It was on May 7, 2022, that I officially became concerned about Shane Bieber.The Cleveland Guardians' ace had been shelled by the Blue Jays in the first game of a doubleheader, allowing eight hits, three walks, and seven earned runs over 3.1 innings. Not only was Bieber's lack of command alarming, nearly throwing more balls than strikes, but he was averaging 89.9 mph on his four-seam fastball in that game.Bieber had already seen his fastball velocity dip from 94.1 mph in 2020 to 92.8 mph in 2021. That trend continued into 2022, with his four-seamer averaging 90.8 mph at the time of that May start against Toronto. By season's end, Bieber's fastball was averaging 91.3 mph. A far cry from his peak in 2020, when he won the AL Cy Young Award. Yet Bieber still managed to finish the year ranked 12th among all qualified starters in ERA and 8th in WAR.How?Welcome to the reinvention of Shane Bieber.Back in 2020, Bieber leaned heavily on his four-seam fastball and his curveball, the latter of which was lethal against opposing hitters. The slash line against his curveball wasagainst it. New roles for his slider and curveball highlighted a retooled pitch mix that still prominently featured his four-seam fastball. Its velocity may have diminished, but Bieber still possesses elite fastball command, and he started spotting it more in the upper half and outer quadrants of the strike zone.Looking at his final stat lines from the last four seasons https://www.cgteamstore.com/daniel-johnson-t-shirt, the most notable change is the drop in his strikeouts per nine innings.