Highway to Hell
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2013 9:58 am
I've been a baseball fan my whole life. I've been through the golden age of baseball, the pitchers year of 1968, astroturf, cookie cutter ball parks, pitchers pitching on two days of rest to five days of rest.
I've understood it all. All seemed to have a time and a place in baseball history.
But now, there is something I don't get.
As I watch these playoffs, hardly a game goes by where an announcer does not laud a player for taking a pitcher deep into a count. They have things ass backwards, first of all, the pitcher is the one who goes deep in a count. He controls where the pitch is thrown.
Anyway, they applaud that the hitter sees six to eight pitches in an at bat. Their reckoning is that it gets the starting pitcher out of the game quicker.
Big Deal!
Look, we live in a baseball age of specialization. Who do you want pitching to Adrian Gonzalez, Joe Kelly or Randy Choate?
The trick for a batter is to be passive aggressive. By that, I mean to hit in as many cripple situations as possible.
2-0 and 3-1 counts. The batter does not create 2-0 and 3-1 counts, it is all the pitcher's doing. It is up to the batter to take advantage of these counts.
If those counts go to 2-2 or 3-2, the pitcher has already won a minor battle. But no matter the consequence, the batter gets an attaboy from the announcer. Even if he has hurt his team in the process.
Mike Napoli, Carlos Santana, Joe Mauer, Adam Dunn, and Jose Bautista saw the most pitches per at bat in the Majors this year.
Only Mauer hit over .300
In fact, only Mauer hit over .270
AJ Pierzynski, Jose Altuve, Alexie Ramirez, Sal Perez, and Erick Aybar saw the least amount of pitches per at bat.
All of these players hit over .270
Batting coaches are making stars out of bad pitchers. Batting stats are going down. Instead of using a hitters aggressiveness, they preach passiveness.
Do these hitters really have to take pitches or purposely go deep into a count vs. the likes of Jeremy Guthrie, or Bartolo Colon, or Locke,or Bronson Arroyo?
Each of those pitchers has a bullpen that I would fear more than them.
Everything is ass backwards. These hitters should be swinging at first pitches against these pitchers to keep them IN the game.
If your team is up 4-0 on Guthrie and he's only thrown 40 pitches, odds are, you'll get to feast on his arm for yet another 40 pitches!
Batters are playing into pitchers hands. Starting pitchers, now, are usually only going to throw six innings anyway. No matter how many pitches are fouled off or taken, the Starter most likely is thinking that if he gets a lead with five innings in the bank, he's done his job.
If he throws that sixth inning, it is because he is still effective. If he's not, then specialist number one comes into the game.
By taking pitches or fouling balls off, how has a hitter won?
Two words, HE HASN'T.
There seems to be more strikeouts than ever. The batter is helping pitchers net these strikeouts.
It's a strange phenomenon indeed. Most hitters hit below .200 with two strikes on them.
Hitting with two strikes is a Highway to Hell.
Yet, it seems hitters can't wait to get there.
And pitchers are more than happy to oblige them.
I've understood it all. All seemed to have a time and a place in baseball history.
But now, there is something I don't get.
As I watch these playoffs, hardly a game goes by where an announcer does not laud a player for taking a pitcher deep into a count. They have things ass backwards, first of all, the pitcher is the one who goes deep in a count. He controls where the pitch is thrown.
Anyway, they applaud that the hitter sees six to eight pitches in an at bat. Their reckoning is that it gets the starting pitcher out of the game quicker.
Big Deal!
Look, we live in a baseball age of specialization. Who do you want pitching to Adrian Gonzalez, Joe Kelly or Randy Choate?
The trick for a batter is to be passive aggressive. By that, I mean to hit in as many cripple situations as possible.
2-0 and 3-1 counts. The batter does not create 2-0 and 3-1 counts, it is all the pitcher's doing. It is up to the batter to take advantage of these counts.
If those counts go to 2-2 or 3-2, the pitcher has already won a minor battle. But no matter the consequence, the batter gets an attaboy from the announcer. Even if he has hurt his team in the process.
Mike Napoli, Carlos Santana, Joe Mauer, Adam Dunn, and Jose Bautista saw the most pitches per at bat in the Majors this year.
Only Mauer hit over .300
In fact, only Mauer hit over .270
AJ Pierzynski, Jose Altuve, Alexie Ramirez, Sal Perez, and Erick Aybar saw the least amount of pitches per at bat.
All of these players hit over .270
Batting coaches are making stars out of bad pitchers. Batting stats are going down. Instead of using a hitters aggressiveness, they preach passiveness.
Do these hitters really have to take pitches or purposely go deep into a count vs. the likes of Jeremy Guthrie, or Bartolo Colon, or Locke,or Bronson Arroyo?
Each of those pitchers has a bullpen that I would fear more than them.
Everything is ass backwards. These hitters should be swinging at first pitches against these pitchers to keep them IN the game.
If your team is up 4-0 on Guthrie and he's only thrown 40 pitches, odds are, you'll get to feast on his arm for yet another 40 pitches!
Batters are playing into pitchers hands. Starting pitchers, now, are usually only going to throw six innings anyway. No matter how many pitches are fouled off or taken, the Starter most likely is thinking that if he gets a lead with five innings in the bank, he's done his job.
If he throws that sixth inning, it is because he is still effective. If he's not, then specialist number one comes into the game.
By taking pitches or fouling balls off, how has a hitter won?
Two words, HE HASN'T.
There seems to be more strikeouts than ever. The batter is helping pitchers net these strikeouts.
It's a strange phenomenon indeed. Most hitters hit below .200 with two strikes on them.
Hitting with two strikes is a Highway to Hell.
Yet, it seems hitters can't wait to get there.
And pitchers are more than happy to oblige them.
