed it with an 8 inning 2-hitter in which he gave up one run. Last year he also had back to back 9 inning games, preceded by two 8 inning games and followed by an 8 inning game.

There is a reason why you said "most" and not all, right? lol

"I've never seen him or read anything about him that ever had him more than a guy who could touch 95 with the wind at his back."

A scouting report from the beginning of 2007 stated that he "occasionally touched 94 or 95, but that could eventually become his average fastball. You have to remember, in 2007 he was still a teenager, they likely figured he would get stronger and also improve velocity with improved mechanics. If he had gone to a 4 year college, this would only be his third year in professional baseball. If he has figured it out, then he's still ahead of most.

Tillman is younger than Arrieta, Ayala, Berken, Britton, Chen, Drake, Eveland, Gonzalez, Gregg, Hammel, Hunter, Johnson & Johnson (lol), Lindstom, Matusz, O'Day, Patton, Pomeranz, Strop, and Wada.

Tillman is not younger than Dylan Bundy, though. So he's the second youngest pitcher on the 40 man roster.

"If he's firing 97 he's a totally new pitcher."

Or maybe one that is still the youngest on the staff and still developing. This is why a couple of us on this board did not want to trade him for trash. He has all the time in the world to develop into the solid #2 type that Seattle had invisioned him being when they drafted him.

"Tillman, Miguel Gonzalez, and Miguel Socolovich all have improved with the change in their mechanics through the bio-mechanical analysis. These three seemed to buy into it more than some of the others."

Could that explain Matusz's 9 inning performance at Norfolk? Maybe he's a really quick study, he's got college you know... lol.

Like I said, most pitchers follow up no hit outings with horrible starts. There was no reason for Buck to let him throw 125 pitches. His body is not used to that. I'm a firm believer that is why he looked so bad in his Double A start and yesterdays start. Dude was barely seeing 100 pitches at Norfolk all season and Buck the genius stretches him out another 25. THANKS BUCK