My Achilles heel is... (a support group)

[skrody]

Re: My Achilles heel is... (a support group)

Totally agree with this. I've always felt the check swing appeals seemed kind of random. There would be times when I knew I over committed on the right stick but it would be called a ball. Then there would be other times where I felt like I barely touched the stick, and it would be called a strike.

Turning it off pretty much eliminates all the bad calls...you still get rung up but its on ones that the home plate umpire rules a swing, and those are usually really obvious.

100% agree. there's times where i barely move and say 'yeah not a freaking chance' and then third base is ringing me up.

[OttoOC]

Re: My Achilles heel is... (a support group)

Curveballs in the middle or through the bottom of the zone. I always think they're fastballs and swing early and look like a fool. This also makes me swing at fastballs above the zone sometimes because I expect them to drop down for a strike.

I dread facing Chris Carpenter.

[stealyerface]

Re: My Achilles heel is... (a support group)

Make sure you are concentrating on those 7-8-9 hitters just as much as you are the meat of their order.

Funny how we set up the defense for A-Rod, Tex and Granderson, pitch carefully to those guys, and really try and work them over, then we can't understand why the 8 hitter takes us into the gap when we let down the guard and throw three fastballs at him because, after all, he is just an 8-hole hitter. Uh, guys in the 8 hole that get a pitch to hit will beat you senseless. Trust me, guys are in the big leagues for a reason. Treat each hitter with the same tiger-mentaility, and attack them the same as the 40 HR guys. You will be a better pitcher because of it.

BTW, check swing calls for a ball are much more prevalent on Contact swings, than on normal, and much more than on Power.

When you get down in the count, use the contact swing when possible, you'll foul off more, and if you do get fooled, you are far and away going to get punched out less with the Contact-Check swing.

Lastly, mentioning, and begging discussion of "Catch-up, Comback, and or AI make up logic" will get you a front row seat to a closed thread... Perhaps not the best idea, especially because we have gone through this ad nauseam.

Most of the time, any comeback is chalked up to you doing something wrong, and honestly, when I see it happen, I tend to look at what I did, as opposed to what the game did to me.

That being said, last night I am up 2-1 against Toronto, and I have 2 outs in the 9th with Lawrie at the plate, runner on second. I get Lawrie to pop one up foul on the third base side, Youk settles under it, right in the middle of the Catch Region. The animation takes over, and he lifts up his glove, takes a step to his left, and then, inexplicably, he reaches out like he is grabbing for a Halibut in the Seattle Fish Market, and totally botches the catch.

Lawrie singles to right on the next pitch, run scores, and I lose in extras.

Sucks, but that is the way it goes I suppose. I should have thrown Lawrie a ball the next pitch, so I blame myself for giving him a pitch to hit...

TLDR: Play smarter, and win more games.


~syf