tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-652377080594581288.post1313987902722101774..comments2023-10-18T23:08:31.910-04:00Comments on The Bat Shatters: Do Twins Pitchers Throw Too Many Strikes?Adam Kruegerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12460938738580518447noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-652377080594581288.post-22868049174132358482010-06-25T12:13:00.120-04:002010-06-25T12:13:00.120-04:00To clarify what I'm trying to say a little: by...To clarify what I'm trying to say a little: by "pound the strike zone," people are really saying that the Twins staff is full of "control pitchers."<br /><br />I agree wholeheartedly that Blackburn appears to be fairly worthless and is not that good of a pitcher. Baker and Slowey, however, have shown flashes of brilliance amidst outings where they have been killed. Baker has essentially been the same pitcher in each of his last 4 starts (the 12K start was a bit of an anomaly) in terms of control and limiting walks, but has been ineffective in three of those starts.<br /><br />My point with the Moyer example is to say that if you can't be overpowering with your stuff like Liriano or [insert elite pitcher's name here] then you have to be able to hit your spots, and that's why Moyer is, at least, effective. Baker, Slowey and Blackburn need to exhibit better control than just "throwing strikes."Adam Kruegerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12460938738580518447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-652377080594581288.post-49638530864611050062010-06-25T11:48:40.770-04:002010-06-25T11:48:40.770-04:00Moyer's not a good comp. because there's n...Moyer's not a good comp. because there's not really another one like him. I would think quality of stuff would be measured by hit rates and K rates.Stephen Rhttp://twitter.com/stephen_mrnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-652377080594581288.post-56833373136658297322010-06-25T11:04:25.157-04:002010-06-25T11:04:25.157-04:00Is there a quality pitch index somewhere out there...Is there a quality pitch index somewhere out there? I mean, all I have to go off statistically is what batters swing at and the various rates at which pitchers throw their different pitches. Moyer is a perfect example of what I'm trying to get at. He throw mid-80 at his absolute best, but he gets people out and wins games. Blackburn can throw better than mid-80s, but he gets hammered almost every time out. Moyer throws better quality strikes and that's why he's effective despite his speed deficiency.<br /><br />Like I said in the post, pounding the strike zone is great, but if you're gonna do that, you have to hit your spots, you can't be just firing them down the middle.Adam Kruegerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12460938738580518447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-652377080594581288.post-75289248085052529642010-06-25T10:51:57.786-04:002010-06-25T10:51:57.786-04:00The problem with Blackburn is not that he throws t...The problem with Blackburn is not that he throws too many strikes. The problem is that he isn't very good, at all. Liriano gets batters to chase his stuff out of the zone because he's throwing good pitches, with good movement, and he's fooling batters into swinging. Blackburn doesn't because his pitches aren't very good. They don't have good velocity, or good movement, and so he doesn't strike barely ANYONE out. If he were to simply start throwing his pitches out of the zone more, he'd walk a ton of batters and get hammered. The only thing he could do is pitch better, but it appears that he is what he is at this point. Which is why his extension looks worse as every outing passes.Stephen Rhttp://twitter.com/stephen_mrnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-652377080594581288.post-91412860199119498682010-06-24T17:03:21.504-04:002010-06-24T17:03:21.504-04:00ugh. someone needs to slap blackburn upside the he...ugh. someone needs to slap blackburn upside the head.Matt Larsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10684567412348454535noreply@blogger.com