Fastballs increasing and decreasing

Hey everyone, sorry for the layoff after the first post but I look to get this going more from now on.

As the 2010 season is quickly approaching, some data has been released on which pitchers lost the most velocity on their fastball and which pitchers gained velocity. This is intriguing information because sometimes you can make conclusions from the data.

From 2008-2009, no pitcher lost more average velocity on their fastball than Joba Chamberlain. His fastball was down 2.5 MPH in 2009, which could help explain why he still has yet to fully figure out how to pitch effectively at the MLB level.

The only other guy who lost over 2 MPH was Ervin Santana (2.1). The oft-injured pitcher didn't have a great year, but one may wonder if it has more to do with injuries than just losing effectiveness.

One pitcher to note losing velocity though was Tim Lincecum. Yes, between his 2008 and 2009 Cy Young seasons, he lost 1.7 MPH. He did have a few hiccups during the season, but overall I credit it to throwing more offspeed pitches and therefore not needing to gear it up to blow it by everyone. I think it will continue to gradually go down as well since he is a smaller pitcher (think Pedro Martinez.

Later, I'll look at the pitchers who gained velocity. I'll leave you with the top 10 losers from 2008-2009.

Joba Chamberlain, -2.5
Ervin Santana, -2.1
Ross Ohlendorf, -2
Jared Burton, -1.7
Tim Lincecum, -1.7
Daniel Cabrera, -1.7
Manny Delcarmen, -1.6
Chan Ho Park, -1.6
Brian Fuentes, -1.6
Jeremy Sowers, -1.5