Johan's changeup

Johan Santana struck out 5 yesterday, and his great change up was particularly impressive. I'm going to look at Johan's tabular data for his changeup.
Velocity Pfx_x Pfx_z Px Pz Break length
80.01 MPH 7.43 6.07 .5 2.2 7.65”

What does that all mean? Here is a useful glossary, done by Mike Fast.
Velocity is obviously the velocity of the pitch, when released. Pfx_x is the horizontal movement of the pitch, in inches. Pfx_z is the vertical movement, in inches. Px is the location, in feet, horizontally. Right is positive, left is negative, and it's from the middle of the plate. Pz is the location in feet, vertically. Break length is the measurement of the greatest distance in inches from the straight path of a hypothetical pitch thrown from the same place.

Here is the location of his changeup
Point (0,-3) would be a right handed batter's feet, approximately.
Here's the average location of his changeup in just the strike zone.
As you can see, it's down and away, which is what makes it so devastating to right handed hitters.

Who has been the best since Johan went down?

Using FIP (fielding independent pitching, it is on an ERA scale), the best has been Nelson Figueroa, and the worst has been Ollie, and Parnell. Note, these are from all starts following Santana's last start.
Here is the link.

Johan Santana to undergo minor elbow surgery

According to this source. He will be ready for spring training. It's bone chips in his elbow. Well, thats a relief. I'm glad he doesn't go out and get more hurt. By the way, the ace of the staff is now Mike Pelfrey.

IT's all pathetic, lose 6-2

First of all, Johan Santana has a sore elbow, and has been pitching with a sore back since the all-star break. Why. Did. They. Let. Him. Continue. To. Pitch? I sometimes wonder whether the Mets doctors, Omar Minaya, and Jerry Manuel have a brain. He might need season ending surgery. From the same article, we learn that Jeff Francoeur has a torn ligament in his none throwing hand from making a diving catch. Jeff, I urge you to go on the DL. Nevermind your grissiony record of not going on the DL, just do it. Its for your own sake. Jeff Francoeur, you are now a true Met.
And now to the game. Bobby Parnell gave up a 3 run homer to Howard in the first, and then another homer to Howard in the third, this time a 2 run homer. Angel Pagan led off the first with a pop up that Chase Utley dropped, then overthrew second, throwing the ball into left field. Pagan scored with what Gary Cohen called "a little league homer". Gary Sheffield hit a triple, and scored on Tatis' sac fly. However, that would be all offensively for the Mets, as Cliff Lee was his dominant self, scattering 6 hits, striking out 5, and walking none. He lowered his ERA to 0.68, as both runs were unearned. He has a .86 tRA, which equates to about a 0.79 tERA (the rule of thumb is to multiply tRA by .92 to get tERA, because about 92% of all runs are earned). Feliciano gave up a run in the 9th, but Brad Lidge shut the Mets down anyway.
Parnell went 5 innings, gave up 5 runs, struck out 3 and walked 3. The good thing about Parnell is that he does have a 50.8 groundball percentage. The bad news is that he has a 5.68 tRA as a starter (5.23 tERA), and his FIP is about 5.50. I would keep him in the rotation for the rest of the year, but next year, have him be a reliever again.
Stupid Decision of the Day: Not having Johan shut down earlier. Pitching with a sore back since the all-star break when you have nothing to play for does not show good management.
Random Thought of the Day: Luis Castillo needs to be wrapped in bubble wrap. And maybe have a bubble. Hey, Ken Takahashi and his 4.88 tRA is back.
Clutch Play of the Game: Pagan little league home run. +.085 WPA
Up Next f0r the Mets: Start of a 3 game series at Florida, 7:10 PM ET
Nelson Figueroa (1-2, 6.30 ERA 5.99 FIP 7.60 tRA) takes Johan's place. He faces
Sean West (4-5 4.70 ERA 4.89 FIP 5.10 tRA)